Elements of a Successful Proposal

Whether you are preparing a funding request for consideration by an individual, a corporation, a foundation, or a public funding body it is essential that you weave into every section of your request factual and measurable information. Donors want to know who is receiving their donation, how their dollars will be used, and what will be the impact of their investment in your organization.

While every proposal you submit will be unique, written for a specific audience, following prescribed guidelines, there is basic information you should consider including in your requests. For example:

Background and Capacity: Share with the prospect key facts about your organization and what sets you apart from others.

• When was your organization established?
• What is your service area? In how many locations do you operate?
• How many people do you serve annually and who are they?
• How many employees and volunteers do you engage?
• What are some awards or recognition the organization has received?

General Project Description: Explain the importance of your project. Convey the purpose, mission, strengths, challenges and how you will overcome obstacles.

• Who is the target audience?
• How do you know the need exists?
• Who will provide the service? Paid employees? Volunteers?
• What is the overall purpose of the effort?
• What is your timeline?
• What is the total project budget? What are the funding sources?
• Do you have collaborative partners? What do they bring to the table?

Goals and Objectives: It is essential that the intended project goal(s) and objective(s) are stated in measurable and quantifiable terms.

• How many people will you reach?
• What is the time frame for reaching each goal/objective?
• How will their lives improve/change and what are the quantifiable measures?

Activities: Provide details on how you will reach your goals and objectives.

• What are the main actions or steps you will take?
• How often will these activities take place and where?
• Who will manage or implement the activities?
• What tools will be used to collect data and who will handle the collection and analysis?

Each program or project for which you seek financial support will present different factual and measurable elements. The key is to provide donors with a comprehensive understanding of who they are supporting and how their dollars will impart change in very measurable and quantifiable ways.

Electronic Elements in End-of-Year Appeals

Charitable organizations should be in the midst of planning their end-of-year fundraising appeals. This appeal is an important element in all annual fund programs. The weeks between Thanksgiving and mid-December are the ideal time to reach out to current and prospective donors. The most common approach for the last appeal of the year is direct mail.

Depending on your mission, organizational background, and constituent base, you will call upon different elements of this time of year to cultivate gifts. Some will follow the holiday theme, others will focus on the cold winter months (does not work for my colleagues in the warmer states). But all messaging should mention, in just a sentence or two, that this is the time to make final gifts for 2009 tax deductions.

I encourage all charities to look at how they can incorporate electronic giving and messaging into their end-of-year appeals. Consider complimenting your mail campaign with the following:

• Send an email message from your board chair in advance of your mailing to your donors/prospects whose email addresses you have on file. The brief note will let them know the mailing is on the way. If possible, incorporate a graphic element from the mailing into the email. If you have online giving capabilities, encourage constituents to visit your website and donate now.


• Send a brief electronic thank you note the day gifts are received. You will need to still send an acknowledgement containing required tax language but the immediacy of your response will be appreciated by your donors.


• Approximately ten days after the mailing, send a second email to people that have not yet donated. Remind them that December 31 is fast approaching and now is the time to make a last donation this year.


• Encourage your board members who use Facebook and other soical networking tools to encouarge their colleagues, friends, and relatives to visit your website and donate.

More and more people of all ages have incorporated the internet into their lives - we talk to our friends and family, we pay our bills, we search for recipes, and health information all on the web. And, most of us are making our donations online too!

Keeping Track of Available Stimulus Dollars (American Recovery Reinvestment Act Funds)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, save and create millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. Source: http://www.recovery.gov/

Grant opportunities through the American Recovery Reinvestment Act Funds (ARRAF) are being released on a slow but steady basis. Organizations who find opportunities that fit their services must act quickly as the common time frame between grant announcement and submission deadlines is two months – in some cases just one month.

The information required within the application packet, from the narrative to the budget, is extensive so two months is a small window of time. In addition, organizations are required to preregister with the Federal Government in order to apply for Federal Grants including ARRAF grants. Organizations need to register only once and are assigned a DUNS number (Data Universal Numbering System). The assignment of a number can take a few weeks so if you are considering going the Federal Grant route you may want to take this step now. Dun & Bradstreet handle the function of assigning DUNS numbers. The free online registration process can be found at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

Federal grant announcements can be found at http://www.grants.gov/. An efficient way to monitor new grant postings – ARRAF and others - is to sign-up for daily grant updates. Each morning you will receive an email from grants.gov listing all new grants. It takes just a few minutes to scan through the daily listings.

States have set up websites announcing ARAF grants being administered by them. For example, the State of Ohio has set up http://recovery.ohio.gov/ to share information about grants within the state. The Ohio site allows you to sign up for email notifications when new information is posted.

