Fundraisingand Fund-Using

Josh BerkusOSCON 2013

who is this guy?● 3yrs San Francisco Opera

Development● Assistant Treasurer, Software in

the Public Interest

Fundraising 101

3 Types of Giving

1. Individual2. Corporate3. Grants

3 Questions

1. Who are they?

2. What do they wantfrom your organization?

3. How do you reach them?

Individuals

Who● people who believe in your

mission● often already supporters● also the general public

– depending on your mission

Who● Figure out who your supporters are

– where do they hang out?– how do they communicate?– why do they support your organization?

What● to feel good about your

organization● to feel good about your mission

what about “stuff”?

Benefits UsersJust Send Checks

How

1. Passive solicitation– cheap– easy– low-yield (usually)

put it on yourdownload page

How

2. Active solicitation– paper mail campaign– email campaign– web campaign

How

3. Merchandising– works for awareness,

not so much for money– also issues for 501(c)3s

4. Events– meet donors– lose money (on individuals)

CorporateSponsorship

Who● Companies who:

– are local for you– sell to/recruit your donors/clientele– have an image which coincides with your

mission

What

Marketing

(sometimes HR)

How● Branding

– put their name on “something good”● Events

– companies love event sponsorships– especially if their staff get to go

How

1. Get an introduction

2. Write a formal ask– emphasize marketing value– use numbers!

3. Follow up with publicity

4. Check that they're satisfied

Grants

Who● Foundations ● Corporate Grant Departments

… who fund stuff in your mission area

What

They want you to help fulfilltheir mission

How

1. Get a grant writer (really)

2. Research what's available

3. Fill out a lot of paperwork

4. Get the grant

5. Do reports on the grant progress

6. Renew (hopefully)

Fund-Using

“So, we just raised$100,000.

Now what?”

First, hire a bookkeeper● You need to file tax forms

– Federal - 990– State forms– maybe local as well

● You need to create an annualreport

2nd: Accounts● You'll need a corporate checking

account– one with good online tools– and good distributed business policy

● but get an investment account too

3rd: A little tracking● $100K is enough to steal● Have a separate bookkeeper and

treasurer● Monthly reports on income and

expenses● consider Ledger-CLI + Git

What to spend it on?

Infrastructure● servers & cloud servers

– donate to OSL?● test machines● key developer laptops● AWS bills

Services● Bookkeeping & CPA● Legal advice● Infrastructure support● Adminstrative person● Insurance

Branding & Marketing● Domain names● Trademarks● Logos● Flyers/brochures● Conference swag

Travel & Conferences● Subsidize your annual conference● Sponsor partner conferences● Send your people to other

conferences● Send your people to speak to

governments/companies/comunities

Paying for Coding● How?

– contract?– feature bounty?– student internships?– bug bounties?– something else?

Paying for Coding

Should you?● The “Jealosy” problem● The “Who's First” problem

Q&A

Copyright 2013 Josh Berkus. Licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.