Grant Writing and Fund Development

1. Grant Writing and Fund Development VOCAL AmeriCorps Friday - April 5, 2013 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

2. Types of Funding • Government • Foundation • Corporation • Combined Giving • Individual • Special Events • Earned Income • Internet-Based Activities

3. Government Funding • Federal • State • Local • City • Township • County

4. Federal Grants Begins with a “NOFA” that includes application process Sometimes a “Bidders Conference” Very specific on format and strict on deadlines Difficult to access for small NPOs Often burdensome in financial reporting and “number counts” If no previous experience, best to begin somewhere else

5. State Grants and Contracts • Typically come through state agencies; Can also come through state legislators (but not much anymore) • For volunteer literacy programs, Literacy Office in the State Library is the major funding body • For adult education, primary funding comes from the Illinois Community College Board • Funding from state agencies can be state general revenue funds or federal “pass down” funds • Like federal funds, generally very specific with very specific reporting

6. Local Government Funding • Typically funded through “Block Grants” from state and federal government • None that I know of for education, literacy or volunteerism in Chicago or Cook County • More typical areas – employment and training (now known as “workforce development”, social services and health-related services

7. Types ofFoundations • Public • Private

8. Public Foundations • Community Foundations • Federated Funds • Single Purpose Entities

9. Community Foundation • Serves a specific geographic community or region (e.g., The Chicago Community Trust – “CCT”) • Usually focuses mainly, if not exclusively, on local needs • Raises a significant portion of its funds from the public • Funds derived from many donors; managed in single endowment • Income from endowment is used to make grants • Offers a variety of donor-advised options and services • Not subject to the same reporting requirements as corporate foundations Number in Illinois - 31

10. Federated Funds • United Way • America’s Charities • Local Independent Charities • Combined Charities of Illinois • Earth Share

11. Single Purpose Entities Raise and distribute funds for a specific purpose, i.e., further a social cause; assist a particular population group; provide scholarships; advance scientific research

12. Private Foundations • Independent Foundations • Family Foundations • Corporate Foundations • Operating Foundations

13. Number in Illinois – 4,031 • Independent – 3,622 • Corporate – 167 • Operating – 218 • Community - 24 Giving in Illinois 2012 – Donor’s Forum

14. Foundation Giving in Illinois -2010 $534,602,587 Education $ 145,083,981 Human Services $ 125,378,428 Art/Culture $ 77,906,865 Health $ 68,610,459 Public/Society Benefit $ 57,689,755 Environment/Animals $ 26,512,628 Science/Research $ 8,152,842 Social Sciences $ 8,053,785 Religion $ 8,212,030 Other $ 1,000,000

15. Foundation Giving in Illinois -2010 Number of Grants – 5,784 Education 1,086 Human Services 1,763 Art/Culture 947 Health 753 Public/Society Benefit 612 Environment/Animals 268 Science and Technology 81 Social Sciences 60 Religion 139 Other 1

16. Independent Foundations • Nongovernmental, non-profit, self-governed organization • Funds (usually from a single source, such as one individual, family, or corporation) and programs managed by its own trustees or directors • Often is a large, complex, professionally managed organization • Must “pay out” approximately 5% of the market value of its assets each year

17. Independent Foundations Examples MacArthur Foundation Robert R. McCormick Foundation Retirement Research Foundation Polk Brothers Foundation

18. Family Foundations • Technically, not a legal term; refers to any independent private foundation whose funds are managed or strongly influenced by members of the donor’s family • Family members often serve as officers or board members • Family members often have a significant role in grantmaking decisions • Comprise ~ 40-45% of all private and community foundations • Most are small, informal organizations

19. Facts on Family Foundations In 2008 there were 38,339 Family Foundations in the United States who reported – $ 18,456,214 in giving $294,446,400 in assets

20. Family Foundations (cont.) More than 3/5 (64%) of family foundations reported less than $1 million in assets in 2008 Slightly less than half (47%) of family foundations reported less than $50,000 in giving Large Family Foundations favored health and education in both dollars given and grants made

21. Illinois Family Foundations • Steans Family Foundation • Lumpkin Family Foundation (central IL) • Kaplan Family Foundation • Rothschild Foundation • Stern Foundation

22. Corporate Foundations • Assets are derived primarily from contributions of a for-profit business • Contributions may be from an initial endowment, periodic contributions, or both • May maintain ties to the parent company but is an independent entity • Abides by same rules and regulations governing private • Differs from corporate giving programs

23. Illinois Corporate Foundations • Allstate Foundation • State Farm Foundation • Motorola Foundation • Caterpillar Foundation • John Deere Foundation • Chicago Tribune Charities

24. Operating Foundations • Private foundation whose primary purpose is to conduct research, social welfare, or other programs determined by its governing body or establishment charter (e.g., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) • May make grants, but the amount of grants awarded generally is small relative to the funds used for the foundation's own programs

25. Corporate Giving • Grantmaking program established and administered withina for-profit corporation (often administered by marketing or public relations unit) • Does not have a separate endowment; grantmaking closely tied to company profits • Gifts or grants go directly from the company to charitable organizations • Often focuses grantmaking on communities within which the company operates • Not subject to the same reporting requirements as corporate foundations

26. Types of Corporate Giving • Corporate Donations – Typically through a letter • Employee Match Programs • - good for volunteer-based programs • Event Sponsorship • In-Kind Contributions – Equipment, Furniture, Printing and other services

27. Corporate Giving Examples Local retail stores – Target, WalMart, Sears (corporation typically has national foundation) Community Banks Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

28. Combined Giving Drives • United Way • Chicago • Suburban • Combined Federal Campaign • State Giving Campaign • Corporate Employee Giving Campaigns

29. Individual Giving Solicitation Letters • Annual Appeals • Capital Campaigns Employee Giving Programs Planned Giving Property and Possessions

30. Special Events • Walk for Literacy • SCRABBLE Tournament • Lunches, Dinners, Galas • Car Washes, Bake Sales

31. Earned Income • Membership Dues • Training and Consultation • Books and Publications • Arts and Crafts Caution Must be mission-oriented or taxes will need to be paid

32. ePhilanthropy A tool to use in an overall strategy. Should not be viewed as quick money. There are no shortcuts to building effective relationships and having a diversified funding base.

