Issue 15
June 19, 2003

NEWSNOTES is a monthly email newsletter published by Nonprofit Enterprise at Work. It includes items of interest to the nonprofit community in Washtenaw County and the surrounding areas, as well as resources available at NEW. Encourage your friends and colleagues to join nearly 250 other NEWSNOTES subscribers!

NEW would like to recognize the generous support of its partners:

IN THIS ISSUE

LEAD STORY

Can You Find Foundation Grants to Compensate for Government Budget Cuts?

NEW appreciates the time and expertise shared this month by Joel J. Orosz, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership of Grand Valley State University. Prior to joining the Johnson Center, Dr. Orosz spent 15 years as a Program Director in Philanthropy and Volunteerism at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Insider’s Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund and Manage Effective Programs, available to borrow from the Nonprofit Reference Library or purchase from NEW’s bookstore.

Can You Find Foundation Grants to Compensate for Government Budget Cuts?
By Joel J. Orosz, Ph.D.

The answer to the question posed by the title of this article is “yes,” but I would be telling you a whopping fib if I said that it is easy to do (or even very likely). What I can do is to share some suggestions on approaching foundations in order to keep your programs going. I offer no guarantees, but I hope that these ideas will give you at least a fighting chance to be successful.

1. Call, Don’t Write. Why? Simple: it is much easier to say “no” to a piece of paper than it is to say “no” to a human voice over the telephone. But what if the foundation’s guidelines specifically say, “don’t call”? Call them anyway. If the person who takes your call gets angry with you, apologize profusely. But even if she or he gets mad, you will still have a better chance to make your case over the phone than on paper. And, by calling, you may be requested to send a proposal directly to a program officer—so now your proposal will no longer be unsolicited—which is good, because unsolicited proposals usually have little chance of receiving serious consideration.



2. No Matter Who Answers Your Call, Ask For Help. Secretaries at foundations often know just as much about the process of applying for a grant as the program officers whom they assist, and often are more willing to be helpful. Ask them for any coaching and hints they are willing to share. They can be excellent guides through the maze of foundations.



3. Don’t start Your Conversation by Saying, “We need to Replace Funding Cuts.” You will need to share this information with the foundation eventually, but if you lead with it, you shoot yourself in the foot. Foundations have their own priorities, and don’t see themselves as responsible for projects that other entities have cut. Make the case for how your project fits within the foundation’s funding interests first, and then disclose that your project has suffered due to governmental funding cuts.



4. Stress Innovation! Foundations consider themselves to be the investors of social venture capital. They are interested in the new, the untried, the experimental, and the promising, but not in the tried and true. Even if your project is of the tried and true variety, you will need to find a component of it that is new, untried, experimental or promising, and stress that piece of it in asking for the foundation’s support. Again, you will need eventually to disclose that the innovative piece is part of a larger, established project, but don’t lead with that information.



5. Ask for a Meeting, or Better Still, a Site Visit. It is really hard to say no to a real person sitting right in front of you. When pitching your proposal over the phone, try to get an appointment to see the program officer at the foundation’s offices. Better yet, invite the program officer to personally visit your project. Even the best written proposal cannot fully convey the full range and excitement of your work; direct contact is much better. If the program officer declines your invitation to visit, you still win, for the fact that you made it shows that you have nothing to hide.



6. Include an “Escape Hatch” in Your Proposal. Foundations do not like to fund anything at 100% or anything forever. Both things make them worry that the project will become totally dependent on them, and unable to make it on its own. Make sure that you have multiple sources of funding for your project, and build into your proposal a takeover plan that will assure them that your project can be weaned from their support over time. The plan should detail how you will seek diverse sources of support for your project, including grants from other sources, of course, but also including earned income, admission fees, membership income, endowment earnings, special events fundraising, Internet fundraising, and government grants and contracts. Also, set a deadline by which the project will be completely weaned from the support of the foundation to which you are applying.

A final tip: be patient and persistent. Even the most savvy and seasoned grantmakers typically fail in their proposals to foundations more often than they succeed. Your task of replacing lost government funding is not one that foundations find highly compelling, so your success rate is likely to be fairly low. One major grant, however, will compensate for a dozen failures, so persevere! Eventually you will find a foundation that believes in you and your project, and you will get that badly needed support.

Resources:

Get your own copy of Dr. Orosz’s book The Insider’s Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund and Manage Effective Programs.

See other titles for guidance on grantwriting.

The Nonprofit Good Practice Guide provides key information designed to help you manage your nonprofit organization efficiently and effectively. Fundraising and financial stability is one of ten topic areas that feature articles, standards of practice, resources and glossaries.

Other Web sites to help find grant opportunities and craft proposals.

See this month’s featured item on the Fundraising Teleconference Seminar from BoardSource.

Become a member of City Connect Detroit; and make use of their Web site of invaluable fundraising tools. Membership in the Michigan Nonprofit Association will give you a free one-year basic membership.

FEATURED ITEMS

Education and Training: "How to Raise More Money" Special Workshop

Does the constant pressure of raising operating funds seem insurmountable? Do you know you should be focusing on individuals but don’t know how to expand your donor base? Terry Axelrod, author of the book Raising More Money: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Lifelong Donors will walk you through her systematic model for building lifelong donors and give you a new way to think about raising money from individuals.

The session will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2003, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District Teaching and Learning Center, 1819 S. Wagner Road in Ann Arbor. Advance registration is required through NEW’s secure Web site or by calling 734-998-0160. The workshop fee is $50.

