A Case for Boosting Your Short-Term Grant Writing Support During a Crisis

May 5, 2020

At Elevate, we generally recommend thinking long-term when it comes to investing a grant program for your organization.

We know from working with hundreds of nonprofits over the years that in most cases — and under normal circumstances — that the most successful partnerships between organizations and their grant writers are built over time.

But things change. With the many ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know nonprofits are suddenly facing an uncertain future with more questions than answers. And for many organizations, it may be less feasible than ever to invest in hiring a full-time grant writer — even at a time when they may need it most. 

So what can nonprofits do? 

We recommend adding experienced capacity for a short period of time. For many organizations that can afford it, hiring a full-time in-house grant writer is the default choice. But this is a decision with a long-term impact, and for many organizations, it is off the table right now while there is so much still unknown about how the pandemic and recession will play out. Elevate has talked to nonprofits that have agency-wide hiring freezes, that are concerned about how to best hire remotely, that do not have the systems in place to onboard a new team-member virtually, or who have background check requirements that they are not able to fulfill right now. 

This is why, in times when uncertainty is high, like now, adding short-term capacity may be the most strategic option. And, because the timeline is condensed, it is important that the people you bring on know what they are doing from Day 1. 

When short-term capacity makes sense.

In periods of high uncertainty, like what the sector is facing right now, focusing on short-term needs makes sense — as long as it leaves all future options on the table. This is because uncertainty decreases over time: within the next few months, we expect to know much more than we do now about things like: 

• The full extent of increased demand for our programs, and the cost; 
• When our paused programs can re-start; 
• What institutional philanthropy’s collective response will be to the pandemic and a potential recession; 
• The full governmental response at federal, state, and local levels; and 
• How individual donors are responding. 

One of the few upsides to so much uncertainty right now is that we are almost guaranteed to have more information in the future. And more information means better decisions. This is why postponing certain decisions that have a long-term impact on your organization makes sense at the current moment.

But this obviously does not mean you can stop your fundraising — now is the time to be ramping up your fundraising! Doing so will enable you to both capture rapid response dollars, and be in dialogue with your funders and prepare for changes brought on by shifts in the sector and the economy. 

Adding short term support to your grant program could allow your organization to act quickly in response to the challenges you’re facing. But you need to focus on adding high-level capacity, meaning people who come in on Day 1 with significant expertise. 

The timeline is short, so invest in expertise. 

Typically, an outside grant writer will have more expertise than an in-house hire and therefore, will often require less training than a full-time staff member. Firms like Elevate also likely have systems in place to make onboarding and getting started even quicker and easier. (We’ve had processes and systems in place for years to onboard and work with clients remotely, and we continue to refine them.)

Moreover, experienced grant writing consultants know what questions to ask. We know what funders are looking for. We know how programs throughout the sector are designed and are adapting to these confusing times. And, most critically, we have a wealth of experience to draw on with a variety of issue areas, regions, and specific funders. 

We know that many nonprofits aren’t necessarily looking for freelancers or have had bad experiences with consultants in the past. This is where research and vetting are critical! Finding a reliable consultant you trust, with the experience and case studies that illustrate a breadth of experience, will help you address your immediate needs — while leaving your options open for the long-term without the pressure to decide on those plans right now. 

For example, at Elevate, our Writing Capacity Projects have been effective in supporting organizations to maintain their grant calendar or pursue large opportunities during hiring freezes, staffing searches, or temporary staff leave. These projects assign an experienced writer to efficiently gather the information needed to develop compelling proposals or reports and provide project management to coordinate all the necessary pieces. After completing these projects, some organizations choose to engage long-term with Elevate through our Comprehensive Grant Writing Services, while others have taken the opportunity to restructure internally or otherwise be more deliberate in their hiring process.  

Above all, the key benefit of a short-term engagement is flexibility. When we have a good picture into the long-term future, flexibility does not always rank as a top priority — but in times like now, it is the top priority.  

>> Learn more about Writing Capacity Projects

April 10, 2020

As the nation’s nonprofit community responds to the urgent needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be all too easy to get hyper-focused on the now: providing critical services, supporting staff facing illness and working remotely, and navigating economic upheaval.

Adding to these competing priorities, the philanthropic community and federal government have stepped up to offer emergency funding and rapid response grant opportunities. Amidst so much uncertainty, we know how tempting it can be to put long-term grants planning on the back burner.

However, we also know how important it is to begin looking forward and creating contingency plans now. Deadlines may be in flux currently, but they will be back — and it’s important to not be caught flat-footed. Elevate has been spending a lot of time planning for continuation of operations, and through that process we’ve developed four preparedness principles that also can be applied to planning for the continuation of your grants programming.

1. Anticipate Changes in Capacity

Nonprofits are no strangers to doing great work with limited capacity. The current situation threatens further strain on that capacity- including staff taking long-term leave to care for themselves or their families. Now is the time to think about how your grants program can maintain if staff are unable to work as usual. For example, Elevate is working with our staff to plan intermittent leave of one or two days per week and reprioritizing responsibilities based on that understanding.

