For the Week One assignment, you will be writing a 1-2 page paper (not including APA formatted cover page and References secti

113

Resource A: What Is a Foundation?

THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY two types of foundations: private and public. As defi ned by Foundation Center (http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted /tutorials/ft_tutorial/what.html), a private foundation

• Is a nongovernmental, nonprofi t organization

• Has a principal fund or endowment

• Is managed by its own trustees and directors

• Maintains or aids charitable, educational, religious, or other activities serving the public good

• Makes grants, primarily to other nonprofi t organizations

• Is required to fi le a 990-PF form with the IRS annually

The three private foundation types are (1) independent or family foun- dations, (2) corporate foundations, and (3) operating foundations.

1. The term family foundation does not have any legal meaning, but the Council on Foundations defi nes a family foundation as one in which “the donor or the donor’s relatives play a signifi cant role in governing and/ or managing the foundation.” The Foundation Center refers to independent and family foundations as those receiving endowments from individuals or families (and, in the case of family foundations, they continue to show measurable donor or donor-family involvement).

2. A corporate foundation is also referred to as a company-sponsored foundation. A corporate foundation is established by a corporation but tends to operate separately from the company and to have its own dedi- cated staff. In most cases it is a separate legal entity that maintains close ties to the parent company, and the members of the foundation and company boards sometimes intentionally overlap. These foundations tend to give to a broad spectrum of organizations; however, some establish giving policies that refl ect the parent company’s interest. Others allow the employees of the

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-04 00:42:40.

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Resource A—What Is a Foundation?114

corporation to have decision-making authority over some—if not all—of the foundation’s grantmaking. Often, corporate foundations provide grant support in the areas where their corporation has a base of operation.

3. An operating foundation uses its resources to conduct research or provide a direct service. It is not uncommon for this type of foundation to engage in fundraising as a means of generating the revenue it needs to make grants.

A public foundation (also known as a public charity) as defi ned by the Foundation Center

• Is a nongovernmental, nonprofi t organization

• Receives funding from numerous sources and must continue to seek money from diverse sources in order to retain its public charity status

• Is managed by its own trustees and directors

• Operates grants programs benefi ting unrelated organizations or indi- viduals as one of its primary purposes

• Makes grants, primarily to other nonprofi t organizations

• Is required to fi le a 990 form with the IRS

Here are three examples of public foundations: Community Foundation. A community foundation is a tax-exempt, non-

profi t, autonomous, publicly supported, nonsectarian philanthropic institu- tion with a long-term goal of building permanent, named component funds, established by many separate donors, for the broad-based charitable benefi t of the residents of a defi ned geographic area, typically no larger than a state.

Donor-Advised Fund. A donor-advised fund (DAF) “is a charitable giv- ing vehicle set up under the tax umbrella of a public charity, which acts as sponsor to many funds. A donor-advised fund offers the opportunity to cre- ate a fl exible vehicle for charitable giving as an alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation. Donors receive administrative support, a cost savings and tax advantages by conducting their grantmaking through a donor-advised fund.” Once the primary domain of community founda- tions, DAFs are now offered at major fi nancial institutions such as Fidelity Investments, which has the largest DAF program in the country. DAFs are the fastest growing charitable vehicle. Unfortunately for grantseekers, nonprofi ts typically cannot apply for these funds, as the grants are recom- mended by the advisers to the funds.

Women’s Funds. As stated in the Women’s Funding Network (www .womensfundingnetwork.org):

In the 1970s and early 1980s, following the creation of the Ms. Foundation, the idea of “women’s funds”—organizations focused on

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-04 00:42:40.

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Resource A—What Is a Foundation? 115

granting money to women and girls—gained momentum. New funds were created from regional funds like the New York Women’s Foundation to family foundations such as the Sister Fund and the Daphne Foundation. By 2000, Women’s Funding Network numbered 94 funds with $200 million in collective assets. In the past decade, women’s funds formalized their shared values, including a commitment to a democratic vision of philanthropy, and distilled a “social change” philosophy that prioritizes investments capable of making lasting and proven changes in the lives of women and girls, by fi xing systems not symptoms.

Women’s funds are located in communities nationwide, and each has its own grant guidelines.

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-04 00:42:40.

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O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-04 00:42:40.

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21

Step 2 Developing Relationships with Funders

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH FUNDERS is a long-term, sincere, and strategic investment of time and intention. Once it is determined that an organization’s proposed program is solid, time and focused effort needs to be invested in identifying funders who are potentially a match with both the organization and its proposed program, project, or special initiative. Resources on the Winning Grants Step by Step, Fourth Edition website offer links to other sites with detailed information and tips on how to effectively conduct prospect research to successfully identify possible funders. Step Two also provides no- nonsense advice about prospect research and then offers ideas for developing relationships once funders are identifi ed. Please refer to Resource A (What Is a Foundation?) to learn more about what foundations are and how they work.

Making the Initial Approach

A grantmaker ’s website typically holds all the information grantseekers need to determine whether it is a match. In fact, in this day and age, it is now fairly commonplace for all grant guidelines and supporting materials to be on the website; funders are “going green” in every way and reducing paper consumption. So not only are grant guidelines online but, as mentioned in the Introduction, grant proposals are now routinely submitted online and paperless. Typically, grantseekers will fi nd an abundance of information, including—but by no means limited to—background information on the foundation as an institution, its staff and board of directors, grant guidelines, and special funding initiatives, if any. Most funder websites will also proudly feature current and previous grantees or the programs successfully funded. Foundations, like all 501(c)3 organizations, are required by law to provide access to their Internal Revenue Service Form 990, which is their annual tax

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-03 00:24:36.

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Winning Grants Step by Step22

return. Many may have a link to this document on their websites, or they can be located by visiting Guide Star (www.guidestar.org) or the Foundation Center (www.foundationcenter.org).

These success stories provide the very best indicators of what specifi c funders are likely to fund in the future. Some funders may have additional microsites (separate sites that are linked to the main site) for particular funding initiatives they have launched. That said, other funders may still require additional sleuthing on the part of the grantseeker before they can appropriately glean whether there is truly a match. So in addition to reviewing funder websites, grantseekers should use various search engines to research their previous giving to other organizations and perhaps also to look for feature stories about them (if not found on their websites) or pick up the telephone and call a foundation directly.

But be prepared: this conversation just might lead to a brief discussion of the proposed project or program, so the caller should be ready to talk about it and hit the highlights. Who knows? This may be the start of a great new relationship. After reviewing a grantmaker’s website and other related materials, determine clarity around there being a potentially solid fi t between the organization’s proposed program or project and what the grantmaker says it is interested in funding. Grantseekers need to recognize that the relationship they make with foundation staff is one based on mutual need; they then need to be on a mission to educate foundation staff on what they need from the grantseeker’s organization.

In addition, it is important not to assume that funders know and under- stand the grantseeking organization’s mission or target audience or that the program being presented is addressing a priority of theirs.

Developing the Relationship

After establishing that there is a good fi t, relationship building becomes a continuous process that begins before a single word of a proposal is written, and it spans many years. Keep in mind that it is a relationship, rather than a transaction. Good communication with funders should never end, even if and when the organization may stop receiving grants from them. Once a relationship exists, funders like to receive progress reports about how the organization or program they funded is doing. They may also take an inter- est in other compelling ideas that the organization has developed.

It’s not always easy to develop relationships with funders, especially if they have not previously funded an organization. However, the key is the relationship part of that phrase. It’s relationship building, rather than sell- ing, that makes a difference.

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-03 00:24:36.

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Step 2—Developing Relationships with Funders 23

Here are a few concrete ways to approach a funder to open the door to relationship building. These are discussed more fully in the following subsections.

• Send the funder a brief email inquiry.

• Call the foundation and speak with someone regarding your proposal idea.

• Send a brief (no longer than two pages maximum) letter of inquiry to the funder.

• Invite the funder to your organization for a site visit.

While grant guidelines determine a nonprofi t’s initial approach, grant- seekers may have a connection to the funder, either directly or through one or more contacts who can potentially open a door on behalf of the organiza- tion for an initial meeting or phone conversation.

Sending Email Inquiries to Funders

Many funders offer grantseekers the option of contacting them via email with questions and funding inquiries. Some grantmakers even provide direct email access to their program offi cers from their websites; others may have an “[email protected]” email that is routed to the appropriate staff person after review. In either case, email is a valuable tool for stimulating further, more meaningful, contact because it provides an opportunity for a brief introduction as a staff person, as well as the organization represented and the program needing funding. At the same time it gives the program offi – cer the time he needs to review the information and potentially respond. Email is far less demanding for program offi cers than a phone call and less wasteful than paper documents. And given the signifi cant shift from paper to electronic processes, email is all the more important. The key is to keep it brief! Resist the urge to write a mini proposal in the email. Grantseekers can also request an in-person meeting or time for a phone conversation in the email, which then provides the funder with options for responding to the communication.

Reality Check Be strategic and err on the side of restraint when using a contact to open a door with a funder. Few things are worse than dealing with a program offi cer who feels pushed into a meeting. Grantseekers always want an invitation, rather than a meeting based on obligation. Think “soft touch” rather than “heavy hand.”

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-03 00:24:36.

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Winning Grants Step by Step24

Contacting a Funder by Telephone

Before calling a funder to pitch an idea, be prepared. The person with whom a grantseeker speaks may have only a short time for a conversa- tion, so preparation is essential. Be ready to provide the highlights of the organization’s program within a ten- to fi fteen-minute conversation. This time frame includes the time it may take for the person to ask for clarifi cation of any points. Grantseekers should remember that they are not selling their organization’s program to a funder; they are attempting to make a connection between the program and the funding institution’s interest areas. To actively build a long-term relationship with the funder and with this particular representative, careful and engaged listening to the funder’s needs and providing information the funder wants is extremely important.

In listening to the funder’s needs, one might discover—sometimes very early in the conversation—that there in fact is not a match between the organization’s program and the funder’s current funding priorities; that is why grantseekers should have one or two other program ideas in mind to present as a backup. Do not waste this opportunity with the funder; be fully prepared with information on clearly identifi ed unmet needs that may fi t into the funder’s interest areas.

Writing a Letter of Inquiry

A letter of inquiry (or LOI) is sometimes the fi rst step in a funder’s grant- making process, particularly if the relationship between prospective grantee and funder is new. An LOI provides the funder with a “sneak peek” at the organization, target audience, and prospective program, without requir- ing the grantseeker to develop a full proposal at this early stage. After the funder has reviewed the information presented in the LOI, the organiza- tion may or may not be invited to submit a full proposal. Even though an LOI is a preliminary step, it should be treated as a vital part of relationship building. It is an integral fi rst interaction of what grantseekers hope will be many interactions with the funder. If asked to submit an LOI, check to see whether the funder has specifi c LOI guidelines. If it does not, the following list suggests what information to include, as a general rule:

• Organization’s mission and related programs

• The need the organization wishes to meet

• The outcomes expected from the organization’s project

• General details of how an organization will conduct the project

• The potential fi t between the funder and the organization

The sample LOI included in this step presents to a funder the Swim 4 Life Program, which will be used as an example program throughout this

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-03 00:24:36.

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Step 2—Developing Relationships with Funders 25

workbook. This is the letter that the Swim 4 Life program executive director would submit if an LOI was invited by the funder or if the funder accepted unsolicited submissions.

Sample Letter of Inquiry July 17, 2012 Wendy Wonder President XYZ Foundation 0000 Clinton Avenue, Suite 2330 Anytown, Any State 02009

Dear Ms. Wonder: I appreciate the time Anne Jonas has taken to communicate with us about how our programs fi t with

the XYZ Foundation’s funding priorities, and the encouragement she off ered us. Therefore, on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff , I am honored to submit this brief Letter of Inquiry introducing Swim 4 Life, an innovative swimming instruction program by Jane Swimmer, a former U.S. Olympic swimming hopeful and hometown hero. We respectfully request your consideration of a grant of $25,000 to help us expand our programs for low-income youth from two to three schools in the Gathenton School District.

Established as a 501(c)3 organization in 2008, the mission of the Swim 4 Life program is to empower youth in the underserved communities throughout King County through high-quality programs to utilize the discipline of swimming to improve physical fi tness, nurture self-esteem, and acquire the confi dence to advance their lives. This mission is currently being fulfi lled through programs currently operated at Arthur Schomburg Middle School in South Spring and the Rockmore Education Complex High School in Abbington. More than 450 youth have participated since operations began, and we would now like to add Cooperville Middle School, also located in Abbington.

The need for programs like Swim 4 Life is enormous in the communities we serve. Swimming has not been a popular sport in African American or Latino communities in some measure as a result of various factors including access to pools and other safe places to swim. Historically speaking, African Americans were denied access to public pools prior to the civil rights movement—and after in many instances. As a result, this population turned to water holes, ponds, and other unsupervised alternatives, which led to rates of drowning among people of color that far exceed those of whites. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest report in early 2012, the drowning rate for African Americans between the ages of fi ve and fourteen was more than three times that for whites.

Through a range of summer and after-school services, the Swim 4 Life program teaches children to be “water safe” and to swim, and prepares them for competitive team training if they want to further develop their skills. Our program at one school even provides swim instruction specifi cally for students with disabilities. Our partnership with the Gathenton School District off ers us the opportunity to replicate the programs throughout the cities of Rockmore and South Spring in King County, contributing to improved health and fi tness of hundreds of youth who have been excluded from the sport because of limited access to safe pools.

With your help, we will expand our program from two to three schools in the Gathenton School District and achieve the following specifi c programmatic outcomes with the low-income students and students of color we plan to serve in 2012:

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-03 00:24:36.

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Winning Grants Step by Step26

Now that a sample LOI has been presented and reviewed, take the time to answer the questions in Worksheet 2.1, which is located both at the end of this chapter and on the Winning Grants Step by Step, Fourth Edition companion website, as clearly as possible. This exercise will help in developing a strong letter of inquiry for funders. If grantseekers cannot clearly and articulately answer the questions, that probably means that they need to gather more information before they can effectively complete an LOI.

• 100 students participate in water aerobics classes, which wi

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