Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 @ 08:30 AM
Arts, Culture, and Humanities organizations (broadly grouped as “arts organizations”) receive more grants from private foundations than from any other grant source.
The average largest grant for the 100 arts organizations in the State of Grantseeking survey was less than a quarter the size of the average largest grant for all organizations in the survey -- $71,028 for arts organizations versus an average largest grant of $312,000 for all organizations.
Other key statistics about arts organizations from the State of Grantseeking survey:
- 50% of arts organizations submitted 6-10 grant requests in the first six months of 2011
- 24% received 3-5 grant awards;
- 68% received the same number or more grants than in the first six months of 2010
Download the Arts Organizations State of Grantseeking Fact Sheet to read the rest of the results.
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:13 AM
You may be thinking, "The State of Grantseeking is a great report, but how does it apply to my arts organization?" Or you may be thinking. "The State of Grantseeking is a great report, but how does it apply to my human services organization?"
Or you may be thinking… you get the idea.
In collaboration with GrantStation, PhilanTech is pleased to release a series of fact sheets for the top issue areas represented in the State of Grantseeking report:
- Arts, Culture, Humanities
- Community Improvement, Capacity Building
- Education
- Educational institutions
- Education nonprofits
- Health Care
- Human Services
- Social Services
- Youth Development
Each one page fact sheet outlines the top grant funding types, challenges, numbers of grant requests and awards for the specific issue area compared to all organizations in the survey.
We’ll release a new fact sheet every few days for the next few weeks.
We look forward to your thoughts about the fact sheets and to continuing to provide the information and tools you need to be successful in your grantseeking.
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 09:45 AM
2011 ended on an optimistic note for grantseekers. Despite the fact that grantseeking activities didn’t result in increased numbers of awards for most nonprofits, according to the State of Grantseeking Fall 2011 Report, 81% of nonprofits felt optimistic that they would receive the same number or more grants in the first six months of 2012 as they had in the first six months of 2011.
To get you started on the right foot, here are four grantseeking resolutions for 2012:
- I will stay in touch with my funders. Current funders can be an excellent source of ongoing support. Building relationships with new funders takes time. If you have existing relationships with institutional funders, they require care and feeding. Take the time and invest the effort to maintain those relationships so that your current funders know what you’re up to, what successes you’re having, and where you might need some additional support.
- I will only apply for grants when my organization fits the funder’s stated criteria. With increased competition for funding dollars and fewer resources available for grantseeking, it’s more important than ever for nonprofits to focus their efforts on pursuing the opportunities that are most likely to yield results. If the funder doesn’t fund in your area (geographic area or issue area), consider it an extremely long shot and spend your resources elsewhere.
- I will create a grant strategy and use it to guide my decision making. Picking up on the limited resources theme, it’s important to know what varieties of funders you should be pursuing, who is likely to fund your projects and organization, and how you are going to approach those funders. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to take stock of what has worked for your organization in the past, where your best relationships are, what resources you have to pursue grant funding, and how you’re going to leverage those resources this year. Setting out a plan can help prevent you from pursuing opportunities (with all of the time and energy that takes) that may not be the right fit for your organization.
- I will use professional resources for grantwriting. One of the more interesting findings from the State of Grantseeking Fall 2011 report was that organizations that used professional grantwriters (either staff members or consultants) were more likely to be awarded grants. 57% of the organizations that used either board members or volunteers to write proposals received no grants at all in the first half of 2011. You may not be able to afford a staff person, but explore consultants (and stay tuned for some PhilanTech developments on that front in coming months), connecting existing staff members with training opportunities, and try to build your organization’s grantwriting capacity.
What are your top grantseeking resolutions for 2012?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmoyle/6601589893/
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Wed, Dec 14, 2011 @ 04:53 PM
I recently committed to raise $500 for an organization I care about -- the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), an organization that helps nonprofits across the sector use technology skillfully and confidently to further their causes. Since virtually every organization has some sort of fundraising appeal at this time of year, and I was going to be asking friends and colleagues to donate, I knew I needed to do something to make my fundraising appeal stand out.
So I wrote a song.
You can hear (and watch) it at http://www.razoo.com/story/Championgoldstein (and please consider making donation to NTEN! Every dollar donated will be matched by their board).
The process got me thinking about grantwriting and a similar challenge faced by grantseekers.
Foundation program officers read a lot of grant proposals. In smaller foundations where there may only be one staff person, that person has very limited time and pours over a lot of information. He or she may recruit trustees to read proposals as well (or the foundation may have a review process that involves trustees or directors or a grant review committee). Even in foundations with more staff members, each person reads a lot of proposals.
Many - if not most - of those proposals are compelling. They are written by organizations that have reviewed the foundation's requirements and have crafted a proposal that outlines how their organization meets those requirements, why the organization's work is important, and why it is requesting support. (Nonprofits do this to varying degrees of success -- more about that in the coming weeks and months.)
The number of proposals submitted is increasing, according to the most recent State of Grantseeking survey - more nonprofits are submitting more grant requests to try to make up for funding shortfalls in other areas.
Now, more than ever, it's important to make your message stand out -- to convey memorable information in a compelling way to catch your reader's attention.
Here are a few tips:
- Review the foundation's guidelines and ensure that your proposal addresses how your organization fits. You have virtually 0% chance of getting a grant funded if it falls outside the foundation's stated guidelines;
- Provide enough information to make a compelling case, but not so much that the funder is inundated. We hear from grantmakers frequently that applicants send them more information than they request. While that may seem helpful ("let's send them samples of our publications so they can see how great they are"), it generally isn't, and risks burying your message. A notable exception to this rule is if the funder asks for additional information (e.g., "please send us any other relevant information or publications"). Even then, be judicious in what you send;
- Write compelling prose and use data where you have it. Some funders will ask for information about impact or expected outcomes in quantitative form; some will not. Particularly in the absence of specific direction from the funder, a mix of qualitative and quantitative information is a good way to go.
Finally, think about the one thing that you want your reader to remember when they put down your application, and ensure that message carries through the proposal.
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Mon, Dec 05, 2011 @ 10:00 AM
PhilanTech and GrantStation are pleased to announce the release of the State of Grantseeking Fall 2011 Report.
Grantseeking activities seem to be stagnating as nonprofits try to find new sources of funding to replace reduced government and other funds. The 928 survey respondents indicated that while they were still actively searching for grant funds, the state of the economy and increased competition for fewer grant dollars presented challenges.
Other findings from the survey included:
- A majority of organizations applied for more grants, but increased efforts only resulted in more grant funds for 26% of respondents;
- The average size of grants decreased from the same period last year;
- Economic and organizational conditions present the greatest challenges to nonprofits’ grantseeking efforts. Researching and finding grants was cited as the greatest challenge by 31% of nonprofits, while competition for a reduced amount of funding dollars was the greatest challenge for 23% of nonprofits;
- And yet 81% of nonprofits think their grant funding will be consistent or better in the next 6 months.
The survey was open from August 18, 2011 until October 2, 2011, and received 928 complete responses. While nonprofit organizations of all sizes responded to the survey, the majority could be considered small to mid-sized organizations:
- One third (33%) had one to five staff members; and,
- Over half (60%) had budgets under $1,000,000.
The next State of Grantseeking survey will be conducted starting in January 2012.
Download the full State of Grantseeking Report.
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Wed, Nov 30, 2011 @ 04:29 PM
Immediately after writing a blog post about the need to blog more regularly (just as grantseekers need to communicate with their funders more regularly), I then didn't blog for two months.
But I have a good excuse! (I know. You're saying you also have good excuses for not communicating more regularly with your funders. And we're both wrong -- we don't have good excuses. We should be making the time.)
We at PhilanTech have been busy bees lately. In addition to working with our happy clients and growing their ranks with new grantmakers and grantseekers using PhilanTrack, we have:
- Released a new feature for grantmakers - integrated review functionality within PhilanTrack;
- Added grant research for grantseekers, through a partnership with GrantStation. Now, within PhilanTrack, grantseekers can search GrantStation's 7,000+ current funding opportunities;
- Worked with GrantStation (speaking of GrantStation) to publish the State of Grantseeking Fall 2011, based on responses to our semi-annual survey. It will be released broadly on Monday, so stay tuned!