2. Begin Planning Early

Federal grants cycles will be re-stabilizing in the upcoming months and the key to successfully preparing for your renewals or new opportunities will be advance planning. We recommend finding time to review any opportunities on your radar for the upcoming 4-6 months and developing action plans for touching base, staying aware of updates, and the process for working on the application – leaving space for creative problem solving. Then, you can adjust your plan as circumstances change.

3. Assess how you describe your work

We applaud the philanthropic sector for its overall flexibility in supporting nonprofits during this critical time: by converting programmatic funds to general operating support, streamlining applications, and extending deadlines, funders by and large have helped nonprofits answer urgent needs with the understanding that there’s a lot up in the air. However, organizations should be thinking about how their work has changed and begin preparing for how they will describe those changes to funders and their community.

4. Ask for Help

Above all else, remember that you aren’t alone in facing these challenges! As we say at Elevate, we’re all in this together. Across the world, networks are pooling resources and sharing information about best practices. Although we are practicing physical distancing, now is a great time to leverage your connections, build new ones, and think creatively about how to work together.

Elevate is available to be a partner in these efforts, especially through Writing Capacity Projects, which provide support on a project-by-project basis. These projects can supplement your capacity to maintain your calendar, help cover staff leave, or pursue large new opportunities.

Final thoughts

We know it’s not easy for every organization to carve out the time right now to do this type of long-term planning, particularly if your organization is facing an increased demand for services and/or sudden drop-offs in projected revenue or staff capacity. But to the extent that you’re able to make time for it, this type of preparation will pay off in the long-term health and stability of your organization. And if you need us in the short-term, we’re here to help.

April 6, 2020

There’s no such thing as a good time for an emergency or interruption to ‘business as usual’ — but having a solid contingency plan in place makes all the difference.

The COVID-19 pandemic is just one example of how events beyond our control can impact organizational functions both quickly and significantly. This experience has underscored the importance of preparing for unexpected disruptions — both in terms of keeping the organization running smoothly, and protecting the health and wellness of employees and stakeholders.

At Elevate, we’ve drawn on the experience of our executive team to form an internal Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) Team, and keep things running smoothly in spite of the constant change we’re all experiencing. Specifically, our President & COO has been part of COOP teams in the Senate, the White House, and is now leading the COOP Team at Elevate.

We know this is a stressful time to try and figure out how to implement something similar at your organization, on top of everything else on your plate. But we’re here to help! Below, we’ve outlined our framework for forming and running a COOP Team, what to focus on as a group, and how to communicate the necessary updates with your broader team. 

The first step in creating an emergency preparedness plan is to assemble your COOP Team.

We recommend auditing the high-level core functions of your organization, and making sure your COOP team has at least one member that represents each of those departments. We suggest keeping your team small, and including decision-makers for each of the core functions. The COOP team will bring questions and tasks back to their department to keep things moving quickly.

At Elevate, the goal of our COOP Team is to foresee and address issues that may arise with our clients, client teams, finances, and human resources in the event of an epidemic or emergency — and our team includes key staff members whose work is closely tied to each of those core areas.

Once your team is assembled, there are three key areas you’ll want to think about:

1. Continuity of operations
2. Emergency preparedness
3. Communication to stakeholders – internal and external

Let’s break each of these down further

Continuity of Operations

It’s important to develop succession and logistical plans that spell out how your organization will continue to operate in case of absences in leadership, and/or interruptions in critical business functions.

For each core area of your organization (including executive leadership), select a key staff member to create a chart of all key functions. Then, identify an order of succession with at least two-to-four staff members who can take over those responsibilities in the event of an unplanned absence, and be sure your successors are all cross-trained well before they need to step in.

This is known as redundancy, and it’s something you can plan for at all times — not just in the context of emergency preparation. We recommend taking these same measures when you’re designing job descriptions, and clarifying roles and responsibilities, to ensure all core functions have redundancy and everyone involved has been properly trained.

The final step here is to create (or confirm the existence and accuracy of) key documentation that spells out how to perform each responsibility. This could include written instructions, tutorials, and/or sharing any necessary logins and passwords in a secure way. Make sure this documentation is saved in a clear and accessible location! Cross-train your successors well before they need to use it in a real-time setting. Keep in mind that your redundancy plans may include key vendors and/or points of contact, and they may need to be looped in and cross-trained as well.

Emergency Preparedness

In this section, we’re dealing specifically with how your organization will respond to an emergency or unplanned disruption, and how you’ll adapt or change those plans as the emergency situation evolves.

First, you’ll want to go back to that list of core departments or business functions. For Elevate, that includes our clients, internal client teams, office status, operations, finances, human resources, and communication. Within each of those categories, we recommend identifying the different possible phases. Using Office Status as an example: Phase 1 might be ‘the office is open as usual, with limited restrictions’, Phase 2 might be ‘the office is closed to everyone except staff’, and so on. This will be specific to your organization. The final phase should be Back to Business as Usual. The more things change during the disruption, the more important it is to prepare for this phase.

Then, for each phase, you’ll want to make three lists: we’re calling them prompts, considerations, and preparations.

