To help maximize your fund-raising income you should know the simple steps to achieve success.
Understand the difference between a foundation request, individual request, a corporate request, a government request and a community foundation request. One request size does not fit all. Each has a different approach, the information to be supplied and how the request is made. What is the same is the follow up, thank you and recognition. A request made without good research and understanding of who the potential contributor is will be quickly detected and placed at the bottom of the pile.
Study the areas of financial support of the entity that you are making a request of carefully, and determine if your grant application fits the scope funding. If not - don’t ask. There is no recovery from requesting funds after being denied even with your best attempt at amending your inquiry.
Ideally you have found a foundation or organization that matches your goals. In some cases, the fit won’t be obvious to the donor. It’s up to you to show how your project could meet the requirements for funding. Be honest with the fact that your request may not meet all the requirements. A good effort may evoke some consideration.
A golden rule in requesting funds is keeping in touch, from the moment the first introduction is made. Throughout the process a continuous communication effort is essential. A lapse in getting back, allowing time to slip by before responding or just going silent will only serve to place your request as a lower priority. The biggest mistake is allowing too much time to pass with some excuse like “we were delayed in getting the information you requested.” It’s better to communicate the delay and stay in touch. Remember, you are competing against other organizations. The ones who are earnest, respond promptly and make an effort to keep things moving forward generally are rewarded.
Delays are systematic and may be caused by internal organization problems or lack of polices as well as negligence. If records are not kept properly about the Grantor you are courting inconsistencies can occur. Many times the initial person who made the contact will leave and along with him or her the contact and the progress made. Depending upon who is in charge of account development, that person should communicate to the Board, the president or executive director all significant requests. Communication and record keeping is a must. It’s always a good safeguard to have a backup person within the organization establish a connection with the donor or representative.
Any change in a high level administration position, Board of Directors or the organization itself should be communicated with the grantor ideally before it becomes public. Your proactive response will lend a sense of openness and candor. Remember - to receive sizable grants you are forming a partnership and developing confidence between the entities.
Keeping contacts active keeps your request active. Grantees in general are good at responding but not at maintaining a relationship. That is the responsibility of the nonprofit requesting funds. The higher the amount the more important it is to ensure you maintain your affiliation. In fund raising absence makes the request grow weaker.
Now enters the post relationship – what’s your organization’s policy? In most cases there isn’t one. This part of the grant relationship gets little attention and is often forgotten. The grant process can run 6 to 12 months with correspondence, visits, phone calls and entertainment. When it’s over one can suffer donor fatigue. This tends to let opportunities slip by instead of keeping a strong and lasting relationship.
Here’s my list of post relationship tenets with levels from minimum to best.
- Thank you letters from the Executive Director, President and the Board Members
- Newsletter recognition
- Newspaper recognition
- Personal invitation to the completion of the project (not a generic letter addressed to all those involved)
- A personal invitation to an specific event recognizing the donors
- Provide a photograph, plaque or some nice tribute of the project
- Future newsletters if the project is mentioned should include the major donors who helped make it happen
- Send updates including success stories, publicity anything that relates to the project
0 – 1 = poor
1 – 2 = minimum (if not interested in any future request from same donor)
1 – 3 = ok (minimum for future request from same donor)
1 – 4 = good (will help greatly in future request from same donor)
1 – 8 = excellent (great position to future request from same donor)
Avoid sending the annual/quarterly fundraising postcards or brochures to major donors. They are not going to send money and it portrays going back to the well too many times. Take the effort to single them out of your fundraising mailing list. The best is sending a personal letter updating what’s happening and the projects that you are working on with NO solicitation of funds. If the donor is interested they will inquire. Honor the time condition that many organizations impose on larger gifts as it can vary from one to two years before another request will be considered.
Inviting key persons or foundation representatives to an event should be done by addressing them personally and not through a general letter mailer, with a hand-written note on the flyer stating you”hope you will come”. Major contributors are requested to come to numerous events unless there is a real stated purpose attendance will be rare. If it’s important enough to invite them then take the time to address them accordingly. Should they accept an invitation whether intimate or not avoid engaging in discussions of other potential projects that will need financial support. Keep the moment special directed to the organization’s appreciation of support.
Greg Hind
Hind Foundation