- Developed some other educational resources around grants that will be released in the coming months. And we're working on more, too;
- Been selected by the Pipeline Fellowship as its first investee. We're super excited to have a talented group of investors backing our efforts to help the nonprofit sector.
Contact us to learn more about the review functionality for grantmakers or research functionality for grantseekers.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jelene/3399436299/
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Fri, Sep 23, 2011 @ 09:54 AM
Yikes! I just noticed how long it's been since I posted to this blog - a cardinal sin of blogging.
In thinking about what has prevented me from blogging sufficiently in the last six weeks, I realized that many nonprofits face the same challenges communicating with funders, and wanted to propose a few tips to overcome those hurdles (and hopefully follow my own advice with this blog -- you can take me to task if I don't!).
Grant relationships (like blogging relationships) take care and feeding. Not investing in the relationship can have negative long term impacts. No nonprofit (or blogger) wants that. For a relationship to work, there has to be good communication. That doesn't mean that you should call your funder every day, but providing updates once a grant is awarded - and reaching out to a grantmaker you're trying to cultivate, even if you haven't received a grant - can be a good idea, even if the formal progress report isn't due for months.
So here are some excuses, and things to think about to overcome them:
- I'm too busy. There's no doubt that composing an update to a funder (or making a phone call, depending on your funder's preferences) takes time. But it doesn't have to take a lot of time. An update doesn't need to be a novel -- a few sentences and key highlights can be enough. Try setting aside time at the start of your day - or right before you take a lunch break. You can probably find five or ten minutes to dedicate to your funder relationship;
- I don't have anything to say. Ok, maybe you haven't eliminated hunger in your city yet, or reduced carbon emissions by 50%, but that doesn't mean you don't have anything to say. The organization is still providing services, interacting with stakeholders, pursuing its mission. Your funders want to know how things are going;
- It's not the most important thing on my plate at the moment. Nonprofit staff generally have way too many things to do. Delivering services or preparing a budget for your board may seem more pressing, and each new task on your plate may push communicating with grantmakers further to the edge. When a grant proposal or report deadline is looming, it's much easier to prioritize grant-related activities. But waiting for a report deadline is not the best time to share news with a funder (particularly if it's bad news), and waiting for a grant proposal to share good news risks getting the news lost in the shuffle. Periodic updates, can help position those high-priority proposals and reports for greater success.
Your mileage may vary. If you have a grantmaker that doesn't want to be contacted other than through submissions they request, then it's best to respect that. But most grantmakers don't forget about their grantees in between deadlines -- and they'd like to hear brief updates from you.
What do you think? How frequently do you communicate with your funders? How do you overcome day-to-day hurdles to prioritize working on your relationship?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/naufragio/541523566/
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Thu, Aug 04, 2011 @ 05:06 PM
If you're thinking about online grant applications for your foundation, you may be wondering how to get your board, well, on board. Here are a few tips to position yourself to lead your board and your organization into online grant applications.
- Get buy-in. Who in your organization will be involved in using an online grant management system? Talk with your board chair early in the process to get her or him on board. If your board chair is likely to resist the idea, recruit another board member who is more likely to get on board, and the two of you can work together to gradually educate your board chair about the benefits of online grant applications.
- Communicate early and often. As you start the process of exploring options and preparing to move your system online, get input from people who will be involved (though who are involved in the grant application and evaluation process now, and those who will use the online system) and communicate clearly throughout the organization - and even to your grantees and applicants - that you are planning to move the process online, and when you are planning to make the move.
- Mitigate anxiety. Particularly for an organization that has been doing things in the same way for a long time, the prospect of change can bring up a lot of emotion. Some of it will be positive ("just think of what we can accomplish with an online grant application!" "I'm so excited about all of the time we're going to have by moving online!"), and some of it will be negative ("What if I can't learn how to use the system?" "What if the foundation doesn't need me any more to process applications?"). Understanding that people will experience that range of emotions is the first step in trying to mitigate the anxiety that some people will feel. Creating ways for people to feel involved in the process and feel that their voice is heard goes a long way, as does clearly communicating what support will be available along the way.
