May 9, 2017
Fact: we are living in the social media era.
Whether the question is how to engage with your supporters, raise the visibility of your programs, market your event, or bring in new donors, more and more data seems to suggest that platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are at least a piece of the solution. But what does the role of social media look like for your grants program?
While we at Elevate love our long, detailed how-to posts, the topic of social media and its role in the grant writing process requires much less space. The short answer – which we want to be unequivocal about – is that social media outreach is not a part of your grants program. It is not a part of your cultivation strategy. It is not part of your grant writer’s job description.
Let’s dig into this a bit further.
To be clear, here are a few things we are not saying:
1. We aren’t saying social media is a waste of time.
And for that matter, we’re not saying that social media shouldn’t be part of your broader development program. Targeted engagement on the right social platforms could be very effective strategies for engaging with individual donors or volunteers, or simply communicating with the general public. But while those efforts are certainly related to development, we do not want to suggest that they deserve a place in your grant strategy.
2. We aren’t saying that you can’t have a development associate who does your grant writing and your social media.
However, keep in mind that if you are hiring a grant writer and you want to really maximize that person’s time spent on your grants program, any dedicated time spent away from grant writing and instead on social media is likely diluting the strength of your grants program.
3. We aren’t saying there’s no value in engaging with funders on social media.
Connecting with the right people and organizations online can actually be a great source of information about prospective funders, their deadlines, their giving priorities, etc. Moreover, if you’ve found success through tweeting at program officers, we’re not about to stop or discourage you. (We’ve seen crazier things work!) But again, this should not be where you’re focusing the bulk – or even a significant portion – of your attention.
As you can see, we’re not about to deny the potential benefits of leveraging social media as a means of communicating with the public, gathering information, or even engaging with stakeholders. However, if you’re routinely spending time, energy, and/or money trying to fold social media into your grants strategy – to that we say, no. Stop. Because not only will it fail to result in more grant funding, but your resources are also better spent elsewhere.
Rather than inadvertently wasting valuable time and energy on a social media strategy that will likely have limited ROI for your grants program, we strongly believe that you’d be better off investing that same time and energy in the kinds of activities and programmatic enhancements that are proven to compel funders and ultimately win you money – things like program design, strong outcomes, and meaningful cultivation.
In other words, social media should be, at most, a strategic supplement to a substantial grant strategy, to the extent that is feasible for your organization without compromising the quality of your grants.
A few ideas of social media tactics that are worthwhile:
- Tweet and/or post on Facebook about your work, to highlight your programmatic successes.
- Share photos of your staff and programs in action.
- Publicly thank funders whenever you have an opportunity.
- Follow funders and engage with any relevant content, including though the use of likes and retweets.
- Participate in any Q&As, Twitter chats, etc. your funders host on social platforms.
Throughout Elevate’s blog, we like to hammer home the key idea that funders care about substance – and the role of social media in your grants program is no exception. It’s our position that the substance of your proposals and your programs are paramount, and more deserving of your time and energy when it comes to your grant strategy. If you still feel strongly about spending time and energy on social media, treat your engagement on social platforms as strategic supplements to a substantive grants program – your bread and butter – and allocate staff time on those platforms accordingly.
January 26, 2017
While most of Elevate’s work and blog posts focus on how to win grants, it’s also important to understand how grants are lost.
Losing a grant is not uncommon, and in fact, there are times when it even makes sense to pursue a grant that you are likely to lose. For example, if you hope to win a large public grant next year, you might apply just to get reviewer feedback on your program. Or, you might submit to a foundation that will be cultivated over time, in order to begin a relationship with them.
The reasons organizations lose grants are typically specific to the organization and proposal, so a generalized list can only be so helpful. (But we’re going to try!) This list is adapted from a comprehensive version by the United Way, which is available here. We’ve boiled it down to this.