• We use the term prompt to mean any information that would possibly prompt us to move into this phase. Make sure your team agrees on the reliable sources of information that you will all use to make informed, fact-based decisions. (Using the example of Office Status, prompts might include school closures, government directives or closures, etc.)
• We use the term consideration to mean any valuable information that needs to be considered when moving to this phase — which often includes things that are not immediately obvious. (Using the example of Office Status, considerations might include how an office closure would impact staff, how to retrieve the mail if the office is closed, etc.)
• We use the term preparation to mean any steps that should be taken before or during the communication and implementation of this new phase. (Using the example of Office Status, preparations might include communicating the change to staff and stakeholders, taking any necessary measures for building security, cleaning out the office refrigerator, etc.)

Once this information is all compiled in one document, you can use this document to guide the structure of your COOP Team meetings. Our team is currently meeting daily to share updates, discuss any new prompts/considerations/preparations for each stage, and develop communication plans as needed.

Developing a regular meeting cadence is especially important at the beginning of a crisis. Ideally, you’ll carve out 30-60 minutes to meet at the same time every day. As the crisis stabilizes, you may be able to meet less often and/or for a shorter period of time — but it’s still important to have a recurring and designated time for your team to meet and share updates.

Communication

As we’re seeing with COVID-19, the situation is evolving and there we’re seeing significant updates by the day — if not by the hour! In times like this, communicating on a regular basis can ease the uncertainty and anxiety of the situation.

As such, Elevate’s COOP Team has committed to sending daily emails to our full staff with information about any changes or updates regarding our phases, policies, and/or best practices based on evolving circumstances, etc. We use the same subject line format for each daily email, so staff know that it is from the COOP Team. We also save all of the emails on our Intranet for easy recall.

We encourage you to adapt this to meet your organization’s needs and culture! For example, the belief that we’re all in this together is central to our company values — so to maintain a feeling of connection, we also throw in a mix of personal videos along with our updates.

In addition to regular internal communication, you may also need to develop separate communication plans for external stakeholders. Is your organization adjusting your hours and/or operating procedures in ways that could impact your broader community? Do you have any timely new services or resources to share, or new initiatives to announce? Does your organization send a newsletter or other means of standard external communication where you could include some of these updates? These are all good questions to weigh as you put together an external communications plan.

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Use this as a guiding framework, and be sure to make any necessary additions or modifications to meet your organization’s needs. We hope this provides you with a helpful jumping-off point to ensure your nonprofit’s long term health and sustainability.

Written by Katy Kale and Michelle LaCroix

March 18, 2020

As your partners in fundraising, Elevate staff know all too well the importance of the work you do as nonprofit professionals.

We also know the need for your work does not pause — and in fact, may increase — in times of crisis or global concern.

Securing funding for your work is arguably more urgent and important than ever during periods of uncertainty, though we realize the way forward may feel unclear. As such, we’ve put together our best advice for continuing to fundraise effectively, even when ‘normalcy’ has been disrupted:

Assume grantmakers are continuing to operate unless you hear otherwise.

So far, we’ve seen a few deadlines shift, but not many. We recommend monitoring funders, updates, and deadlines closely, with a presumption that they’re still accepting and awarding grants.

Monitor emerging “rapid response” opportunities that FALL OUTSIDE standard grantmaking timelines or processes.

For example, the Greater Washington Community Foundation is working alongside the DC region’s largest philanthropists to establish an emergency fund and distribute rapid response funding to the organizations meeting the needs of communities most impacted by this virus — families who have lost needed childcare, low-wage, hourly workers, people experiencing homelessness, direct service workers, and senior citizens or people with underlying health conditions.

Get a clear picture of your finances.

Our colleagues at Your Part-Time Controller and 20 Degrees both highlight the importance of understanding the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on your “financial runway.” Ask your finance staff or consultants for more frequent financial reports, updated modeling for various contingencies, and even advice revising your annual organizational and program budgets. If you’re using our guidance on predicting grant revenue, consider adjusting your grant projections to reflect reduced likelihood of funding from prospective grantmakers to better understand how this will impact your grant revenue.

Tell your nonprofit’s COVID-19 story to your most loyal supporters.

The experts at Chronicle for Philanthropy note that global crises that affect all members of society can motivate significant philanthropic giving. However, the people motivated to give often don’t know where their giving will have the most impact. Clarify for your staunchest donors how COVID-19 is impacting your organization, staff, and stakeholders so that they know the value of their past and future contributions.

Take stock of your community’s needs and your response and align your outreach to funders accordingly.

While all organizations should remain in contact with your key philanthropic stakeholders, your approach should be tailored to the larger community context:

• If you are expanding your services to address the community needs due to COVID-19, you can reach out to your long-term funders about these emerging and how they can help. First, review whether they have launched any specific funds so you can request support through those channels. If they have not created any designated funds, consider reaching out to your primary point of contact directly about the increased need you anticipate, how you are responding, and how a one-time gift might help.
• If your services are not expanding, avoid soliciting new funding. As our society comes together around this issue, it’s important to acknowledge that new giving will be directed toward the causes that are most in need of support right now. However, you can request other types of support during an uncertain time from current funders, even if your services remain unchanged. Many grantmakers may be open to requests to extend report or proposal deadlines, adjust how or when a grant is paid out, transition restricted funding to unrestricted funding, or even convert an event sponsorship or ticket purchase to a simple donation that can help ensure sustainability for your organization.

Find creative alternatives to building and sustaining donor relationships.