33. Internet Strategies • E-mail Messaging • Newsletters, Updates • Internet Marketing • Solicitation, Sales • Advocacy • Petitions, Letter writing • On-Line Fundraising

34. On-Line Fundraising Issues • Web Site • Maintenance and Capabilities • Use of Credit Cards • State Registration • 40 States require registration

35. Raising Money Using Online Tools

36. Tools of the Trade • Auctions • The mainstay in philanthropic practices moves to the internet • Resources and community • Ways to organize and make connections • Grant databases • Finding the grantmaker who fits • Donor databases • Keeping track of donations

37. Online Auctions • Mission Fish and ebay Giving Works Through eBay Giving Works, Mission Fish allows a nonprofit and its supporters to sell items on ebay and donate the profits to the nonprofit. Anyone can sell on behalf of the nonprofit and donate 10% to 100% of the profits. To create a Mission Fish account: your nonprofit’s tax exempt letter, a voided check, an ebay account. http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=44628

38. Other Auction Products Bidding for Good Ready Set Auction A fundraiser can purchase these products to organize and host an online auction that can complement an live silent auction at an event or stand alone. The benefit of hosting an auction online is that more people can have the opportunity to bid. The fundraiser has a lot of promotion work to do, though. The advantage of Bidding for Good is a base of customers who receive weekly emails with auction highlights. Benefit Events In addition to the online auction, this product helps plan events from invitations through registration.

39. Researching Funding Sources • What To Look For • Proposal guidelines • Areas of interest • Organizations supported

40. Researching Funding Sources (cont) What To look At Foundation Directories Foundation 990’s Foundation Web Sites (many allow, some require, you to apply on line)

41. Researching Funding Sources (cont) Internet searches are the most time efficient and can be done by funding area of interest, geographic location, or specific foundation. Most – or at the least the better ones – are subscription-based Foundation Directories, 990’s and other collections can also be found at various universities and libraries associated with the Foundation Center

42. Online Resources for Nonprofit Fundraising PhilanTrack – a service that nonprofit grantseeking organizations can use to organize and prepare grant applications for its funders and prospective funders Foundation Access – allows nonprofit organizations to list their projects and programs in their profile. Foundations have access to these profiles to find projects that best match their priorities. Then, foundations can invite nonprofits to apply for grants. IdeaEncore Network - a service for nonprofits to share written and electronic documents with others in the nonprofit sector to help one another save time and money, enhance knowledge, or reduce the risk of innovation. i.e. board bylaws, articles, contracts, etc.

43. Corporate/ Foundation FunderDatabase Services 85% of funding for nonprofits comes from individual donors but corporate and foundation grants are very important. • Grant Station – An online database accessed by paying members of funder profiles and grants offered by: • U.S. Charitable Giving: • Independent foundations, i.e. Aetna Foundation, the independent philanthropic giving arm of Aetna, Inc., the healthcare benefits company. • Family foundations, i.e. Crown Family Foundation of Chicago • Community foundations, i.e. Chicago Community Trust • Corporate foundations, i.e. Starbucks Foundation • Corporate giving programs, i.e. Exelon Corporate Giving Program employee matching gifts programs • Faith-based grantmakers • Associations with grantmaking programs • International Charitible giving • Federal Grants and Loans • State Grants and Loans

44. Donor’s Forum • Based in Chicago, Donor’s Forum is a nonprofit membership association that promotes philanthropy and a strong nonprofit sector in Illinois. Members include grantmaking foundations, corporations and other donors. Partners include nonprofits, schools, places of worship, and consultants. • Database of funders is the most valuable tool on Donor’s Forum, but other essential ones include help in writing a strong grant proposal and resources to develop a greater understanding of the role grants play in the fundraising mix and what grantmakers want to see. • Donor’s Forum also hosts grant writing seminars and fundraising workshops of other kinds. • Quick tutorial

45. Guidestar Guidestar’s Mission To revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. Guidestar.org

46. Federal Grant Searching • Grants.gov – Search federal grant opportunities by keyword, funding activity, and agency. • When searching on behalf of your agency, use advanced search. Select eligibility as 503c nonprofit. Funding activity = education. Funding type = grant. http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp • U.S. Department of Education grants – ed.gov lists open grant opportunities. • Click on grants on the right-hand side. Using the click-down menu, select Grant opportunities. http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html

47. Donor Database Products • Raiser’s Edge • Widely used by nonprofits locally and nationally to record individual donor’ records and corp/found grants. This is a powerful database that allows organizations to sort through a huge amount of information the agency has entered and use it in strategic ways to plan and implement fundraising efforts. A leader among like products, it is also the most expensive, with an initial cost of over $7000, annual user fees of $1300 and training costs of $2700/ person. • Other widely used databases to track donors, generate reports and thank you letters • eTapestry • Donor Perfect • Telosa Exceed • Most of these products have online interfaces. In some cases, this feature costs extra.

48. Getting Downto Getting Grant Funds

49. Types of Funding • Program • General Operating Funds • Capacity-Building • Capital Campaigns

50. Making the Connection • Knowing someone is always the best when it comes to private funding • Check with board and volunteers • Determine the “fit” • Pay attention to submission dates • Follow the process or guidelines • Phone Call • Letter of Inquiry • Proposal Submission