The Hell Raiser's Blog: Looking for a job? KCLS is hiring

For King County fund development folks looking for a job... King County Library System Foundation is hiring. Here's more info forwarded to a friend who forwarded it to me:

Dear Friends,

The New Year is upon us and the King County Library System Foundation is hiring two new team members to join our fun, dynamic, and successful team.  

The roles of Grant Writer and Corporate & Foundation Relations Specialist are somewhat similar in that both require strong organizational skills and the ability to write in a compelling and persuasive manner. The Grant Writer will have a more narrow focus, work directly with the Library programs staff to define new programs, and be responsible for identifying and securing six-figure gifts from national organizations and institutions. Whereas the Corporate & Foundation Relations will have an opportunity to work directly with the Foundation’s Board on event sponsorships and in securing support from family foundations. We elected to post both positions at the same time with the idea that successful candidates may be invited to consider either role. So, please spread the word!

In a nutshell, we want someone who:

o   Is a strong and compelling writer

o   Enjoys working with a high-performing team

o   Can work independently and stay on task

o   Has a sense of humor and is fun to be around

o   Loves the library

SPOILER ALERT: the salary range for these jobs is identical. Both start in the mid-$50k’s. Details regarding salary and benefits are included in the postings.

Please help us spread the word and let me know if you know of anyone who decides to apply.

Warm regards,

Cindy Sharek

Director of Major Gifts

King County Library System Foundation

425-369-3225 (work)

425-765-9959 (mobile)

To Apply or Not to Apply (for a Grant)

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:

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/finances/grants-and-financial-resources/grant-application/main

http://www.federalgrants.com/apply-for-a-grant.html.

Don't Plow Into Stalled Cars, & Other Tips for Grant Writers

After 25 years of working as an employee of and consultant to nonprofit organizations, I have seen it all when it comes to grant-writing. Some of the more drama-filled situations I have witnessed are a consequence of submitting applications at the last minute. At one place where I worked, the Executive Director (ED) drove at breakneck speed on the shoulder of an expressway in order to hand-deliver her proposal before the 5:00 deadline. Until she plowed into a stalled car. (Fortunately, no one was hurt! And fortunately for the ED, our job descriptions included the phrase, "other duties as assigned," which came to mean "driving the ED around the greater Chicago area whenever necessary" for those of us with cars.) 

If you are one of those people who insist, "But I work better under pressure," read on. I have more gory details that should persuade you of the error of your ways. If after reading these, you still insist on the last-minute approach to submitting grant requests, then keep reading: To you, I offer a few tips about how to avoid last-minute landmines.

Three reasons not to submit your proposal at the last minute:

Reason 1) 
4:50 p.m.: You're at the computer, frantically finishing a proposal that has to get to the prospective funder by 5.  

4:51 p.m.: Whoo! You're ready to press Send!

4:52 p.m.: Your computer crashes. Yes, there's another computer in the office. But you don't have the password...and the person who does is on vacation, backpacking through northern Alaska.

                                                                 ~ ~ ~

Reason 2) 
4:50 p.m.: You're at the computer, frantically finishing a propopsal that has to get to the prospective funder by 5 .

4:51 p.m.: Whoo! All that's left to do is to copy and paste your narrative onto the funder's website and press Send. 

4:52 p.m.: You log onto the funder's website.

4:53 p.m.: The website won't accept your password. But it will send you an email with a link to reset your password within the hour. 
                                        ~ ~ ~
Reason 3)  
4:50 p.m.: You're at the computer, frantically typing...  

4:51 p.m.: Done! All that's left to do is find the email address for the foundation, and send! Except that the foundation does not accept proposals by email. And the foundation is located three states away.
                                        ~ ~ ~

And two reasons not to wait until the last day to send your proposal: 

Reason 1)
You're almost ready to submit your public safety funding request, due tomorrow. All that's left to do is get police crime data to attach to the proposal, as required by the funder. Only problem is that the police department's computer system is down.* They don't know when it will be back up.**

Reason 2)
The proposal's due tomorrow - three states away. No problem. According to the post office website, you can send mail overnight as long as you get to the post office by 4 p.m. And you get there at 3. Problem is, the website lied. The person behind the counter says the last pick-up for overnight mail was at 2:00. You're out of luck. 

No problem. You can go to UPS. They'll overnight it. But not to a PO box address...which is the only address you have.

How to avoid timing-related funding misadventures:

Strategy 1)
Collect required attachments - statistics and other data, resumes of key staff - early in the application-writing process.

Strategy 2)
Save your work early and often: on a hard copy, on a disc, in an email to yourself, with a memory card, in Google Docs, ...

Strategy 3)
Perhaps you have made for yourself a reference a chart of funding opportunities to pursue. Each row of the chart corresponds to a particular foundation; the first column corresponds to the funder's application deadlines, the second to contact information, and so on. If you don't have it already, add a column to your chart titled "mode of application." It is answers to questions like, Does the funder require you to apply online, on its website? (And if so, how does that process work?) Via email? Snail Mail? And if snail mail, will you be sending the application to an office or a PO box? 

If you don't already have a chart, or something like it, make one.  

Strategy 4)
Don't drive 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. And watch out for stalled cars.


* I swear I am not making this up. 
** It was several days. 

Grants for School/PTA/School Group-Sponsored Gardens

Whole Foods, the Whole Kids Foundation, and FoodCorps (a national service organization dedicated to fighting childhood obesity) are collaborating to offer grants and technical assistance for garden projects sponsored by K-12 schools or affiliated 501 (c) (3) organizations.


Awards include:

• $2000
• Support and mentoring for one year from FoodCorps

Key dates include:

• December 31, 2011: Application deadline
• February 2012: Award notifications begin.

For more information, visit:

• http://wholekidsfoundation.org/gardengrants.php 
• http://www.wholekidsfoundation.org
• http://www.foodcorps.org
• http://www.gardengrants.com