Prove Yourself Beyond all Obstacles: Grantmaking

For many of us, it might not have been so long ago that we wrote that first big check, when the excitement of our first apartment was slightly tarnished by the reality of first-month-plus-security-deposit, prompting a tremble as we signed away a large portion of our new income.  Now, the young grantmakers among us may be asked to give input into grants far larger, perhaps more than we’ve yet earned since that day.  It can feel incongruous to have that kind of influence in our work lives, when the stakes are so much higher than in the financial decisions we make in our everyday lives.

The Ask: Key Tips

While approaching a donor, or donor prospect, for a sizeable gift can bring with it some anxiety, being adequately prepared may help to assuage some of this apprehension.  And what exactly does this type of preparation include?  It’s really rather straightforward.

A True Friendship: Donor Cultivation

FLiP has been talking about “Making the Ask” all of this month. There is no doubt in my mind that carrying out an effective ask is important, but in my opinion, success in this industry means that making an ask simply isn’t enough. When it comes to fundraising, creating meaningful and lasting relationships with donors is essential to long term success. It’s not enough to simply thank your donors for their continued support and occasionally honor the biggest among them at an event. You need to think outside of the box, and apply creativity and personality to donor relationships. That skill is what sets apart the good nonprofit fundraisers and the true leaders in the sector.

Prove Yourself Beyond all Obstacles: Fundraising

Although at times it can be complicated and frustrating, fundraising is an exciting and compelling field. Young fundraisers in particular face many obstacles that can be avoided with the proper preparation. With that in mind, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on how young fundraisers can grapple with common obstacles.

Top 10 Tips for Young Fundraisers

Last week my friend Elisabeth gave her tips for young grant-makers. As a professional fundraiser, I thought it was interesting to hear about the problems of working on “the other side of the fence”.

This week it’s my job to tackle the ask. Particularly during the early stages of a fundraiser’s career, you will wear many hats: being responsible for management of prospect data; becoming an expert about your non-profit; cultivating potential donors; conducting prospect research; implementing annual funds; and being accountable for many other tasks.

There are many great ways to identify and familiarize yourself with your top donors, as well as raise some money along the way. But, at the end of the day, there is no better way to raise money than to simply ask for it.

My Top 10 Tips for Making the “Ask”:

Top 10 Tips for Young Grantmakers

Last week, Kate wrote about the process of crafting a proposal to a foundation. Today, I’m here to share some tips about working on the FLiP side (couldn’t resist) of the field. My top ten:

How To: Grant-Writing

It is becoming increasingly difficult for a nonprofit to secure funds from a foundation on the strength of its proposal alone. Unlike the thesis paper that is rewarded for its persuasiveness and clarity of thought, and not on how well the professor knows its writer, a grant that is submitted without cultivation stands little chance of being approved. It is as important for a nonprofit to forge relationships, and to foster these relationships, with potential foundation prospects as it is with individual major gift prospects. Thus, the grant-writing process involves much more than the actual task of writing.

June/July 2006: “The Ask”

Success! With the first month of FLiP behind us, and an increasing base of subscribers, we are pressing ahead into our second “issue."  In this issue we will be exploring the single most important skill that any development professional needs to learn: Making and Responding to “THE ASK."

Because many of us are young and/or new to the sector, this issue of FLiP will address the question, “How does someone new to the sector gain the respect needed to make an ask?” and “How does a new grant maker get the respect needed to judge a proposal?"