More on fundraising

A couple of days ago I mentioned fundraising in this blog , and this morning I've come across a blog post from a site called the Non-Profit Fundraising Blog, in which there's a very down to earth post by Amy Karjala which emphasises the importance of doing things properly and well when you're applying for funding.

Amy calls her post: Grant writing - no magic required, and points out five areas in which applicants will do better, if they're prepared to listen to what she says.

The first is: Follow the Rules. And the last of the five is also, Follow the Rules. As she says, she can't emphasize this enough. Trying to get around the rules just doesn't work - the people who check your application will toss out the ones that don't fit the criteria long before they get to the decision-makers.

She also notes that you need to persuade the readers of your application that the 'Why' of what you're doing is important, not just the 'How'. "I’ve reviewed hundreds of proposals and the best ones have been the ones who present their organizations the way funders see them – as one implement in a toolkit of approaches to addressing a broader cause."

Don't go for grant money if it really doesn't fit what you're doing. The money may become more of a burden than a blessing. And her fourth point is that it's good to remember that the people who read your application are human too - they're not robots; they can be communicated with and your cause can be discussed with them.

There are other good posts on this site, from a variety of writers. Worth checking out if you're planning on applying for money.

Conferences and fundraising

I've been at the Practical/Pastoral Theology Conference here in Dunedin for most of the last couple of days; hence the lack of posts on this blog. Plus, last Friday I was out of the office for yet another reason for most of the day. It all cuts into my blogging time!

There'll be another Conference here in Dunedin in November of 2011; that may not please North Islanders...but hey! we have to have some events in this part of the world. And anyway, the weather has been absolutely glorious over the last few days, and lunchtimes, and tea breaks were spent basking in the sunshine while discussing erudite matters (and in my case, not so erudite).

All that by way of introduction to another conference that's taking place in the next couple of weeks, in four North Island towns/cities. (And also in response to the Working Well survey in which the majority of those replying said they wanted future conferences to be held in Auckland. Doesn't Auckland get enough stuff already?)

Brett Knowles in Napier suggested that the Ask Without Fear conference might be worth a look. It's about fundraising, and ways to do, and is being run by Marc A. Pitman, the author of a book with the same name as the conference. (You can read or skim the book online, if you're of a mind, at Google.)

Churches are always in need of more cash than they seem to have, and often, to their surprise, there are people out there just waiting to be asked to donate (not necessarily your church members, who probably already give readily) but people who you may not think of in connection with your church. I've seen this happen, to the tune of NZ$500,000, just in the last couple of years. It is possible.

Here's a link to the group that's running the conferences in NZ. Exult: practical resources for community groups.

In Defense of Raising Money: a Manifesto for NonProfit CEOs

Sasha Dichter isn't a blogger I'd ever come across until today. Among other things, he's the Director of Business Development at Acumen Fund, a global non-profit venture capital fund that invests in enterprises that fight poverty in the developing world. He's written a four-page piece on the value of being a fundraising person. For the many ministers around the country who feel as though they spend a good deal of their time raising money for one purpose or another, be encouraged: Sasha says you're doing a good work.

The piece starts off like this...

I work at a great nonprofit organization1 that is doing great things in the world, one
that’s attacking daunting problems in a powerful new way. I believe in what we do, and
think that we may be catalyzing a shift in how the world fights poverty.
So why did one of my mentors – someone with a lot of experience in the non‐profit and
public sector – tell me not to take this job? “Be careful,” he said, “You’ll get pigeonholed.
Once a fundraiser, always a fundraiser.”
He misunderstood what job I was taking.