Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this?
Let’s say your nonprofit provides financial literacy
education to low- and moderate-income people. You find an opportunity to apply
for a grant from a foundation that supports financial literacy programs (no support
for general operating dollars, maximum of $5000). No, it’s not the $50,000
grant you seek, but your organization is new, your budget is tiny, and that
$50,000 grant might be a ways off. You check out the application form and make some
notes:
XYZ Foundation requires info re: applicant’s past
financial literacy workshops:
-
the number
of workshops,
-
number
of participants per workshop
-
who are
over 40 years old,
-
making
between $35 and $36k per year (for each participant in this income range: the
number of children they have in college, where their children go to school, and
if they are gluten-free),
-
and
second-time home-buyers,
for
the last three years.
Or what about this?
You find a grant opportunity (maximum $5000, no general
operating support, no support for fundraising).
You skim the application. This funder wants applicants to
submit:
1) a list of foundations that: have committed
funding to your project, are considering
your submitted application, and you plan to apply to;
2) audited financial statements from the last two
years;
3) The amount of money you plan to raise via each
of these categories - corporate sponsorships, individual donations, special
events, direct mail, and federated campaigns – during each of the next three years; and
4) The total number of individual donor contributions
your organization has received, as well as the number of $25 donations, $50
donations, $75 donations, and so on, up to $10,000, for each of the last five
years.
Would you apply for a grant in either of these two
situations? What criteria would guide your decision? If you do not yet have
criteria, here are links to a couple of articles that may be of interest:
