Five Reasons to Refresh Your Non-profit Organization’s Funding Strategy

What is “refreshing your non-profit funding strategy”? It’s gathering and studying your non-profit organization’s income opportunities for evaluation before selecting the excellent ones to pursue. Why is this helpful? We find five major benefits for non-profit organizations:

1. Fresh Motivation. Is it hard to motivate someone to chair your “tried and true” special event? Frankly, it is hard to motivate yourself to get an annual appeal letter ready? Or, call potential sponsors? If you are bored by how you obtain income, chances are you are not alone. While some work maybe a tad dull and starting anything requires a bit of a leap over inertia, fresh clarity and an improved certainty of outcomes makes every job easier. Because you can see they will work, refreshed funding strategies excite and motivate.

2. Get With the Times. Even if you wish it wasn’t so, the market where non-profit organizations operate changed dramatically in the last five years. Every one of your funding streams experienced changes. It is smart to acknowledge this reality. Yet, even though my crystal ball broke, in the shards I see continue to see incredible opportunity. Donors, customers, volunteers, and board members continue to develop new expectations about their funding relationships with you: new expectations that yield new opportunities. It’s smart to study the impact of changes to reduce and eliminate unpleasant surprises— and to take advantage of new opportunities.

3. Embrace the Best. Even if at times you feel stuck identifying funding opportunities, the truth is this: you have too many opportunities. Your greatest need is to know where to invest your time and discard efforts for so-so opportunities, as soon as possible. You need funding strategies that provide the most outcomes (money or resources) with the least work –over time. Refreshing your funding strategies helps you to identify these vital opportunities.

4. Educate. Your funding strategy may fit your nonprofit and organization’s skills and community perfectly. However, it is highly likely many near you do not understand it or “the why” behind it. If you hear a lot of far-fetched ideas, refreshing your funding strategy can help the sharers to move their energy to your strategy and away from collecting wacky ideas, since they seek to help. On the other hand, if you hear worthwhile ideas, refreshing your funding strategy is the place to air and evaluate options using rational criteria and to compare them to your existing efforts—rather than making a quick decision in the hallway between meetings.

5. Lost Funding. The number one reason to refresh your funding strategy is because you are missing opportunities to increase your funds. Enough said.

What benefits have you found from refreshing your funding strategy?

Is DonorEdge, The Giving Partner or Whatever Its Called Worth It?

Last month, I met with Mark Brewer. Mark leads the Community Foundation of Central Florida. While our visit concerned the needs of non-profit organizations in Central Florida for my funding strategy innovations, we talked a lot about DonorEdge. (Brewer’s organization calls their version of this Guidestar product, “The Knowledge Base.” The Community Foundation of Sarasota* named theirs, “The Giving Partner.”) Central Florida has used it for several years.

Coincidentally, the same week, I put the finishing touches on Selby Garden’s profile for The Giving Partner. What was the process like? Susie Bowie was extremely helpful. The on-line system worked well. The questions were neither difficult nor long. Yet, while the questions weren’t hard, the decisions behind them were challenging. Many involved an assessment of the best answer to give to further the Gardens’ donor development strategy. Questions like, “Which picture is best to use since we can only use one?” and, “What are the five most pressing needs?” involved thinking and planning. The work wasn’t hard, but the strategy and thought behind it were intense. So, what was the process really like? In all honesty, demanding. Yes, you can fill out the profile in several hours, but if you want it to be a tool to support your overall funding strategy, like the Gardens did, it will take lots more.

During the process, I wondered, as you will probably wonder if you take a serious approach, “Is this worth it?” After filling out a profile and talking to Mark Brewer and learning how Central Florida is using it, the answer is “Yes.” Here’s why I recommend you get out your welcome mat for it:

1. Important Information to Share. You want a current profile about your organization to give to potential donors. In all honesty, do you have it? You will with DonorEdge.

2. Sector Enrichment. The nonprofit sector, compared to other sectors, is data poor. DonorEdge helps to close the gap. How big is the average nonprofit board in Bradenton? What is the total amount of capital campaign funding being sought in Orlando? Now, we can learn and share these and similar facts.

3. Your New Wiki. You will soon use DonorEdge to answer quick questions. Filling out your profile teaches you what’s available. Once underway, you will be able to find out about someone else’s mission, an executive director’s background and key programs of other nonprofits by typing in their name and selecting a tab. My prediction: you will use it to look up everything from the important, what are their board members affiliations, to the curious, how long has the executive director been in place.

4. Donor Support. A profile placed in a database on the Internet will by itself drive few donations. However, a well-done profile which quickly provides donors considering funding your non-profit organization the peace of mind that allows them to write you that sizable check or click a donate now button. This 24-7 availability, allows you to sleep soundly, while your donor confirms your excellence at 2 a.m.

