Fundraising Planning - A Vital Key to Nonprofit Success

 by: Ken Goldstein

As a professional grant writer and consultant, I am often amazed at how few nonprofit organizations actually have a fund development plan beyond a vague idea of applying for a few grants and sending out an annual appeal letter.

Recognizing that lack of planning, I am not amazed at how often these same organizations have rounds of emergency budget cuts when they realize that they have no assured streams of income.

Very typical is the agency that has received a large grant to run their programs for one year. Then, in the tenth month of the grant period, comes the realization that they have no idea how they will fund the next year's programs. With less than two months of money left in the bank they go into emergency fundraising mode.

Their first impulse is to start applying for another large grant. But at most foundations, the process - from letter of inquiry to proposal to acceptance - typically takes at least three months, and often six to eight months.

Their next idea is to turn to their individual donors with a panicked letter that essentially says, "Send us money now or we might go out of business." That, of course, is the least effective fundraising letter you can write. Donors want to invest in your successes, not bail out your failures.

So, how do they avoid these situations? The answer is to plan.

Through the planning process, you will achieve the following:

* Limit crisis fundraising: This, as the example above illustrates, is our primary reason for creating a fund development plan, but there are others as well...

* Diversity builds in flexibility: Changes in other sectors of the economy can have a major impact on nonprofit funding. A cut in the state budget can be passed down as fewer contracts for local service organizations. The dot-com bust of a few years back cut foundation endowments, reducing the funds they had available to grant. Agencies that had become comfortable relying on one or two sources of funding found themselves struggling to survive these changes. Those with plans and diversified funding bases had the flexibility to adapt and survive.

* Planning for diversity brings in more opportunities: Through the planning process you come to identify funding opportunities you never knew existed. Further, when you stop having to scramble to pay next month's bills, you will be able to devote more time to developing new sources of income for your agency.   (continued...)

Fundraising Planning - A Vital Key to Nonprofit Success
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About The Author Ken Goldstein is a grant writer and consultant working and living in Silicon Valley. Since 1989 he has been an executive director, a board member, volunteer, and consultant to nonprofits. His education includes a BA in Politics from UC Santa Cruz and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from CSU Sacramento. Goldstein Consulting can be found at http://www.goldsteinconsulting.com. Ken is also the author of "Introduction to Fund Development Planning" - Please see http://www.fundraisingplanbook.com for more information. (c) 2006 by Ken Goldstein, all rights reserved. You may re-print or re-post this article only complete and un-edited, and including the author information, active web links, and copyright notice.

Additional Government Grants Resources

Grants From The National Science Foundation
Since its creation in 1950, the National Science Foundation has been constantly promoting the progress of science by way of advancing national health and prosperity and financially supporting research and development studies in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.

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OMICS Technologies For Predictive Modeling of Infectious Diseases Program
In keeping with this mission, the National Institutes of Health has formed a partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in an attempt to establish the OMICS Technologies For Predictive Modeling of Infectious Diseases Program.

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Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Grant Demonstration Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has recently established the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Grant Demonstration Program wherein they aim to assist the states to balance their long-term care systems and help Medicaid enrollees transition from institutions to communities.

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Enhancing Awareness of Transportation and Transportation Careers Program
The Federal Highway Administration has recently established the Enhancing Awareness of Transportation and Transportation Careers Program wherein it seeks to solicit applications from eligible entities who have the desire to utilize the advances in technology in the noble process of informing and teaching middle school, high school and community college students and faculties regarding transportation and transportation careers.

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Government Grants within the United States Agricultural Sector
The agriculture industry is one of the key players in the sustenance of a stable economy. For this reason, the United States government has pioneered in aiding the growth and expansion of the industry.

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Small Business Administration's Recovery Capital Loans
The Recovery Capital Loans Program provides financial assistance to small business with less than 500 employees to obtain a deferred payment loan from the agency, in order to meet existing debt payments, thereby giving the business the opportunity to refocus their business strategy.

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Mobile Health Tools to Promote Effective Patient Provider Communication to Underserved Populations
The National Institute of Nursing Research, in cooperation with the Office of Dietary Supplements has constituted the funding opportunity for Mobile Health tools aimed at the improvement of effective patient-provider communication, adherence to treatment and self-management of chronic diseases in underserved populations.

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