We’ve seen remarkable ingenuity around the country regarding donor engagement that has historically happened face-to-face. Organizations are converting in-person fundraising events to virtual celebrations, holding performances via Facebook Live, or even phone banking to thank organizational supporters for their past gifts. Remember that the important part of any fundraising event is to connect with your donors and you do not necessarily need a venue or catering to do that.

Finally, times of uncertainty like this remind us that a diversified fundraising strategy is a pillar of organizational sustainability. Elevate has consistently found grant programs to be more stable than other forms of revenue in times of sudden change or economic downturn. We’re seeing foundations step up to fill some of the voids that appear from canceled events or individual donors who may be less able to give in an unstable market.

We’re Here to Help!

Elevate is committed to being a resource for nonprofits at this time.

• Click here to register for one of three free grantwriting webinars we offer on a rotating basis! 

• Check back for future blog posts in the coming weeks and months, on planning for the longer-term economic ramifications of COVID-19 so your organization is prepared for the “new normal”.
• If your organization needs extra grants capacity for any reason, reach out to us via our Hire Us form, for our comprehensive grant writing support or our short-term writing capacity support.
• If you are a current client, please reach out to your team Director for support revising your annual grant projections, developing messaging for current funders, rearranging soft or rolling deadlines on your grant calendar, or strategizing emergency funding requests.

Additional Resources for nonprofits:

• Center for Nonprofit Advancement‘s resource list
• AFP’s library of micro-learning videos for nonprofits
• Advice for nonprofit leaders, from Elevate’s partners at 20 Degrees

February 14, 2020

If you’re new to grant writing, figuring out how to write a grant proposal for the first time can seem convoluted, overwhelming, and stressful.

You might feel overwhelmed with questions: What information goes in which section? Am I providing enough data? How much money should we ask for? Does this funder accept unsolicited applications?

As a team of professional grant writers and institutional fundraisers, we’re no strangers to the sometimes-puzzling language of grant writing. After working with hundreds of nonprofit clients over our lifespan as a company, and securing millions of dollars for their programs from public and private funders alike, we’ve learned a thing or two about what constitutes a winning grant (and the mistakes to avoid).

Below are five crucial pieces of advice we’ve gleaned over the years in our work as grant writing professionals. These tips will help you avoid common grant writing mistakes, create a plan for writing and submitting your first grant, and make the strongest possible case for funding.

1. Grant writing is (often) a team effort

Even when you’re the only person at your organization writing grants or doing fundraising, you’ll still likely need to collaborate and work with other people at your organization at various stages along the way – including deciding on strategy, gathering information about your programs, editing, compiling the necessary attachments, and gaining final approval before submission. To that end, it’s important to establish a clear process internally, so everyone involved is clear on who’s doing what.

What your exact process looks like will depend on your organization’s specific setup and circumstances, though we do walk through some examples of what a common division of labor might look like in our popular webinar on How to Write Your First Grant.

2. Build in enough time to get the job done

Will you be requesting funding for a new program, or an existing program? Especially if the request is for a new program, make sure to build in extra time to develop any new language and get it approved by the right people. Similarly, it also doesn’t hurt to budget extra time to consult with your program team before you start writing. Talking through the specifics of the work that’s going to be done with this new program is a great way to make sure you’re all on the same page before you’re too far down the road of writing the proposal.

3. Read the RFP closely before you start writing

Specifically, look for the list of funder requirements up front. Do you meet ALL of them? Grant requirements are exactly that – If you meet all but one, you’re ineligible. It’s important that you check off all the requirements, and similarly, keep an eye out for any specific submission instructions. This could include things like mailing printed copies, any character limits or length requirements, or whether the deadline is a postmark deadline or a receipt deadline. One careless mistake here could disqualify you.

4. Plan ahead for any necessary attachments

The biggest thing to remember here is to only include the attachments that are required! As tempted as you or your Executive Director may be to throw in an extra brochure or a great video that really shows off the impact of your programs – unless the funder has given you the explicit option to attach program support materials, they do not want you to include them.

Follow the guidelines, and start your attachment planning early to build in as much time as possible. (At Elevate, we often recommend our Grant Writers start attachment planning before  they even start drafting – especially if you need to coordinate with others to gather all the pieces.)

5. Highlight your credibility

Every piece of your proposal should bolster your credibility as an organization, and create the impression that would be a reliable grantee. You have a number of opportunities to make the right impression – including submitting a nicely presented and well-developed proposal, painting a clear picture of exactly how you’ll use their funding, pointing to any external signs of legitimacy that indicate you can deliver on your commitments (i.e., awards, news articles, publications, strong outcomes, etc.), and demonstrating a good reputation in your community. The more you can showcase these qualities and make the case for your credibility, the better.

NEW! As you’ll see below,
we’ve added a new section with our
favorite COVID-19 tools and resources.

January 31, 2020

It’s never a bad idea (or a bad time!) to revisit your routines, tools, and systems with fresh eyes.

At Elevate, we lean on a variety of apps, tools, and resources in our daily work with our nonprofit clients. From project management, to digital file storage, to sources of growth and learning, we’ve spent years experimenting with different tools and systems to find what works best for us. The tools we use may or may not make sense for your organization—after all, putting together your own suite of go-to resources will depend on your specific organizational needs and circumstances. Still, we believe there are certain systems and every successful organization should have in place to help increase efficiency, effectiveness, and ease of information sharing.

