Big nonprofits all started as smaller nonprofits relative to
where they are at present. The trick is
to continue to move forward, and doing that requires improving both structure
and funding. I often hear grassroots organizations complain that they would
love to be "big fancy nonprofits" but they can't grow because they receive
no support from foundations or major donors. The question becomes how can you access increased funding?
There is a general feeling among small nonprofits that their
efforts and accomplishments are overlooked by larger and wealthier grant
makers. There is no doubt that the largest grant makers often tend to partner
with large nonprofits, both in terms of actual monetary support and in the
scope of the RFP requirements released for proposals.
More effective use of funding and greater accountability are
two areas where large nonprofit organizations are perceived to be better
investments for foundations and corporate funding sources than grassroots
organizations. They all provide
impeccable accountability for the funds, maximum utilization of grant funds for
large impact programs, and good opportunities for recognition of the donors. In
part their funding success is due to the results donors receive when they
perform due diligence, i.e. qualifying prospective grantees as funding
candidates.
In 2013, more than a dozen organizations have joined forces
to provide better reporting tools to enable foundations, nonprofits and
other funding sources to share data and perform better due diligence. A overview of this trend
relative to social impact nonprofits is presented in Philanthropy and the
Social Economy - 2013: The Annual Industry Forecast by Lucy Bernholz[1]. Although the report is geared to large
organizations, the principles and information apply to all nonprofits.
Some small organizations don't seem to quite grasp the importance
of supplying clean, verifiable data to prospective donors and particularly to
online verification sites. Perhaps it is
a by-product of a sense of possessiveness, or simply a lack of understanding
regarding the importance of data collection and its subsequent dissemination. If
providing this information makes you feel uncomfortable or exposed, you need to
understand that it has a genuine purpose, and is required by every grant source
as well as the federal government.
In legal matters there is a saying that if it isn't
documented, it may as well not exist. Hearsay evidence is not admissible in
court proceedings, and it's not very effective in fundraising either. This
applies both to proving your
organizational integrity by making your public records easily available to
donors and verification sites such as GuideStar, and documenting your local
impact.
You may only be at the point of applying to local community
foundations for support, but you need to begin your growth cycle by capturing
all the data relative to your program. There is almost no such thing as too
much raw data. This doesn't initially have to be an expensive piece of
software, or a custom designed metric. A simple spreadsheet and simple surveys
can be a good starting point. Even a Facebook "donate now" button has
data. How much did you need, did you
meet your goal, and what did you do with the money? Give donors confidence by
providing that data.
If you need help in documenting your data contact Cloudlancer Writing Services or
email me at granthelp@ida.net.
[1]
Available as a free download from Grantcraft. Registration is required. http://www.grantcraft.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&pageId=3744
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