If you are struggling to fill out your profile, take heart. From what I’ve learned, it is worth your effort. If you have yet to develop a profile, get out your welcome mat and get started. What has your experience been?
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* The Giving Partner is a partnership of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Gulf Coast Community Foundation and Manatee Community Foundation—with support from The Patterson Foundation.

Is the Arts and Culture Community on Your List of Potential Collaborators?

Few would argue the value of arts and culture. The vibrancy of arts and culture within a community has long been a key indicator of its livability. Individuals and companies looking to move into an area frequently evaluate the number and diversity of offerings as part of their decision-making process. Art therapy has proven helpful in treating a wide variety of conditions, from Alzheimer’s to physical and emotional trauma. And, a great deal of attention has recently been paid to the substantial economic impact of arts and culture. According to the 2010 National Arts Index, a report issued by Americans for the Arts, economic activity in the U.S., while losing ground during the recession, is still a $150‐$160 billion a year business that puts more than 2 million people to work and increasingly attracts cultural tourists (the number of foreign visitors who attend cultural events or venues has increased 23% since 2003).

However, today we have another reason to value arts and culture. It’s being used “in increasingly diverse ways to engage and build communities and address the root causes of persistent societal problems, including issues of economic, educational and environmental injustice as well as inequities in civil and human rights.” (“Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy” by Holly Sidford for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, 2011) Artist-activists are pulling us in, forcing us to examine our assumptions and the way we do business.

To-date, most of this work has emerged from and been centered in the art world. Just one example from my community is the Center for Folk and Community Art, which involves the community’s residents in story-telling, using a combination of written work, murals and public presentation. In the past it has focused attention on societal issues such as gang culture and violence, bullying, abuse and violence in teen dating relationships, the environment and homelessness.

But, arts and culture could be so much more. It could be totally integrated into the fabric of social change, where artists sit at the same table as nonprofits, private businesses and governmental agencies committed to creating a healthier place for each of us to live. This is particularly important as the artistic voices of those who have previously often been disenfranchised – i.e., those making art outside of the better supported and recognized Western European, “classical” art forms – break through, since there is much to be learned from these voices.

According to the Animating Democracy’s 2010 report, “Trend or Tipping Point: Arts and Social Change Grantmaking” there are currently more than 150 funders nationwide that have recognized the value of supporting coalitions that are dedicated to social change and are inclusive of artists. I am proud that our own local community foundation is one of them. But what of the many nonprofits currently putting together coalitions to more successfully tackle community issues that are at the heart of their mission?

If your organization is contemplating collaboration, I would like to know if your board is considering the contribution artists, arts and culture could make in your success? How intentional is your board about including artists, especially those outside “mainstream arts and culture”? How are you going about finding the appropriate partners? Please write in and share your experiences and learnings.

Hunting for Nonprofit Funding Ideas?

I’ve been told that I have more ideas about how non-profits can earn funding than anyone in the world. While no competition has been held to officially award the title, I do love and collect ideas that grow non-profit organization’s funding and resources. More funding for you translates into better communities for all of us.

If you're curious about where I get some of my ideas or you want to find more ideas for your non-profit organization, read The Idea Hunter by Andy Boynton & Bill Fischer.

The Idea Hunter, a quick read, reminds us that:
1) To find ideas, actively hunt for them.
2) Productive hunting requires that you move beyond your regular environment.
3) We need to write ideas down or loose them.
4) While many ideas provide small improvements that don’t solve the Euro crisis or global warming, they are still important. Many improve our lives everyday in small, but satisfying ways. Translated into non-profit funding, idea hunter ideas provide solid, sustainable growth rather than the unexpected and unpredictable million-dollar check.
5) In terms of donors and other funding sources, do not just collect ideas and data, train yourself to notice “incidents and customer service preferences that connect clearly…” (P. 80) with your mission and organization.

For more ideas on how to increase your non-profit income also read this article, Don’t Set Resolutions to Increase Your Funding.

How do you collect ideas to help your non-profit organization obtain funding?

Barrier to Earned Revenue: Cultural Change

Help the Resistance to Join the Cause
One of the biggest barriers non-profit organizations face in increasing their funding from earned income, is staff and volunteer resistance. In some cases, cultural resistance about asking for money or more money from customers, clients, or donors at non-profit organizations is so huge it curtails all discussion and results in significant income loss. In almost all cases, in every non-profit organization, you will encounter those who like the way things are now. This holds true even when it means you lack enough funding for your mission or even to pay them properly.