As you revisit your own list of tools and systems that you lean on regularly in your job, below are some of our favorites that we use year-round to keep us organized, well-informed, and effective in our work. We’ve also thrown in some entertaining and educational resources that our staff enjoy and value, to round out the list. We hope you enjoy!

NEW! COVID-19 Resources

Nonprofits and small business like ours are feeling the effects of COVID-19, and our efforts to adapt to this new reality are ongoing. In addition to publishing our own fundraising guidance, resources, and emergency preparedness best practices to support the nonprofit sector, we also look to several of our partner and peer organizations that have shared helpful resources as well. To name a few:

• The Center for Nonprofit Advancement has shared a compilation of Coronavirus Resource Tools on their website, which they regularly updated with new information, upcoming (and recordings of past) webinars, and other helpful tools for nonprofits.
• Our friends at 20 Degrees have put together an exhaustive suite of ready-to-use tools that nonprofit leaders can use to plan, pivot, and manage through the COVID-19 crisis.
• Nonprofit HR’s Coronavirus Digital Information Portal contains town hall recordings and other resources to support the talent management needs of social impact organizations, during the pandemic and beyond.
• The Management Center has shared tools, articles, and templates to support leaders managing through these tough times, via their list of COVID-19 Resources.
• The DC Bar Pro Bono Center regularly offers training sessions for nonprofit leaders and small business owners that address legal issues affecting the operation of their organizations — several of which have focused on COVID-19.

Productivity, Organization, and Project Management Tools

Every organization needs systems in place that make it easy to perform basic business functions — things like managing deadlines, keeping track of tasks (and assign them to others), accessing shared files and information, and retrieving this information quickly. A few of our favorite tools in this category:

• Salesforce is our Customer Relationships Management (CRM) system where we manage all kinds of data related to clients, funder deadlines, and business operations. Other nonprofit-friendly options include The Raiser’s Edge, and DonorPerfect.
• Our teams use Asana on a daily (if not hourly) basis for all things project management. We use it to track internal deadlines, and assign tasks related to all the grants and projects we’re working on for our clients. Other options to consider include Trello, Basecamp, or Podio.
• We use Dropbox for digital file storage, which helps us collaborate easily on drafts and ensure everyone has access to the most up-to-date versions of shared files. Other options include Box, One Drive, and Google Drive.
• We use LastPass to securely store and share passwords for grant portals and other websites that require a login.
• Our whole team uses Harvest for time-tracking.

Research Tools

Part of the work Elevate does for our Comprehensive Grant Writing Services clients involves prospect research, which means we’re constantly researching funders. We regularly use a few great tools for this, many of which require a paid subscription. Our favorites include:

• Foundation Directory Online by Candid (formerly Foundation Center and Guidestar) is an exhaustive database that contains in-depth profiles of grantmakers including 990s, recent grantees, and more. 
• GrantFinder from Inside Philanthropy is another valuable database with information on thousands of foundations and major donors. (Inside Philanthropy is also a valuable source for philanthropic news.)

Business and Operations Tools

Our Operations and Finance teams work hard behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly at Elevate. A few of the resources that help them do so are listed below.

• Your Part Time Controller (YPTC) provides accounting, bookkeeping, and financial reporting services to nonprofits. 
• We also use Bill.com to send and track bills and invoices.
• We‘ve also worked with Labyrinth to take care of our required charity state registrations. (Charitable solicitation registration is currently required in 40 states, to solicit contributions legally!)
• Members of our leadership team have attended several events hosted by the DC Bar Probono Center, which provides legal assistance to DC’s small businesses community. Their Nonprofit Legal Assistance Program also provides legal assistance to the District’s community-based nonprofit organizations — including legal clinics, trainings, and other free resources.

Philanthropy- and Fundraising-Focused Newsletters 

Our staff subscribe to a wide variety of philanthropic newsletters — many of which are focused on specific geographic and/or issue areas. Below are a few team favorites, though we recommend doing some research to find relevant publications in your niche as well.

• GrantStation Insider is a weekly email newsletter featuring the latest information on grantmakers, upcoming grant deadlines, and news for the serious grantseeker.
• Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers’ Weekly WRAG is a weekly newsletter that provides updates about events, philanthropic news, and nonprofit job postings in the Washington, DC region.
• Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) is an award-winning magazine and website written by and for social change leaders from around the world, that covers cross-sector solutions to global problems. In addition to a paid subscription, they also offer a free weekly newsletter 

Other 

Below are a handful of other publications and resources we look to, to keep us well-informed, entertained, and getting better at everything, all the time: 

• Harvard Business Review (HBR) is a great resource for new ideas and classic advice on strategy, innovation, and leadership for global leaders, from the world’s best business and management experts. They offer several email newsletters, each of which focus on a specific field or topic, plus our team loves their Dear HBR and Women at Work podcasts!
• Gallup is a leading provider of data and insights on the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students, and citizens. They use analytics and advice to provide leaders with a road map for understanding and unlocking the full potential of individuals, teams and organizations.
• Several members of the Elevate team have attended valuable trainings at The Management Center in DC, which works to help leaders working for social change build and run more effective organizations.

