Competition for the attention and financial support of philanthropic foundations and donors is fierce. How can your nonprofit succeed in capturing that allusive attention and critical support? These five golden rules will help you succeed in procuring grants for nonprofit organizations.
This article is brought to you by IDC Giving Group.
On the desk of every successful business person are hundreds of requests for donations and attempts of a broad spectrum of organizations to gain funding. Foundations find themselves processing a seemingly endless number of inquiries each day from nonprofit organizations and charities. To be sure, most of these requests are from worthy causes. Hence, donors, philanthropists, and foundations that give grants certainly have tough choices to make, since no one has unlimited resources.
How can you ensure that you will succeed on your fundraising journey? How will you conquer the hearts, win the trust, and open the wallets of successful business people and foundation managers? After many years of working with hundreds of nonprofits and building relationships with a broad array of foundations and philanthropists, we at the IDC Giving Group have become experts at how to get grants for nonprofit organizations. Above all, successful resource development and fundraising for nonprofits requires work that is systematic, sophisticated, and persistent.
Below are five golden rules that will help your funding request stand out from the crowd, garner admiration and, most important, earn financial support.
Rule #1 – Do Your Homework!
A donation changes a donor or foundation into a partner. Before you become partners, however, there must be common interests, goals, and values. Before you start grant writing for non-profits, research the mission of the foundation, its values, and which organizations it has supported in the past. Be sure that the specific interests of the foundation match those of your organization and are compatible with your organization’s mission. In addition, be sure that the amount of money you are requesting is appropriate. In other words, is it consistent with what the foundation generally awards when it allocates grants for nonprofit organizations. Generally, the amounts a donor or foundation gives in the past is a good indicator for future awards and allocations.
Rule #2 – First Impressions Matter.
Your letter of intent (LOI) will become your nonprofit’s calling card. It is your first opportunity to make an impression on potential donors, and will serve as your representative in the offices of the foundations you target. Therefore, it needs to be a winner. The LOI should detail your organization’s core values, history, and successes—both large and small. It should tell the story of how your nonprofit has improved lives and contributed to society. And, perhaps most important, the LOI should highlight how your nonprofit is unique among organizations, and how you fill a need that others do not. In addition, your LOI must also demonstrate an organized mission and fiscal responsibility, as well as show your understanding of professional and social developments in your field.
Rule #3 – Define Your Mission and Goals.
Every grantor will request to see a list of goals. To be sure, from the standpoint of a potential donor, the fact that you even have clear goals and direction is more important than the nature of those goals. Nonetheless, choose your goals wisely and make sure they are realistic. Explain how the specific amounts of funding you are requesting will help your organization to reach these goals. Throughout the entire process, always keep your goals in mind, and create benchmarks and a system of metrics to measure whether or not you are hitting your targets. Not only will such a system allow you to stay the course and measure your success, but it will also demonstrate to your donors that you have the ability to deliver. When a donor sees that the project or organization that he funds is consistently achieving its goals and has a track record of success, not only does that donor feel that his money is making an impact, but he also is more likely to give to your organization in the future.
Rule #4 – Present a Detailed Budget.
Donors, successful business people, and foundations that give grants all place an emphasis on the feasibility of a project. For a project to earn their support, it must be well-planned, well-managed, and have a high probability of success. People want to give to winning causes. One of the first indicators of a project’s feasibility and potential impact is a realistic budget. Hence, your funding request must include a detailed budget, a description of how you will measure success, and an explanation of how society will benefit from the success of your project. Furthermore, be prepared to answer detailed questions about the financial health and goals of your organization, as well as questions about the financial management of this project, past projects, or future initiatives.
Rule #5 – What’s in it for me?
It is important to clarify with a potential donor or foundation what role they can expect to play in the project beyond the financial contribution. Some will request more involvement, others less. But each and every donor or foundation certainly wants to know what they get out of this beneficial relationship. How am I going to make the world a better place? How will my donation change lives and help people? And why should I give my limited resources to your organization and not one of the thousands of others requesting funding? These are the most fundamental questions that potential donors ask, and the answers you give to them will dictate whether or not your organization will receive funding.
Throughout the duration of the project, keep the donor informed. Send updates, documents, and pictures. Share success stories that point to their support as the underlying or direct cause of the achievement. Such continued communication with a donor will ensure that your next request will be received warmly and with open ears.
Unlike in the past, fundraising for nonprofits and grant writing for non-profits today are no longer side jobs done by some random person at the nonprofit organization who happens to have time. These tasks are now professional fields, and the work is done by professionals, such as an executive consultant with experience, knowledge, and understanding of the fundraising industry. Our experts at IDC Giving Group will be happy to answer any questions you may have about how to get grants for nonprofit organizations, or any other aspect of your fundraising work. Our experienced professionals are here to collaborate with you at every stage of the process, including crafting and submitting LOI’s, identifying which foundations and donors to approach, advising you on how to build relationships and work with foundations and individual donors well into the future, and helping you to secure grants and funding to help you succeed in your mission.
Debra Kagan is the CEO of IDC Giving Group. She holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Professional Certification in Non-Profit Management from the New York Institute of Finance and has managed hundreds of client cases and grant requests, successfully bringing millions of dollars to a wide array of nonprofits. As a member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Debra and the IDC Giving Group team deliver high-quality, professional resource development services and strategies that allow your nonprofit to achieve new heights: no longer compelled to concentrate exclusively on the needs of today, but able to plan for tomorrow create an impact well into the future.
The consultants, writers, researchers, analysts and financial consultants at IDC Giving Group have a range of professional and personal experience. They represent a broad spectrum of academic disciplines and offer resources accrued from relationships with a variety of organizations and foundations. With proven efficiency and a comprehensive understanding of the grant-writing process, IDC Giving Group is prepared to lead you towards success. For more information, call 1-866-744-4995 or email info@idcgivinggroup.com today!
