8 Steps To Winning Grant Funding

Grabbing the closest available staffer and asking him to write a few sentences about your program is nowhere near the best way to win grant funding. If you want your organization to get the money you think it deserves, then you need a well-thought out strategy.

Barbara Floersch, director of The Grantsmanship Center in Los Angeles, Calif., offered advice to nonprofits that are trying to win grant funding. She said that organizations need to follow eight steps to give themselves the best shot at winning those dollars:

• Identify foundation and corporate grant-makers with interests and giving patterns that fit your organization. Don’t wait for government competitions to open. Figure out which grant programs are a good fit then track them.
• Identify funding needs most likely to draw grant support. Innovation, equipment upgrades, program start-ups, efficiency investments, and the like. Consider these in the light of the opportunities you’ve identified.
• Hammer out a proposal submission calendar for the year.
• Find existing organizational relationships with the foundation and corporate funders you’ve targeted, or build those relationships.
• Get copies of last year’s government application guidelines. Next, speak with program officers about expectations for the upcoming competition.
• Establish a team for each proposal you’ll submit. Pull each team together, assign leaders, and set up work plans.
• Work the plans. Don’t wait until the last couple of weeks. Lay-out the program design, and pull together the data, collaborations, letters of commitment, and other pieces you’ll need well ahead of the deadline. Take the time to do it right.
• Monitor the work and keep it on track. Make sure you know what’s happening.

MD Nonprofits To Get Advance Funding

Small nonprofits in Montgomery County, Md. will get one-third of their funding up front beginning next fiscal year.

Gazette.net reported yesterday that, starting in Fiscal 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will implement this change for nonprofits that receive less than $26,000 dollars from the county. As it currently stands, organizations that contract with HHS submit monthly invoices with supporting documents. HHS then reimburses them for what they spend.

Uma Ahluwalia, the director of the county's HHS, told Gazette.net that giving nonprofits advance contracts will allow them to better fulfill their goals. She added that this change was first requested by the nonprofits in Montgomery County.

Here is how the new policy would work: If a nonprofit receives less than $26,000 from the county, it would get $8,600 up front. Assuming all of the organizations in that group received that amount of money, the county would spend about $480,000 in advance. HHS also plans to allow smaller nonprofits to keep back-up documents on-site, simplifying the administration of the money.

You can read the full story on Gazette.net.

Manassas City Council Stands By Nonprofit Funding Method

Despite a push for change, the Manassas City Councils has decided to stick with its current method of funding nonprofit and arts groups.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Council voted unanimously to keep its current funding method rather than switch to another that is used in Prince William County.  That system appoints a citizen panel to make recommendations on which nonprofit groups to fund and how much.  It has been under fire by groups like the Prince William County Symphony, whose members say too much money has gone towards the Manassas Ballet ($1.6 million since fiscal year 2005).  One of the biggest advocates for changing the current system is Council member Mark D. Wolfe (R) whose wife, Amy, is the ballet's artistic director.  Wolfe abstained from the vote given his relationship to the ballet.

The city decided to keep the current system in part because it believes taxpayer money should be handled by the Council.  The current funding system in Manassas appoints a subcommittee of council members who make recommendations to the City Council on which nonprofits should receive support.  One change was made, however: The subcommittee will now have only two council members, instead of the usual three.

You can read more about this story in The Washington Post.

Gold Rush: Texas Nonprofit Acquires Gold

Note: This is a summary/reaction to a story from the latest webcast of The NonProfit Times TV.

The gold rush might have ended years ago, but it seems like nobody told The University of Texas Investment Management Company.  The organization, which handles endowment funds for The University of Texas and Texas A&M University, has taken possession of over a staggering $1 billion in gold; and we're not talking actual gold bars here, not just in paper.  The company first began investing in gold ventures in September of 2009, and continued doing so for another 12 months (into October 2010). CEO Bruce Zimmerman said that his company’s purchases at the time reached $750 million dollars.  A hefty sum, no doubt, but it would appear their gamble paid off in the end.  Because of a change in gold's market value, their purchase is now worth close to $1 billion dollars.  Talk about a return on investment. 