So, here’s HOW TO LOSE A GRANT IN 10 WAYS:
1. YOU Gloss over the details
Strong requests are built around specifics. Funders are unlikely to approve requests with unclear implementation plans. You need to clearly articulate: what specifically is being done, the day-to-day, month-to-month, and annual timeline by which its being done, and the specific person(s) responsible for executing.
2. YOU ARE an unknown entity
Funders are much, much more likely to invest in organizations they know and trust. But the good news is that there are a lot of ways to become known—build your brand in the community, reach out well in advance of submitting the proposal, or have someone else do the same on your behalf.
3. YOU Forget to include an expense in your budget that’s in your narrative
Oops! You developed a new program, or made adjustments to your existing program, but you forgot to adjust your budget to reflect that change. Whether you left out a new position, cut a workshop, or mentioned supplies without a line item, these mistakes can immediately kill your legitimacy to a funder. It is essential that your budget and budget narrative align precisely.
4. Write or format your request in a way that does not inspire confidence
You must write with confidence and expertise. This is actually one of Elevate’s biggest secrets for small nonprofits just starting out. Sometimes, simply by sounding professional and presenting your materials in an organized way, you can inspire outsized confidence in your organization—especially when you do not have a long track record of results.
5. YOU Use jargon unnecessarily
At Elevate, we actually believe there is a place for some forms of jargon; not using the technical term when it is expected might indicate that you are out of your depth. At the same time, jargon can prevent a reader from easily understanding what and why you do the work that you do. Instead, we recommend that you tailor your writing to your audience: sophisticated foundations with subject-matter experts are going to expect a more technical proposal than a giving circle or family foundation without paid staff.
6. YOU ARE good but not great
Funders are looking for impact. If your organization has unfocused programs, or does something pretty well, but not exceptionally well, you have to be prepared to lose funding to more specialized or higher-impact organizations. Unfortunately, this is one of the hardest areas to improve—and nearly impossible if you do not have the support of your executive leadership. Organizations can improve their programs and results over time—but it is not frequently a quick process.
7. YOU Ignore the elephant in the room
Do not avoid what needs to be said; frame it, yes, but do not avoid it. If you have had a major staff transition on your leadership team, if you lost a key partnership, or if your program outcomes just are not promising—you have to address the issue directly. If you’re struggling with what to include or not, review our post on transparency.
8. YOU Ask for too much money…or not enough
Your request amount has to be right—not only because you do not want to leave money on the table by asking for too little, but because you do not want to appear uninformed (at best) or offensive (at worse) to your funder. The best way to ensure your request amount is in line with the funder’s expectations is to do your research on other grants they have given or to ask them directly.
9 .YOU ARE TOO similar to other organizations in your space
You must put in the hard work to know your peers, know their programs, and know your points of divergence. Differentiation can be tricky and is always nuanced. For example, Elevate works with multiple theatre organizations in Washington, DC that are within blocks of each other and have similar budget sizes. But no one would think their artistic or community engagement work is similar. On the other hand, DC has dozens of youth development or mentoring programs that have to work hard to clarify how their program design is more effective than others with similar models.
10 YOU DON’T Stick to your values
There are funders who will not support your commitment to providing options counseling to pregnant youth. And there are millions of dollars to be won from corporate funders, if you do not care where or how they made their money. And for some organizations, these revenue sources are perfectly valid and welcome. For others, they are not. Remember: it is always better to lose a grant then to concede your values.
Are you surprised that “typos” didn’t make the list? Well, proofreading does make most of the Internet’s top ten lists for how to win a grant and of course you should proofread. But one small mistake is NOT going to lose your grant. (Twenty maybe, but not one.) This is because funders care about substance first. Substance! If your programs, leadership, and financials are not in place—a perfect grant will not win funding.
December 29, 2016
For many organizations, winning a grant might seem like one of those obviously good things. The choice of whether or not to accept the funding might seem indulgent or even absurd. But you should know that you do have a choice, and that the choice of whether or not to accept funding can be a difficult one.
Grants are binding contracts, and you must be able to deliver on your promises. Moreover, your funder list is frequently public and if any donors conflict with your values as an organization – or even the very aims you are working so hard to advance – you can tarnish your image or credibility with other donors or stakeholders.