Remember — for any of these categories, there’s no right or wrong tool! Processes are much more important than the tools themselves, so don’t get bogged down in the details. What matters is that you know your organizational priorities and limitations, and you keep them in mind as you evaluate your options and ultimately choose what works best for you and your team.

January 27, 2020

As fundraisers, we’ve all been there…

You have a big grant proposal to write to a long-time funder, but you can’t get a straight answer from your program team or your Executive Director about the goals for next year. Or, you just got an email from your Executive Director saying she had a great meeting with an important donor, but that they didn’t really discuss a specific project or initiative that needs funding. What do you do now?

These situations are more than just frustrating. They could be a key reason why the study “Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising” noted high rates of turnover and extended vacancies in Development Director positions. And it makes sense! Talented fundraisers don’t want to work somewhere that lacks the tools and resources they need to be successful.

But all nonprofit leaders and staff know how important fundraising is. They know funding pays their salaries and creates opportunities to do the work they care about. How can you ensure everyone is pitching in?

Elevate and our partners at The Collective Good believe the secret lies in creating intentional alignment between fundraising goals and activities, and organizational goals and activities. Too often, nonprofit staff, including Executive Directors, aren’t on the same page with organizational strategy and priorities, which makes it difficult or impossible to articulate them externally.

In a follow up report to the study referenced above, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders advocate for viewing fundraising as central to achieving an organization’s goals and mission rather than a necessary evil. This means fewer silos and more collaboration between development and programs, communications, boards, and executive staff.

But how do you shift the entire culture of your organization? How do you move from “I’m responsible for raising 50% more from foundations this year” to “we’re all in this together?”

To answer those questions, Elevate and The Collective Good teamed up with the Center for Nonprofit Advancement in March 2020 for a workshop.

Here are the recommendations we explored:

Step 1:

As Executive Directors, ensure development staff/directors are part of the leadership team and equal partners with other senior staff; they participate in all planning, strategy, financial and organizational meetings.

Tip: This is important on an ongoing basis, but even more important during strategic planning! If you develop programmatic and fundraising goals together, it is much less likely you’ll set an organizational strategy without resources or let your fundraising strategy pull your programs in the wrong direction.

Step 2:

As Development Directors, lead your organization through this shift in thinking and structure by developing tools, systems, and messages that everyone can use to cultivate greater community and donor engagement.

Tip: get comfortable with managing up and across so that your colleagues and bosses have the information they need to engage donors at least as well as you can. Check out our blog post on Clear, Collaborative Communication for more tips here!

Step 3:

Be patient and set realistic goals for adjusting how your organization integrates organizational strategy with fundraising strategy. Culture change does not happen overnight and everyone will need time to change how they think about fundraising in the context of more programmatic and operational goals.

December 9, 2019

When you think of grant writing, activities like drafting, editing, compiling attachments, and submitting proposals probably come to mind. But there’s a big difference between grant writing, and building a grant program.

Building a grant program is a bigger, broader, and more ambitious endeavor – one that requires the ongoing effort to find prospects, build relationships with funders, write and submit grants, and report on your impact to funders.

Sure, this approach takes more time effort than simply writing and submitting proposals and hoping for checks to arrive in the mail year after year. But it also offers much larger returns, when done well. Compared to grant writing, a grant program can help your organization achieve greater efficiency, build expertise among staff (including program staff), and decrease uncertainty when planning for the year.

As we approach the end of this calendar year, now is a great time to think about the state of your grant program, and what you’d like it to achieve over the next 12 months. Below we’ll walk you through some tips and exercises to help you set meaningful goals for your grant program in the coming year.

What Should a Grant Program Aim to Achieve, Anyway?

Just like your other programs, your grant program needs to advance your organizational mission. Tempting as it might be to throw proverbial spaghetti at the wall and pursue any grant you think might win you money, staying focused on the opportunities that support and align with your nonprofit’s existing programs, impact goals, and/or other organizational objectives is key.

As you’re outlining your goals, it’s also important to walk the line between aspiration and pragmatism. Your goals should be based on an understanding of what is feasible, and accurately reflect the resources (i.e., time, effort, and focus) it will take to deliver results. Once you establish what these specific goals are, it’s important to review your progress regularly and make adjustments as needed.

The Nuts and Bolts of Meaningful Goal Setting

We recommend zeroing in on 3-5 measurable, feasible, and sustainable goals for your grant program each year. Remember, these goals should focus on more than just dollars; instead, aim to set goals that help your organization secure the resources it needs in order to sustain (or grow) its work.

Some good examples include:

• Secure our first grant award this year.
• Win $75,000 in new funding, from at least 3 different funders.
• Close the funding gap for our Senior Services program.
• Cultivate 10 new relationships with funders.
• Leverage our new Board Chair’s relationships to grow our prospect list by 10.
• Improve our program evaluation by securing a capacity building grant.

