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).