So why did his organization purhcase so much gold anyway?  Well, according to Zimmerman, they it was to hedge against the possibility of a devaluation or debasement of currency.  Students shouldn't try looking around their campus for the gold, however.  It is currently being locked away at an HSBC bank in New York City.

OKC Nonprofit Runs into Funding Speedbump

Note: This is a summary/reaction to a news story posted by an outside news organization.  Follow the links in this post to read the full article.

Remember that new Oklahoma nonprofit that was forming, The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City?  Well, it looks like they are going to have a harder time getting the money they want.

In an earlier story that was originally published by NewsOk, we learned that this new nonprofit was requesting $424,000 from the city.  It appears, however, that city government officials have some serious questions to ask them.  NewsOk reports that the Oklahoma City Council seems hesitant to provide the requested money because of questions about the group's economic and geographic diversity.  All of the proposed members of the group, including Assistant City Manager Cathy O'Connor, are white.  Pete White, a member of the City Council, bought this issue up in blunt terms, according to the NewsOK report:

“I’m struck by the lack of diversity on this group, both geographic, which doesn’t exist, and ethnic, which doesn’t exist."

Jim Couch, a member of The Alliance's proposed board, agreed with this assessment and promised that this issue would be addressed.  But the ethnic diversity is not the only thing that is causing the Oklahoma City Council concern.  There are also questions about the transparency of the budding organization.  O'Connor recently told the newspaper The Oklahoman that she didn't know if the expenditures of the group would have to be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act.  Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid specifically bought up this concern, saying that people are concerned that the group is "transforming a city apparatus and it’s at the exclusion of the Open Records Act."

At this point, it remains unclear of whether The Alliance will get the funding it has requested.  O'Connor tried to assure the council that her group would not be circumventing the council, that they would merely implement the decisions the council and other public authorities made.  This didn't seem to make anybody feel any better, however.  Specifically, NewsOK quotes Councilman White as saying that “In the past, my feeling has always been, though these were done through ad hoc committees, the council was always in the driver’s seat. It’s obvious by the makeup of this that we are not in the driver’s seat.”  So until the council votes on funding for the new organization, its future remains very much in the air.

Charity: Water Reaps The Benefit of Social Media

Nonprofits have flocked to social media in recent years, but has fundraising followed? In some cases, this has definitely been the case.  Since September 2009, the Mycharity: Water program has raised over $7.5 million, including over $50,000 with the help of  teenage pop sensaion Justin Bieber, who launched his own water campaign on Twitter in March. Paul Young, Director of Digital Engagement at Charity: Water, the orgaization behind the successful program, spoke to NPTtv about how social media has helped their cause raise money.

The organization is only about four years old, but according to Young they were one of the first charities on Twitter, as well as the first one to get over one million followers on it. From the start, they had always been a digital organization; they have a very well designed website with user-friendly features  Things really started to turn around for them, however, when they launched the Mycharity: Water program. It was a simple fundraising platform where anybody could raise money, and with its ease of use, it began to gain massive popularity. Pretty soon, people began sharing it on various social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook.

If you want to view the entire interview with Paul Young, watch the latest episode on NPTtv.

Record Fundraising Levels Expected In Alaska

Record levels of charitable organizations are getting involved in what is known as the 'Pick. Click. Give.' program which forms part of Alaskans' Permanent Fund Dividend or PFD application. The programs make it possible for recipients to donate part of their PFD to a variety of nonprofit groups. Alaskan residents receive an annual check based on oil-punted estates. As much as 386 nonprofit organizations are signed up to receive donations this year, a figure which is up by approximately 6% from the year before. Organizes of the fundraising drive have set a target of $1.5 million, a 50% increase over the previous year.

Many nonprofits stand to benefit
In 2010, about 9,500 of all Alaskans donated a part or all of their dividends as funding for various charitable organizations. The administrative expenditures related to the drive are being covered by the Rasmuson Foundation. Bearing in mind the vast range of charitable groups that are signed up to receive donations, donors are bound to find a cause that tugs a heart-string that they would be able to support with enthusiasm. When people go online to apply for their PFD, they will see the option to participate in the 'Pick. Click. Give' fundraising program.