- Training and support. From the start of the process, it's important to communicate that support and training will be available. That training and support should come in different formats and at different times, taking into account the fact that people learn differently and have varying levels of comfort with technology (and varying levels of comfort with their varying levels of comfort with technology). Talk to people about what kind of support they need. Check in throughout the process to ensure that support is being given. And create low-key ways for those in need to request additional support.
What are your top tips for preparing your board members for online grant applications?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/7803088/
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Fri, Jul 29, 2011 @ 10:56 AM
As Congress continues to work through its debt ceiling negotiations, nonprofits continue to struggle with the state of the economy. While some recent reports have indicated that the economy - and giving - have rebounded somewhat, other indicators (and a lot of on-the-ground experience) suggests that nonprofits are still struggling to make ends meet, let alone to find enough funding to grow their programs.
A report just published by GuideStar, The Fundraising Methods That Worked Best in 2010 - and Could Work Best in 2011, suggests that while fundraising in 2010 started to trend in the right direction (in terms of emerging from recession levels of fundraising), nonprofits would be well served by thinking about where to focus their fundraising efforts.
The report, based on information collected in a survey earlier this year, identifies ten fundraising techniques, and highlights which techniques were most successful for nonprofits in 2010, and therefore which would be good investements for nonprofits for the balance of 2011.
My key takeaways from this report:
- Diversified funding streams are always important (that's not just a lesson from this report);
- Look at your organization's fundraising history and the veritcal you are in to think about what channels are most effective for you. Focus on those first;
- Take the economic environment into account, not only in terms of individuals' and foundations' spending levels, but also what is likely to happen with Federal, state, and local governments. The report suggests that nonprofits that rely on government funding should expect reductions in that funding source, and should look to diversify their revenue streams;
- Investing in staff and other fundraising resources will pay off in the long run. Cutting staff and other fundraising resources should only happen if absolutely necessary. In the survey data, organizations that invested in staff and other fundraising resources were more successful in their fundraising efforts;
- Increasing your organization's focus on foundation grants and grant writing is one way to maximize your organization's fundraising potential for the remainder of 2011 and into 2012.
What do you think are the best areas to focus your organization's fundraising efforts for the rest of 2011?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateconsumption/22483966/
Posted by Dahna Goldstein on Wed, Jul 06, 2011 @ 03:27 PM
This is the first in a series of periodic looks at trends that we at PhilanTech see developing among our clients and others in the field. These posts will include grantmaking and grantseeking trends, as well as other items of relevance to grantmaking and grantseeking. If there is something specific you'd like to see covered, please leave a comment below.
Three trends in online grantmaking:
- I've discussed online LOIs before. Particularly with the increased volume of grant requests that is accompanying the economic recovery, this is a trend that is continuing, and is one that I think is positive. Inviting applicants to submit an LOI prior to a full proposal saves both the grantmaker and the grantseeker time. It has the added benefit of helping some grantmakers feel like they can ease their eligibility restrictions a bit in the hopes of discovering new and intersting programs, but do so in a way that doesn't unduly burden either party;
- Quantifiable outcomes. More grantmakers are looking for their grantees to be able to quantify anticipated outcomes when they apply for a grant, and then report back on those outcomes and how they fared over the course of the grant. This continues to be fueled by an interest in impact and measurement, which is a subject of ongoing debate in the philanthropy world (in terms of what can and should be measured, what "impact" means, what it says about a "good" nonprofit, and, importantly from the grantseeker perspective, what is involved in collecting and sharing impact-related information with funders);
- A character count debate. As more foundations accept proposals online, foundations see an opportunity to do one of two things: provide applicants with more flexibility, or provide stricter guidance so that applicants are providing more targeted (read: less verbose) information. Both are valid approaches. While I lean more towards allowing more flexibility, the reality of a foundation program officer's work day (and that of a trustee or review committee member) is that long-winded applicant response is both less desirable and less effective. Two takeaways here:
- Grantmakers can suggest word/character limits without enforcing them;
- Grantseekers really need to view what they're submitting from the perspective of their readers, and respect the grantmaker's guidelines, even if a response is shorter than you would like it to be.
What trends are you seeing in online grantmaking?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knolleary/5091257338/