Tips for Setting the Right Goals for Your Grant Program

1. Start with what you need.

A great place to start is to review your budget gaps: What programs need funding? Are you losing any key funders this year or in the next 2-3 years? What do those numbers look like? Also take time to review expense budgets for each program, as well as any dedicated and allocated revenue for each program, and factor those into this process as well. Keep in mind that this will likely take time, and your leadership must be involved

2. Next, add in what you’d like.

Once you’ve assessed and accounted for your immediate needs, consider your larger vision for the future of your organization and programs. What additional resources might you need to realize that vision and/or achieve those goals?

3. Be Realistic!

At Elevate, we use two primary tools to ensure are goals are rooted in reality: a landscape analysis, and a forecasting document.

We recommend conducting an analysis of your peers, to give you a fuller picture of the landscape and help you set reasonable goals and expectations. Start by assessing who your peers and competitors are – aim to identify 4-10 peer organizations, and look at how they similar or different to your organization or programs. Once you have your list or peer organizations, do some research to see how much funding they receive from grants or foundations, including which funders support them and the average award size. Doing this type of analysis will also help you determine whether it’s feasible for your organization to reach your revenue goals through grants alone.

A forecasting chart helps you understand and anticipate how much funding your grant program might secure in the coming year based on probability. It helps you plan for the uncertainty of losing grants you did not expect to lose – and win grants you did not expect to win!

The basic steps for putting together a forecasting chart are to:

• Estimate the likelihood you will win a grant; and then
• Multiply that by the amount of money requested.

Here’s the math:
$ ask amount x % probability of winning = $ expected revenue 

For example:
$100,000 request x 50% probability = $50,000 expected revenue

You’ll then add each anticipated proposal’s expected revenue together to create a forecast and get the total expected revenue from grant funding for your organization. Remember: your goal is not to get everything about every funder right! Instead: it is to play the averages and get your total projections as close as possible to reality.

For more on how to create a forecasting chart, plus a free downloadable template, check out this blog post.

4. Consider your organization’s unique story.

The more aware you are of your organization’s history, strengths, vision, and challenges, the better equipped you’ll be to set goals for your grant program that strengthen and deepen the impact of your work. Below are a few examples of how you might map your understanding of your organization onto your goals for the year:

Organizational Strength: Our adult workforce development programming serves more people, with greater need, than many of our peers.

• Grants Program Goal: To secure public funding for our adult workforce development programming from the city for the first time, and explore at least 2 state grants. To focus on renewing existing workforce development grants and pursue at least 2 new large ($50,000+) grants for this program.

Organizational Challenge: Our youth mentoring program does not stand out among our peers.

• Grants Program Goal: To secure a capacity building grant to improve the program design and evaluation.

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We wish you all the best in setting and reaching meaningful goals with your grant program in 2020! And stay tuned for a follow-up blog post on how to measure if your grant program is working over the course of the year.

Written by Alayna Buckner and Michelle LaCroix

November 21, 2019

November is National Gratitude Month. But, what does gratitude mean exactly? And specifically, what does it mean for us as fundraisers?

As professionals in the nonprofit sector, practicing meaningful gratitude with our donors may seem more complicated than how we practice it in our personal lives. Unlike showing and returning kindness with friends and family, which tends to feel more like second nature, practicing gratitude with institutional funders might seem more forced or complicated. This may have to do with the formal structures around foundation’s giving programs, or even the perceived distance between us and our funders.

I’d like to argue that practicing gratitude with your institutional funders can be easy, meaningful, and even fun.

To support you in growing your foundation gratitude initiatives, I’ve compiled my top five suggestions of ways to show gratitude to foundation funders. In taking these steps, your organization will open opportunities to steward partnerships with your institutional funders to new depths and perhaps in turn drive further impact (and kindness) together.

1. See you later, boring thank you letter

Believe me, I have sent a foundation that stale, mail-merged acknowledgement letter. It makes sense when you’re running a batch of thank you letters to partially customize the general thank you letter for a foundation (all you really have to do is remember to remove the tax-deductible language, right?) and get it out the door. But to truly show gratitude through this communication, I recommend that you take the extra 30 minutes to write a highly-customized thank you letter to each foundation funder. Add details that link back to what the grant will support, your proposed impact, and appreciation for the process, insight, and investment the foundation has provided your organization. Emily Post would be happy to have me recommend and additional handwritten thank you note to send following the formal organizational thank you letter. If it feels right to you, I think it can be a nice touch.

2. Hello, public acknowledgements

Publicly acknowledging your funders is an easy way to demonstrate gratitude. Some funders have strict guidelines for using their name/logo publicly, so be sure to check your award documentation before giving them a shout out. Additionally, reaching out to the foundation to ask them about your public acknowledgement ideas (listing on your website? plaque on the wall? logo in a program book?) is another natural way to continue your demonstration of gratitude. Many organizations miss this easy type of opportunity to demonstrate gratitude for their foundation funders because there is often a preconceived (and possibly incorrect!) notion that foundations don’t want to be recognized in this way.

Another creative publicity avenue you might consider: including a feature in your organization’s newsletter or annual report that highlights a specific foundation, and how their investment advanced your program or initiative.

3. Not your average grant report

Grant reports can feel very formulaic. But what if we used them as both an opportunity to demonstrate our organization’s efficiency and impact, but also infuse them with gratitude? I am not suggesting that your formal grant reports to your foundation funders turn sappy or over the top, but rather asking you to recognize that the grant reporting process as an appropriate point to remember and practice gratitude. Beyond the formal report, perhaps this could be a point, at the end of a grant period, to send the Emily Post style handwritten note (or email, I suppose) that reflects on the impact of the grant and why you are thankful for that investment in your organization.