At Bok Towers Gardens, (read about their success with earned revenue in my new column, Your Profitable Non-profit) the support of the docents, who provided the house tours of Pinewood Estate, was the biggest hurdle they faced as they increased their income and attendance by 300 percent. In the new setup, instead of leading tours through the mansion, docents were assigned to various sites in the building. The docents preferred the old way of leading tours even as Bok Tower Gardens enjoyed wild success with the new approach. As a compromise that worked wonderfully, staff encouraged the docents to help visitors enjoy the mansion as they saw fit. If a group or individual were happy self-touring, they did not step in. If the visitors wanted more information, the docent created an on-the-spot experience.

After you identify great ideas to increase your income, expect resistance. When you encounter it, love people for their loyalty. Help them to understand how the change has the potential to impact your mission and funding. Explore compromises, like Bok Tower Gardens. Develop a plan to help the resistance join the cause.

What examples of cultural resistance, especially around earned revenue have you encountered? How have you overcome them?

Drinking The Kool-Aid: Balance Your Funding Messages With Reality

Face it. As a nonprofits leaders you are in the sales and marketing business. As a leader raising funds, you constantly share with others that your nonprofit organization’s work is important, meaningful and valuable. Indeed your work is important, valuable, and meaningful.

Obtaining funding requires that you present your work and services in the most favorable, hopeful manner. Yet, important, valuable, and meaningful does not equal perfect. Even the most exemplary nonprofits face daily challenge to step-up to the next level, to fine-tune their work, to provide more mission, and to prepare for the future. (Follow this link for the traits of exemplary non-profit organizations.) Non-profit organizations who do not meet these challenges will shortly become un-exemplary.

The danger comes when leaders get caught up in the positive message and believe they are important, valuable and meaningful –and that they have arrived. When leaders get caught up in the external message and forget imperfections and growth needs they can be poisoned by drinking the own Kool-Aid.

The solution is balance. Smart nonprofits leader balance their “we are worthy of your funding message,” while simultaneously sharing areas under construction. They tell us how they are working to improve and are positively honest about mistakes. This balance reflects reality. It also creates a community of support, including donors, staff and volunteers, who understand that being a successful nonprofit is an ongoing movement that result is falling into potholes from time-to-time. When these bumps come, and they will, most of the community who has been hearing your balanced message will remain loyal. They love you. They love your work. They believe you will meet the challenges you face.

How do you communicate worthiness of support to your external audience and acknowledge your need to improve daily? How do you help people who have joined your organization, but are disappointed when they learn it is not perfect?

How to Succeed With Emergency Grant Opportunities

Good news! You non-profit organization just received an invitation to apply for a grant. Bad news! The application is due next week and you have at least a dozen other priorities.

Here’s a schedule to help you organize your preparations to meet the application deadline and provide a competitive application for funding:

Day 1

1. Review the donor’s website. Contact them for application requirements. Ask initial questions. Read any guidelines, marking all requirements with a tick box. You will fill the box in with a check mark during your final review after you fulfilled each requirement.

2. Do you need information for anyone else? Request their help. Establish Day 5 as their deadline.

3. Create an application dummy with scrap paper. A dummy is a mockup of the total grant proposal you will submit from cover letter to you’re the last page of the attachments. As you work, you will replace the dummy pages with completed ones so you can identify missing items. Take time to organize your submittal now instead of at the last minute.

4. Start drafting. Use paragraphs from existing materials, like case statements, bio statements from key staff.

5. Make a first attempt at creating the project budget.

Day 2 and 3

6. Continue drafting, aim for 1-2 hour sessions per day, during your most productive interludes. Apply butt glue, if necessary.

7. If you get stumped, you probably need more information. Find someone with answers or to make project decisions.

8. Time helps. The difficult questions you struggled with today will be easier when you review them tomorrow.

Day 4

9. By now your draft is emerging. Plan to work in shorter time blocks. Re-read sections while waiting for appointments, when you’re on hold or 15 minutes before lunch.

10. Email or call everyone who needs to provide you materials to remind them of the pending deadline.

Days 5, 6, and 7

11. Proof the draft, triple check all dates and numbers.

12. Ask one or two other people to read it.

13. Read the final application aloud. Check off the requirements you completed. Flag uncompleted items. Make a list of these and work through them one-by-one until all is done.

14. Compile the final document. Make copies. Remember to keep one for your organization. Deliver the application.

15 .Relax! You made it!

For more grant writing articles to help you non-profit organization earn funding, see this directory.

For six audios to purchase that will help you write grants if you are a newbie or an expert, follow this link. Each offers one hours of training from Karen– and contains the content of her famous grant writing workshops.

For other sources of non-profit income to augment your grant opportunities, read this article. Can Your Organization Obtain More Income?

Karen Eber Davis