Ms. Axelrod trains and coaches nonprofit organizations of all sizes on the “new reality” of individual giving. She will teach you how to identify potential donors and incorporate your existing team and special events to tailor the Raising More Money Model™ to your organization.

Washtenaw Literacy, a local nonprofit, has found success with Axelrod’s Raising More Money Model. Executive Director Chris Roberts said, “We had lofty goals, but the results we achieved have far exceeded our expectations. We now have a growing network of contacts and are identifying not only new donors, but new board candidates and volunteers as well. This model is terrific!”

Leadership²Go: Online Discussion Forum and Upcoming Panel

Executive Directors: Don't forget to sign up for an account with the Leadership²Go Online Discussion Forum. Take time this summer to learn more from your peers about fundraising, marketing, board relations and more. Easy-to-use and free!

Also, mark your calendars now for the next Leadership²Go panel session on October 3, 2003, 8:30 – 10:30am. Three of Washtenaw County's own will share and lead a discussion on successful marketing and fundraising. Panelists include Shary Brown, Executive Director of the Original Ann Arbor Street Art Fair; Eileen Spring, Executive Director of Food Gatherers; and Jeff Levin, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County. Bring copies of your brochures, newsletters, annual reports, and more to share at this session.

Look for a panel on Executive Compensation in December 2003!

The 2003 Leadership²Go Executive Director Series and the online discussion
forum are made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Sarns Ann
Arbor Fund and the Bill and Molly Dobson Fund of the Ann Arbor Area
Community Foundation, and Pfizer (special thanks to Peter B. Corr).

MCACA Minigrant Application Deadline July 1, 2003

The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) offers minigrants of up to $4,000 to Michigan nonprofit organizations for locally developed, high-quality arts and cultural projects that increase public access to art and culture. NEW administers the MCACA Minigrant program for Washtenaw, Livingston and Monroe counties. Minigrant applications and guidelines are available on the NEW Web site.

Nonprofit Reference Library: New Acquisitions

The library collection is constantly updated with new titles and new editions of popular books. See a listing of recent additions to the collection. Contact Resource Specialist Ann Gladwin 734-998-0160 with suggestions for titles you would like to see available for borrowing.

Fundraising in 2003: A Teleconference Seminar

In these difficult financial times, when the availability of funds is scarce, and the number of charitable organizations seeking funds has increased, how can your organization stand out? BoardSource is offering a one-hour teleconference discussion on July 15 or July 17 with live Q&A with Chuck Loring, Fundraising Consultant, about the nonprofit board's role in fundraising in a stagnant economy.

Find out more about what you can learn and how to register at BoardSource.

Technology: NPower Nonprofit Technology Summit

NPower invites you to a unique community summit designed to inspire and educate nonprofits about the potential of technology as a mission-support tool. The Nonprofit Technology Summit will give you the opportunity to explore technology tools and topics that can directly and immediately impact the way your organization delivers services.

The Nonprofit Technology Summit will be held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit on July 15 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. The Summit will offer:

• Tips, tricks, and strategies for managing and building on the technology you already have in your organization
• Specific ideas and examples of creative and innovative uses of technology
• Higher expectations of what technology can do for your organization and your community

To see the day’s agenda, view the workshop descriptions, and register for the Summit, please go to the Technology Summit Web site.

Registration is only $75 for NPower members and early registrants (by June 30th). After June 30th, registration for non-NPower members will increase to $100.

City Connect Detroit: Funding Sources

City Connect Detroit has launched its new Web site and is inviting membership by nonprofit organizations, community leaders, and government units in southeastern Michigan. City Connect Detroit was established to increase the amount of federal and national dollars coming into the problem-solving community in and around Detroit. The organization’s focus is to capitalize on funding opportunities, while increasing nonprofit capacity through collaboration.

Basic membership provides access to the City Connect Detroit Web site, including:

• Thousands of funding opportunities — each categorized and reviewed for accuracy
• Downloadable application guidelines and related documents (when available)
• The latest information in funding trends from national and federal sources

Go to the City Connect Detroit Web site to register (fees are on a sliding scale based on organization budget).

The Michigan Nonprofit Association also offers its members a one-year free basic membership to City Connect Detroit’s Web site. MNA will be phasing out its Web-based funding opportunities and e-mail bulletins. Contact Jan Harper (517-492-2400) regarding MNA membership.

MNA Local Learning Series

The Michigan Nonprofit Association is offering three workshops this summer in their Local Learning Series. All are from 9 to noon at the MNA offices in Lansing and cost $35 for MNA members or $50 for nonmembers.

• June 26, 2003: The Nonprofit Board of Directors: Meeting Responsibilities in Challenging Times
• August 6, 2003: Working Effectively with the Media
• September 9, 2003: Spending Your Technology Dollars Effectively

Go to the MNA Workshops page for more information or to register online.

Reminders

• Pfizer Community Grants Deadline June 30.
• Michigan Nonprofit Compensation and Benefit Survey: It is not too late to register to participate in this important survey. Nonprofits with paid employees are encouraged to register online to receive a survey questionnaire in August. Participation guarantees a free copy of the results.
  

REGULAR FEATURES

Nonprofit Bulletin Board

Visit NEW's Nonprofit Bulletin Board to post and view notices about free resources, fundraising opportunities, and other items relevant to the southeast Michigan nonprofit community.

Events Calendars

Ring!Michigan   Select a county below. Scroll to the end of the calendar to find the posting form.