Michigan Nonprofit Association Strategic Fundraising and Grantwriting Basics What You Don’t Know WILL Get In Your Way!

Michigan Nonprofit Association www.mnaonline.org

Strategic Fundraising and Grantwriting Basics

What You Don’t Know

WILL Get In Your Way!

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Our Goals for Today

Basic reality check

Provide participants with strategies for more effective grant-seeking

Outline basic components for writing and supporting data collection

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Ongoing Challenges

Rapid growth of sector Competition vs. collaboration Economic slump Changes in government funding priorities Doing more with less = less time for you to

research, write, cultivate…

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Show Me the Money!

Breakdown of Nonprofit Funding (pretty consistent trends over the past 20+ years) 50% - fee for service 30% - government (grants and contracts) 20% - private sector

• 80-85% - individuals• 10-15% - foundations• 5-10% - corporations

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Research, Research, Research

The primary difference between successful grant writing and inefficient proposal submission is the amount of time invested in the strategic identification of appropriate funders.

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Do Your Homework!

In relation to seeking and securing funding… What current trends do you see? Where do local nonprofits shine? Where do local nonprofits need to improve? What basic advice could you offer? What resources exist to support nonprofits

locally?

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Create a Plan

Determine your grant revenue goal in relation to overall fund development

Determine how much time you have to invest in grant seeking and SCHEDULE IT

Create a grantseeking calendar that reflects application timelines, reminders, etc.

Engage support as necessary – consider hiring technical and/or grant writers**

Outside fundraisers must register with Michigan Attorney General

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What You Need to Write

Cover letter (or, if you’re lucky – a letter of application!)

Proposal Case statement Needs statement Goals and objectives Evaluation strategy Budget

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Critical Questions

What problem are we trying to address? What program are we offering to address the

problem? Why is this important? Who is our market? Who are our competitors? (duplication?) What are the financial needs of supporting this

initiative? Do we possess the organizational capacity to

carry this through? Who should support our efforts?

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Painting the Picture

Statistics Reliable sources Appropriate comparisons Paint by numbers: stats can tell your story

Anecdotes: short, sweet, related Focused on needs of community v. needs

of organization Community voice is key

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Goals and Objectives

Goals are the large statements of what you hope to accomplish but usually aren't very measurable. They create the setting for what you are proposing.

Objectives are operational, tell specific things you will be accomplishing in your project, and are very measurable.

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Effective Evaluation

Effective evaluation answers the question,

“So what?”

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Your Evaluation Strategy

Evaluation plans should be developed concurrently with program plans, staffing plans, funding plans to ensure that the pieces of the puzzle fit

What do your wide array of stakeholder’s care about?

You can’t measure everything, so focus on what matters most

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Typical Budget Line Items Personnel (salary and benefits) Consultants (salary) Instruction Equipment Supplies Communication (telephone/postage) Materials preparation Travel Rental of facilities Evaluation Other expenses Indirect costs (costs that your organization requires)

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The Budget Narrative

Show Your Work (formulas are helpful) Be Realistic Check Your Addition Explain Every Line (make no assumptions) Too much detail makes you “thorough” –

too little makes you “suspect”

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Words that Work

Use a thesaurus Avoid duplicating and repeating yourself Seventeen words per sentence Skip the jargon What does A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. stand for? We are not all PhDs

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When Brainstorming…

Answer the following questions: What is your current “big idea”? What does your mission say as related to this

big idea? Most significant (potential) impact of this big

idea? How do you know this is needed? What does success look like?

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When Brainstorming…(cont’d)

Take your potential impact and frame it as a “Goal Statement”

Take your thoughts on “What Will Success Look Like?” and create a measurable outcome objective

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“What is your sustainability plan?”

Multiple Choice….

A. Ask you for more money B. Ask somebody else for more money C. Worry about it later D. Buy a lotto ticket E. Develop a strategy to increase and diversify

community investment while diminishing the need for grant funding

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Define Sustainability

Environmental Term: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Nonprofit Equivalent: the ability to continue the work that was started in a self-renewing manner.

“Planting trees in our own special way.”

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Barriers to Sustainability Increasing competition

Rivalry and turf

Effective planning takes time

If the community doesn’t know, the community doesn’t care

Nonprofit funding is typically short-term focused (2-3 year grants; annual gifts from individuals)

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Grant Writing Resources

http://www.mnaonline.org/fundingres.asp

http://www.npguides.org

http://tgci.com/magazine/proposal.shtml

http://www.grantproposal.com/funders.html

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Wrap-Up

Lingering Questions

Ongoing Needs

Evaluation

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Questions?

Contact MNA:

Annie McGuigan FentonCapacity Building Manager

Michigan Nonprofit [email protected]

313.394.1989

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