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John Hicks, CFRE President and CEO. More Than a Good Proposal: Building Grantmaker Relationships That Pay Off 2009 Annual Conference for Corporate and Foundation Relations Officers. Our Agenda. The Elements of a Good Relationship Six Rules of Engagement Seven Best Practices.
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John Hicks, CFRE President and CEO More Than a Good Proposal: Building Grantmaker Relationships That Pay Off2009 Annual Conference for Corporate and Foundation Relations Officers
Our Agenda • The Elements of a Good Relationship • Six Rules of Engagement • Seven Best Practices
Elements of a Good Relationship • Trust • Communication • Shared Values • Honesty • Respect
Six Rules of Engagement • Know the landscape • Know who you are dealing with • Know their considerations • Know what they value • Know how to give it to them • Minimize risk
KnowThe Grantmaking Landscape Mega Competitive Family
2. Know Who You’re Dealing With • Mega Foundations • Specialists • Staff are influential • Competitive Foundations • Generalists • Boards are more involved in decisions • Family Foundations • The Donor • The Buck Stops Here
3. Know Their Considerations • The Institutional Paradox • Entrepreneurial mission • Risk-adverse board • Managing Competing Priorities
4. Know What They Value • Product • Data • Deliverables • A Plan That is Likely to Work • People • Authority • Content • Responsibility • Protocol • Respect for rules
5. Know How To Give it To Them • Learn the culture of the grant maker • Analog or digital • Old school or new school • Traditional or cutting edge • Learn the personality of your contact(s) • How they process information • How they interact with others • Never, ever underestimate the value of the gatekeeper • Respect the process
6. Minimize Risk • Risk to the Grantmaker • Failure of the project • Misuse of funds • Risk to You • Unreal expectations • Mission drift
Seven Best Practices • Build an information network to help you understand your funders. • Look beyond the numbers and learn who the grant maker is. • Don’t sell. Help the grant maker to buy. • Err on the side of professional rather than personal. • Know the difference between persistence and pestering. • Communicate early and often when the going gets tough. • Respect the ground rules.