Funding your Mission - Ignatian Solidarity Network...Seeking: What You REALLY Need to Do to Get...
Transcript of Funding your Mission - Ignatian Solidarity Network...Seeking: What You REALLY Need to Do to Get...
Funding your Mission
A beginner’s guide to raising the
money that you need
Outcomes for today
• The ability to face the elephant in the room
• A way for you to identify your needs
• Tools to help you meet your needs
• Basic information about how to create and implement a plan
• Provide resources for more information
• Enthusiasm for moving ahead with your fundraising plans
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving. -Hank Rosso
Why is it the elephant in the room?
• People don’t like to talk about money
• People don’t like to ask for money
• People have a hard time separating asking for a cause versus for themselves
BUT..
• We need money.
• We don’t have it.
• We need to ask for it.
Conquering the elephant
It is ….
• necessary
• asking for your organization
• people giving to organizations that support their causes
• your job to ask
• their decision
It is not…
• a necessary evil
• asking for yourself
• people supporting you
• your job to determine how much they will be willing to give
• your job to fear the ask
IDENTIFYING YOUR NEEDS
In good times and bad, we know that people give because you meet needs, not because you have needs. -Kay Sprinkel Grace
Where am I going?
The first step in planning a trip is knowing where you want to go. From there you can plan your route.
Same goes with fundraising.
• What do you need money for?
• What is the value of the thing that you are asking money for?
• How much money do you need?
• How will getting what you want help your organization?
Creating your map
• Establish the need and desire for the project use assessments, testimonials
• Define the desired outcomes use specific measurable goals
• Describe the methods you will use to achieve the objectives go step by step
• What credibility does your organization have?
only, largest, oldest, newest
• How will you evaluate the success of the project? Be as specific as you can. Offer assessments, timelines
• What is your budget? Provide as much detail as you can. Consider everything.
• What is the future of the project? Of your organization? Is this an ongoing project? How will you sustain funding? What is next?
TOOLS
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky
Fundraisers v Fundraising
Fundraisers
• Selling something
• Raffles
• Events
• Sponsorship
• Runs/Walkathons/Dance-athons/Rock-athons
Fundraising
• Annual giving
• Major gift solicitations
• Grantwriting
Selling
Pros
• Very successful on college campuses
• Low cost items
• Can be great advertisement for your cause
• People can support you with just a few dollars
Cons
• You have to have something to sell
• Doesn’t raise a lot of money
• Can be time-intensive
• Not going to fund your organization for big things
Things to consider with selling
• Make it unique
• Make it coordinate with your mission
• Don’t shoot yourself in the foot
• Meet a need or make it cool
• Are there partnerships you can make?
• Use it as an opportunity to inform and advertise your mission
Raffles/Events
Pros
• Can raise a lot of money
• People are willing to take a financial risk to win something
• They feel that they walk away with something for their money
• Brings people together
• Disguises fundraising because it is fun
Cons
• TONS OF WORK
• Often very expensive to run
• Need an understanding of IRS rules for receipting
Direct Solicitation
Pros • Builds relationships
• Communicates your needs without a carnival atmosphere
• Has the ability to cultivate long-term donors
• Has the potential to fund your organization for the long-term
• Renewable and sustainable
Cons
• Mailing costs
• Needs some experience
• Need to maintain a database of donors
• Need to ask people directly
Grantwriting
Pros
• Allows you to spend the time to carefully craft your message for your audience
• Can raise significant money
• Targeted audience already committed to your or similar causes
• Allows you to research their giving extensively
Cons
• Takes some experience
• Lots of competition for funds
• Takes time: to create the proposal and to hear results
• Requires research
Elements of a grant proposal
• Executive summary Brief, 1 page, asking amount • Organization information history, mission • Problem/Need/Situation Description • Work plan/Specific activities what are you doing? • Outcomes/Impact of Activities measurable • Other Funding no one wants to be the ONLY • Future Funding how will it be sustained? • Evaluation how do you measure success? • Budget • Supplementary materials see what they request
Answering the questions
• Who are you? History, mission
• How do you qualify? Non-profit
• What do you want? Amount, project
• What problem will you address and how?
• How will measure your results? Be specific
• How does your funding request comply with the grantmaker’s purpose, goals and objectives?
IMPLEMENTING A PLAN
To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. -Mother Theresa
How do you find people to support you?
• Start with yourself and those within your
organization
• Go to people closest to home (other students, professors, families, etc.) and then work out to include those further in geographic scope
• Look at who is supporting similar organizations as yours
• Look at corporations who support your mission
• Use the Internet
• Use fundraising sources such as Foundation Center or Guidestar
• Make new friends
Then what?
• Case statement
• Create a calendar
• Prepare any written materials
• Know thy donor
• Communications
DO
IT!
Then?
R.E.A.L.
• Research
• Engage
• Ask
• Love
Go to Slide 1.
RESOURCES
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. –Winston Churchill
Web resources
• www.guidestar.org
• www.foundationcenter.com
• www.philanthropy.org
• www.afpnet.org
Literary resources
• Larissa Golden Brown and Martin John Brown, Demystifying Grant Seeking: What You REALLY Need to Do to Get Grants (San Francisco, 2001).
• Susan L. Golden, Secrets of Successful Grantsmanship: A Guerrilla Guide to Raising Money (New York, 1997).
• Grantsmanship Center, Program Planning and Proposal Writing (Los Angeles, 1981).
• Cheryl Carter New and James Aaron Quick, Grantseeker's Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding Funding(New York, 1998).
• Deborah Porter, Successful School Grants: Fulfilling the Promise of School Improvement (Pittsburg, Tex., 2003).
• Joan Flanagan, The Grassroots Fundraising Book: How to Raise Money in your Community (Chicago, 1995).
• Jay Levinson and Chris Forbes, Guerilla Marketing for Nonprofits: 250 Tactics to Promote, Motivate, and Raise More Money (Canada, 2010).