The funds are being made available - it is up to us to put them to good work.

The Economic Impact on Foundations

I have been reading articles for months discussing the impact the faltering economy is having on foundation giving. Some articles predict that giving will remain stable, others predict a decline and a few state foundations will give more to shore up the weakening budgets of not-for-profit organizations. This past week I saw evidence of the second scenario - grant seekers will face a decline in opportunities.

On a daily basis I visit numerous foundation websites seeking grant opportunities for clients. The focus this past week was on health care. Of the approximately thirty websites I visited, four stated that due to the economy the foundations were accepting grant applications from only those organizations that had received grants from them in the past. While this message appeared on less than 15% of the sites visited and other opportunities were found for clients, we must take note and understand that our “grant world” is changing.

The following suggestions are important to follow in strong economic times but are even more important today.

Look to your current funders first
Take an inventory of grants you have received in the last three years – noting the funder, date awarded, program supported, grant amount and the outcomes of the program/project funded.

Consider each funder and evaluate the viability of your returning to them for support. Are they actively awarding grants? Does their focus still match your mission? Etc.

For those funders who are unable to support you at this time, stay in contact with them. Express your appreciation for past support – now is the time for stewardship and cultivation.

Identifying new funders
Once you identify the foundations you would like to investigate through a foundation search engine or other methods. Thoroughly review their website and/or IRS form 990.

Approach only those foundations whose mission, purpose, and focus align with your organization. Look at past grant recipients – have they funded organizations/projects similar to yours? Do you meet the minimum guidelines?

If the option to contact the foundation in advance of submitting is an option, do so – discuss your idea with the foundation staff.

Ten years ago, it seemed that for every two applications I submitted – one grant would be awarded; today, it is a four to one ratio. Funds are still available; you just have to search a bit harder.

Grant Search Engines

There are many grant search engines on the web. (For those of you who have been raising funds for many years…remember the days before the web, when grant searches were conducted by looking through the annual published directories?) The following is just a sampling of sites I have used for you to consider for your own searches. If you ever need help with a search, give me a call and I would be happy to help.

~NOZA is user friendly service that offers two subscription options.
1. FREE for foundation searches only
2. $800/year for foundations, individuals and corporations.

I like this search engine for organizations who are occasionally seek out grant support and organizations who are establishing a grants program. Visit NOZA at http://www.nozasearch.com/.

~Two fee based websites to consider are FoundationSearch America, http://www.foundationsearch.com/, and the Foundation Center, http://www.foundationcenter.org/. I used FoundationSearch America for the past two years and recently switched to Foundation Center which was my preferred search engine for years. The jury is still out on which will be my preferred site. The lower cost of Foundation Center is an appealing feature and so far I have been satisfied with my search results.

~www.Grants.Gov is the website to visit if you are interested in locating federal grants to support your programs. Through this one site you can find grant offerings from all federal agencies including USDA, NIH, HUD, and NEA to name few. Even if you are not interested in pursuing a federal grant it is interesting to see the types of projects being funded. There are no fees associated with this site.

The Multi Dimensional Fundraising Program

 by: Janet Wermuth

 

A fundraising program that sees annual growth in both the number of donors and dollars raised is a program that is multi-dimensional in both constituent groups and fundraising programs.  When assessing the strength of a fundraising program one element you consider is the dimensions of the program. You look at the breadth and depth of the constituent base and the diversity of giving programs. 

Constituents

A well established fundraising program has multiple constituent groups. There are individuals, companies, local organizations, foundations and sometimes government entities supporting the organization. And, within each of the different constituent groups you have various levels of donors - some are prospects in an active cultivation process others are longstanding supporters.  A strong program has processes in place to engage and demonstrate your appreciation to each level and type of donor.   

In most cases it is a concern when an organization relies on just one group. For example, if 70% of your philanthropic support were coming through corporate sponsorships you are facing significant challenges in today’s economy. An organization with a diverse constituent group will weather economic downturns more easily than those with a limited pool.

Programs

Fundraising programs that recognize constituent groups want to be engaged in different ways and then put in place flexible programs and systems to meet those differences will have a growing and successful program. You must make provisions for your donors that: prefer to give electronically, wish to give through a family foundation, like to support programs versus operations, must receive request for support in July of each year, will not attend fundraising events, the list is endless. 

As your donors move up the “giving ladder” you want to have programs in place to engage them. Starting a donor as a direct mail or online donor will be effective for a time, but as their commitment grows engaging them in on site visits and one-on-one contacts will help in the cultivation process.  Establishing programs that meet donors along the continuum of giving is essential for success.

The key is to know your constituents and then respond to their needs –at least those that are reasonable!