Below, we are going to dive into what a giving policy is, why you should have one, and how to create one. But before we do, we are going to share four true scenarios of when organizations we know found themselves questioning whether or not to accept funding.
an unacceptable commitment or restriction
Some grants come with strings attached, and while most funders stick to a pretty basic restriction on advocacy or spending funds as allocated in your request, they are allowed to have others. For example, there are a few funders that require abortion disclosure forms and require grantees not to discuss abortion with pregnant women or refer women to clinics that perform abortions. Elevate knows of an organization that did not know of this required commitment, was awarded a grant, and had to make the difficult decision to turn down the funding because they were committed to providing all options to young women facing this decision.
A potential conflict with values and a negative public image
A few classic scenarios here are youth organizations that do not accept funding from tobacco or alcohol-related corporations, or environmental organizations who do not accept funding from oil-related corporations. In both such instances, organizations must determine first whether or not accepting funding contradicts their mission to advance the welfare of children or environmental initiatives. Second, they must determine if accepting such funding would harm their brand, or their supporters image of them.
From our own experience comes a more nuanced example: While many nonprofits benefit from the Wal-Mart Foundation’s generosity, they were a strong opponent of raising the minimum wage here in Washington, DC. Many nonprofits working to advance the well-being of low-income residents chose not to accept funding from them as a result of their stance on the issue.
A conflict of interest or the perception of one
A client of ours won a grant from an energy supplier, while at the same time running programs that helped low-income communities and nonprofits contract with energy suppliers. While the process for selecting a supplier itself was fair and merit-based, it just so happened that the corporation that donated through their foundation was also the one selected. When considering potential conflicts of interest, perception matters. For example, a large donation to your capital campaign from a construction company that bid on your new building will raise questions. If your organization is ever in the position of awarding contracts, be careful when you are also soliciting donors and funders.
A really expensive gift
Certain types of gifts – like personal property and real estate – can be very expensive and considered in your policy before you accept them. A quick scan of Google can reveal some horror stories, like a donation of two paint factories to a nonprofit. The factories became Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites and cost the organization roughly $2 million.
Closer to home, Elevate has a client that received over $1M in personal property – everything from luxury cars to silverware. While it is an impressive gift for a small organization, it was an incredibly expensive endeavor to catalogue, value, store, and sell all of this property. Moreover, explaining the difference in the initial value and the sale price – and the thousands of dollars in ‘paper losses’ consistently complicated communicating the real financial position of our client to funders.
What is a gift acceptance policy?
A gift acceptance policy will help you decide whether to accept charitable or in-kind gifts. Policies also provide guidance to donors, so that they give in a way that is useful to you.
According to the Nonprofit Standards for Excellence, an organization should have the following policies in place:
- Procedures to determine any limits on individuals or entities from which the organization will accept a gift;
- The purposes for which donations will be accepted;
- The type of property which will be accepted; and
- Whether to accept an unusual or unanticipated gift in light of the organization’s mission and organizational capacity.
Your policy should include how you make decisions about non-standard gifts. For example, you might choose to refer the decision to a fast-acting Board committee. You should also identify key advisors, such as a real estate appraiser and legal advisor, in advance. Your Board should approve and adopt the policy officially, with an effective date, and a plan to revisit it regularly.
Why should you have a GIVING policy?
You do not want to create a policy about your values or public brand when there is already real money being offered to your organization. Such a scenario could cloud even the best judgement, as long-term trade-offs about values and reputation should not be made on short-term horizons or when financial pressures are palpable. Having a policy in place, which your Board has careful considered over time and in advance helps create discipline and empowers your staff to turn money down.
How should you create a giving policy?
Policies are best developed collaboratively with all the relevant stakeholders in the room; this might include your executive director, director of development, grant writer, planned giving staff, Board of Director’s fundraising or policy committee, and professional development advisors.
Samples!
Below are two samples we share with clients:
