Fundraising

Introduction

Raising funds to acheive your neighborhood's mission and goals.

Overview

This section includes tips for how to efficiently raise general operating and project funds for your neighborhood from individual donors, foundations and public sources

Page Index

  • Key Issues
  • Common Problems and Solutions
  • Successful Strategies
  • Annotated Web Resources
  • Topic Library
  • Sub-Topics and Vendors


    • Key Issues Related to this Topic

  • Relationships are key! By doing good work in an open and fair way neighborhood associations build relationships of trust and good will with neighborhood residents, stakeholders, donors and foundations. New volunteers, neighborhood donations and stable public and/or private operating funds are the life-blood of your organization.

  • Every relationship is an exchange relationship. Each volunteer and donor gives to your group because they receive something, tangible or intangible in return. Be clear about what your group offers each of your stakeholders and what they offer your group in return. Communicate these benefits to attract new donors.

  • Successful fundraising starts with a clear mission, vision and goals.The clearer and sharper your groupís mission, vision and goals, the easier it will be for potential volunteers, donors and funders to understand your message and to choose to help out. Before your group writes a fundraising letter to residents or a grant proposal to a foundation, your board, key volunteers and staff should answer the following five questions- 1. What is our mission? 2. Who are our customers? 3. What do our customers value? 4. What are our results? 5. What is our plan? (Questions from the Self-Assessment Guide of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation.)

  • What is the value that our group adds? The Twin Cities has a dizzying number of nonprofit organizations that are soliciting the volunteer time and support of individuals and public and private funders. By getting clear about the unique contributions of your group, your organization will stand out in the crowd. Some of the unique roles which neighborhood associations fulfill in local communities include 1. Holding and sharing a broad based vision for the community. 2. Mobilizing residents, block clubs, businesses, neighborhood institutions and public partners to achieve this vision. 3. Providing a fine grain information flow to and from neighborhood residents for larger institutions. 4. Building community among the diverse residents of a geographic neighborhood. 5. Building community among the diverse residents of a geographic neighborhood. 6. Developing & implementing innovative, resident-led solutions to difficult social problems.

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    Common Problems and Solutions

  • Limited operating funds- - neighborhood groups must often get a lot done on a shoestring budget. Developing an annual projected budget each Fall and forming a fundraising committee can help your group take advantage of more annual funding opportunities to meet your projected annual budget.

  • Doing good work that no one pays for- neighborhood associations often do very important work that no one sees or recognizes. Some neighborhoods raise their visibility through an annual fund letter to residents and stakeholders that lists their groups accomplishments and requests annual support. Defining and measuring your groupís success and impacts will help in raising funds from foundations and public sources.

  • Finding the first big donor- Many foundations want to be the "last one in." To find a foundation that will become the first major contributor for a project, start by describing your project and its impacts clearly and then identify and list all the neighborhood partners and in-kind resources that you have collected already. The broad-based support of your community for your proposed project can help secure an early funder.

  • Limited time available for fundraising- - if your are well organized, in 10 hours a month your group can implement a successful grant writing effort- see the helpful tips listed under Successful Strategies.

  • Few foundations are funding neighborhoods- historically, about 12 Twin Cities foundations regularly give to neighborhood associations. Please see the Center's "Funding for Neighborhood Organizations" publication - available from the Publications page of our website - for more information on how neighborhoods can attract more foundation support.

  • Chasing after grant funds/ "mission creep" Often neighborhood associations apply to local, state or federal grant programs and are awarded grants for things they are not committed to doing. Avoid this problem by asking first "Does this potential project fit with our mission and long-term plans?"

  • Foundation funds are focused on more "needy" neighborhoods- while most foundations concentrate their resources on improving the lives of residents of lower income communities, some foundations and public agencies are open to funding environmental, family support, arts and civic improvement projects in neighborhoods of all income levels.

  • Over-promising what you can deliver- To attract adequate public and private funds some neighborhood associations end up putting unrealistic outcome expectations into their grant requests, or committing their staff to implement large work plans paid for by different grant contracts at the same time. To maintain the sanity of staff and volunteers set more conservative expectations about what your group can accomplish in a year.

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    Successful Strategies

  • Start looking for resources close to home, and then look further out. Often your group can meet a goal or fill a need by using volunteer labor and donated services and goods from within your neighborhood. Asking for help from within your neighborhood strengthens your neighborhood. When raising funds to meet your groupís goals and needs, start a neighborhood annual fund drive that can slowly grow from year to year. By raising funds from local residents for your group's work, you can show public and private funders that residents care about and find value in your organization.

  • Keep a scrapbook of your successes. Keep articles written about your group and your accomplishments and positive comments from residents and stakeholders in a file to build your group's case statement.

  • Don't take public funds for granted. Funds provided for neighborhood groups in Minneapolis and St. Paul from the MCDA, NRP and St. Paul PED are not secure over the long-term. Neighborhood associations and district councils must document their accomplishments and share them with residents, decision-makers and public officials in order to secure neighborhood funding in the future.

  • When writing grants, develop a case statement and then customize your message to each funder Your case statement is the ongoing record of your group's evolving history, mission, vision, goals, structure, community needs, volunteer base, accomplishments, self-evaluation and funding sources. With this case statement in place it is easy to write a general operating grant or project grant by cutting and pasting from your source documents to fill in the answers to questions for a grant application. Before writing a grant, call the foundation to clarify the fit between your group's work and the foundation's interest. Use the prospect research you have done to highlight your group's activities that fit most closely with the funder's priorities.

  • Stay organized to make the most of your limited time for grant writing. To make the most of your time you need three things- your case statement, your calendar of deadlines, and a file of grant attachments. Your case statement is your "boiler plate" grant which includes your mission, history, goals, accomplishments, partners and funders from which you answer the questions for each specific grant. Your calendar of deadlines is created by culling your list of foundations down to your short list of hot prospects and placing their upcoming deadlines on a calendar or spreadsheet. Your grant attachments file will include extra copies of your 501c(3) letter, annual application to the attorney general, board of directors list, previous and current year budgets, annual audit (if you have one), annual report and press clippings, to send in with grants.

  • Professional grant writers can be of great help when getting started. A professional grant writer or fundraiser can help your group write its first case statement and develop its first prospect lists. Once you have these two tools in hand your volunteers and staff can more easily write fundraising letters and grants requests, making small adjustments to match each request with the priorities of each funder.

  • Foundations generally focus their funds on lower-income neighborhoods or on underprivileged groups. Groups working in lower income neighborhoods (who are clear about their customers, mission and results) often find it easier to raise foundation funds. Organizations serving higher income neighborhoods can raise funds from foundations or corporations with a branch office in or near their neighborhood, or which have an interest in a specific topic area that the neighborhood group is working to address.

  • Consider applying for a grant in partnership with other groups. Many neighborhoods have found it advantageous to form a partnership with other neighborhoods or with other non-profit organizations to raise money to achieve common goals and objectives. Benefits of partnership grants include: offering the foundation a broader impact, building upon the longer-track record of an experienced partner, and making use of the differing expertise and capacities of each group. The challenges of partnership grants include; deciding which group will be the fiscal agent, coordinating joint staff meetings, ensuring performance by partner organizations, and coordinating grant writing among the divisions of a large partner organization.

  • Acknowledge donors promptly. Volunteers, individual donors and foundations appreciate prompt acknowledgment of their contributions, and will usually make repeat gifts when treated respectfully.

  • Receiving public and private grant funds means entering a legal contract. When accepting grant funds from a public agency or private foundation your organization, the CEO and/or Board Chair of your organization will sign a contract or gift acknowledgement letter which states the purposes for which your group has been given the funds, and your financial and program reporting requirements.

  • Fund-based accounting can help your group provide accurate financial reports to funders. See the resource groups in the financial management section of this guide for help on properly accounting for the expenditure of grant funds your group receives.

  • Keeping a daily or weekly implementation note book & file can make writing program reports a snap. Most funders require a brief written program report quarterly, bi-annually or annually. If staff & volunteers document their experiences and observations as they go, writing reports to funders need not be a burden.

  • Success measures are a win/win for neighborhoods and funders. Your group can define it's own measures of success for your neighborhood revitalization efforts. This can boost the morale of your volunteers and providing your funders with the results-oriented accountability they are looking for. Check the "Evaluation" section of this Guide for more info and ideas.

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    Annotated WebLinks

  • Fundraising training and consultation
    MAP for Nonprofits   06/15/04
    Offers both training and consultants to assist organizations with fundraising

  • Helpful publications, classes and links
    Minnesota Council of Nonprofits   06/15/04
    Provides a variety of resources related to fundraising

  • Most important site in MN for grantseekers
    Minnesota Council on Foundations   06/15/04
    Common Grant Application, grantwriting classes, links to foundation web sites, on-line list of deadlines, excellent article on how to write a grant, information on ordering the "MN Guide to Foundation and Corporate Giving Programs"

  • STAR Program Description and Deadlines
    St. Paul Planning and Economic Development   06/15/04
    St. Paul Neighborhood STAR Program awards loans and grants for capital improvement projects in St. Paul neighborhoods

  • Community Investment Fund
    United Way of Minneapolis & St. Paul   06/15/04
    United Way's Community Investment Fund provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 to fund grass-roots projects in the Twin Cities metro area

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    Library

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    Vendors by Sub-Topic

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