In my blog Building Donor Relationships: Individuals, we talked about how to approach and retain individual donors. This blog will address how to build foundation relationships, shore up your foundation fundraising strategy and get more donations from foundations.
Approaching Foundations
Like dealing with individuals, relations with foundations are based on mission fulfillment. And approaching them is a based on successful mission fulfillment. Like individual donors, foundations see money as a vehicle to mission fulfillment. The question foundations ask is, “Where will our money best be used to achieve our legal objectives?”
Yes, I said legal objectives. Foundations are legally bound to the missions for which they exist. If they do not adhere to their legally stated purpose, they are at risk of losing their IRS status. The IRS also requires foundations to give out a certain amount of their corpus every year. That’s why the IRS requires foundations to make their tax returns, called 990-PF’s, available. So the public knows what they give money to and how they give it out.
In building successful relationships, there is no need to survey foundations the same way you would survey individuals. The information is already there. You just need to go through the 990-PF’s and match your organization’s mission and needs to their requirements. Keep in mind though, it is still an exchange relationship. Each partner gets their objective met through relationship with the other. The nonprofit gets the money; the foundation is looking for successful mission fulfillment.
And, since it is public information, foundations expect grant-seekers to read their 990-PF’s and be familiar with them. If you want to be successful in getting donations from foundations, then start with knowing the foundation’s mission, interest areas, geographical giving area and funding range. You can glean all that information from the 990-PF. 990-PF’s can be attained by searching a foundation’s website, asking the foundation for it or visiting a library with collection of foundation tax returns.
Of course, that’s a lot of information to get through. It may be worth your while to subscribe to a foundation database that can search 990-PF’s by relevant categories, like issue, geographical scope, funding range and others. Two foundation databases that I have found helpful are the Foundation Directory Online and Foundation Search.
So researching 990-PF’s should be part of a successful foundation fundraising strategy. Do your research before approaching any foundation. It’s public information. Foundations expect you to know it.
Communicating with Foundations
Since foundations expect it, know who they are. In writing your proposals, make sure the names, mailing addresses and salutations are correct. If the basic contact information is not correct and it doesn’t mean enough to you for you to know the most basic facts about them, why should they get to know you and your organization? After all, if you can’t get the name or address right, how in the world will you convince them that you can successfully manage a grant, financially or programmatically? The foundation will ask, “Will the foundation’s money be used for what it’s intended? Will we get reports on time? How do we know the information is trustworthy, if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing?”
By the way, do you write good grant proposals? When writing grant requests, do you watch for misspellings and grammatical errors? What about the budget? Is everything in the narrative accounted for in the budget and is everything in the budget accounted for in the narrative? Is your financial and programmatic content consistent with itself? Do your numbers add up? Is your math correct? Check and double check.
Details count. The most common mistakes are the sloppy ones, like errors in name, address, salutation, spelling. grammar and math. Does your grant writing process include proofreading and editing?
Your foundation fundraising strategy sould send the message “I can be trusted.” In your interactions, be authentic. Be honest. Be forthright. In developing and maintaining successful foundation relationships, your integrity is your biggest asset. Do what you say you’re going to do. Communicate progress, including delays and failures. Address changes in circumstance. Communicate, communicate, communicate. If there are changes in scope, let the foundation know before the end of the grant. No one likes surprises.
And, it almost goes without saying, when you interact with foundations, always be courteous and respectful. It’s people who answer the phone, read the proposal, make the decisions and report back to their board and the IRS. Like individual donors, people who represent foundations need to be acknowledge and validated. If they’re exasperated and short with you, it means they’re having problems they don’t want to deal with. It isn’t easy giving away money: everybody wants some of it and the all the causes are generally worthy. It’s not easy to tell a nonprofit that the foundation can’t fund you. Be sensitive to that.
Bringing in the Money
If you do end up getting a donation from a foundation, first pat yourself on the back and shout “Hooray!” Let the rest of the office in on the celebration. Everyone will be happy you brought in the money. Enjoy the positive vibes while they last. You worked hard and your hard work paid off.
But this isn’t the end of the road. You still have long way to go ‘til the end of the grant funding process. Getting a donation from a foundation is just the beginning. The end of the proposal writing process is after the funding ends and all the reports are in. On time. And accurately.
It’s important to remember that grants are legal contracts. Your organization is bound to perform by the terms described in the grant. Remember that foundation have legal obligations. Well, you’re the vehicle for fulfilling those obligations. That’s why it’s so important to communicate changes as soon as possible to funders. It’s not because they like being sticklers. It’s because they are held legally liable for their decisions. They need to time to adjust to any changes in terms in the contract, just as you do.
That’s why it’s so important as well to develop grant proposals in a group with program, finance and development input. You, as the fundraiser, make the ask, develop the relationship with the foundation and report back to it. Program needs to fulfill the terms of the grant. As a legal contract, you better be sure program people can do what you say they can do. And you only know that by asking them. Are your program goals realistic and achievable? Only someone intimately involved with implementing and managing the program will know that information. Don’t overpromise deliverables to get the money: your program manager will hate you for it, you will probably fail and the foundation will be ticked off. Not worth it. Never overpromise.
And you need finance to tell you how much it will cost. It’s your finance person who can compare your grant budget to the agency’s chart of accounts to make sure all costs are covered, both direct and indirect. It’s your finance person with the information on fringe benefits and square footage rental costs. It’s your finance person that can tell you what financial reports are possible and what’s not. The last thing in the world you want to do is get grant funding that costs more to administer than what you receive. If that’s the case, walk away. It’s your finance person who can let you know when the grant means losing money.
If you don’t already, I suggest you develop an ad hoc working group consisting of you, a program manager and a finance director to provide input into developing proposals and writing grant requests. It will pay off in spades.
So, research, research, research. Like individuals, appeal to the foundation’s values and needs. Be mission focused. Pay attention to the details. Communicate authentically and courteously. Acknowledge the foundation and its contributions, even if you don’t get the funding. Make a good impression. You never know – it may lead to future or another source of funding.