4. Won’t you be our guest?

Does your organization have an annual fundraising event? Gala? Breakfast? Have you invited your foundation funders as your guests? Yes, foundation funders, board members, and program officers are invited to many more events than they can (or want to) attend. However, extending the invitation is a great opportunity to demonstrate gratitude. Let your funders know why you are inviting them (will there be a presentation on the program they are funding? will they have an opportunity to hear from program participants directly? are you launching a new program that would be of interest to them?) and in most cases, make sure they know that you want them to attend without purchasing a ticket or sponsorship. If your funder RSVPs “yes”, make sure you have a plan to appropriately welcome them and have opportunities to engage with them during the event.

5. Come by for coffee

Finally, beyond an invitation for your event, is there an opportunity to thank your foundation funders in person? I think there can be! Even in cases where a funder came out for a site visit within the last year (or more, depending on the length of the grant period), a year might be a bit too long to go without an update or demonstrated gratitude from your organization.

Look for original/exciting opportunities to invite your foundation funders to your organization. Sometimes because of the formal processes around applying for and winning grant funds, we forget that there are actual people sitting down to write those checks – and that maybe they would enjoy sitting down for a cup of coffee and hearing what that means to your participants and your organization.

Don’t get me wrong, there comes a point when you will feel that you are over-thanking your donors and its ok to stop the thank you train. What I am not proposing is that you do everything on this list at all times for all funders; what I am proposing is that as an organization or fundraising department, you think on a deeper level about how you thank your foundation funders.

I hope that you found a helpful tidbit in here to strengthen your organization’s practice of gratitude, now in November, and throughout the year. Keep that gratitude going!

November 6, 2019

Elevate is proud to share that several of our team members were selected to present three different breakout sessions at the Grant Professionals Association Annual Conference, which was held November 6-9, 2019 in Washington, DC!

Leading up to the conference, we’re sharing previews of these sessions, and some of what our presenters will be teaching. In this post, we’re looking at what it takes to put together a smart, strategic prospect research strategy for your organization.

Developing a clear prospecting strategy and organizing your prospect research to identify the best-aligned foundation and corporate leads for your organization is critical to the success of any prospecting effort.

No matter how robust your organization’s grants program may be, nonprofit leaders are often in a position where they need to identify and pursue new sources of funding. And since no organization can (or should!) pursue every possible funding opportunity that comes along, having a thoughtful strategy in place to help guide prospect research is essential so that we spend our time researching, identifying, and pursuing high-quality prospects.

So how does one build a prospecting strategy? Below we’ve outlined a few steps to help you create or refine your plans.

1. Create an ideal prospect profile

The first step is to get crystal clear on what a good prospect looks like for your needs. We find that our clients often want to pursue new prospects, but don’t yet have a clear vision within their organization of what a well-aligned prospect actually looks like for the work they do. In our experience, an “ideal prospect” should share an interest in the audience you serve, the geographic reach of your organization, the needs of the community, and the type of support you need, to name just a few.

In building your list of these points of alignment, you’ll want to ask yourself both, “What do we have to offer a funder?” as well as, “What do we want/need most from a funder?”

While creating your “ideal prospect” profile, you’ll also want to consider what are the deal breakers for your organization. For example, many organizations have policies that ensure that any partners they engage with align on key values. Small organizations may not have the capacity for very robust data tracking that some funders require. What are those factors that might lead your organization to decline funding? You’ll want to do your due diligence in the prospecting phase in order to avoid a lot of wasted effort later in the process!

2. identify and prioritize your search criteria

Using the “ideal prospect” profile you put together in step 1, you should then start to identify the criteria you’ll use to search for potential funders, and organize your internal research process based on your priorities. The greater the number of points of alignment you have with a funding prospect, the higher the probability that this prospect will be interested in supporting the organization’s work.

3. Assess the competitive landscape

Once you’ve gotten clearer about what you’re looking for in a funding prospect, this is a great time to do a little research into your peers and competitors to better understand the field in which you are competing for resources. Who is funding your peers? For what projects? At what grant amount? Some of these organizations are going to be your best prospects, as well. (And remember, it is rare for a foundation to only award one or two grants per cycle, so if you are successful in going after a peer organization’s funder, you are not necessarily taking resources that would have otherwise been designated for the other organization!)

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Once you’ve tackled these three steps, we recommend you also consider focusing on getting information and buy-in from your internal stakeholders – such as the organization’s leaders and program staff – to develop your strategy. Include them in this process! This could start with something as simple as developing a clear and concise summary of your prospecting strategy and sharing it internally for feedback.

Ultimately you will want to develop a process for identifying and qualifying prospects to ensure that you are pursuing the most strategic, actionable opportunities possible. Think quality over quantity! If you are successful in developing and executing an effective prospect research strategy, you’ll be well-positioned to spend your limited time going after those prospects that are the most likely to be interested in funding your work.

Written by Caroline O’Shea and Jennifer O’Brien

Photo courtesy of wocintechchat.com