I’m reviewing funding requests for upcoming meetings. In our giving office, we receive hundreds of applications every year. You might be surprised to know some of those requests are for tens of thousands of dollars with little to no mission alignment and no prior outreach. Even more disappointing are poorly crafted requests from organizations that DO align with our work, but they skip the relationship-building step and make unreasonable asks right out of the gate. This approach wastes everyone’s time. If you want to be a more effective fundraiser, start here: Prioritize alignment. Make sure potential donors share similar interests or priorities. It doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but there should be a clear connection. Know your audience. Understand an organization’s typical grant size and what financial details matter most to them. Make a thoughtful introduction. Don’t jump straight to the ask. Reach out, introduce yourself, and ask a few key questions first. Tell a compelling story. When given the opportunity, bridge the gap between a donor’s interests and the organization’s impact. That’s where relationships begin. A little preparation goes a long way and dramatically improves your chances of success. #Fundraising #Nonprofits #Philanthropy #Development #GrantWriting
This is super interesting feedback to hear re: reaching out ahead of time bc while our team knows relationships are important we also see lines on applications or posts about applications basically saying not to reach out and as someone on the other side of filling out the grant, it can be confusing to know the right etiquette. Plus, a lot of the emails I've sent to try and build the relationship has been met with 🦗's but it's a good reminder to keep sending them anyways bc they will hopefully land with the right person eventually!
I read this and my first thought was, "They probably used AI." AI has made so many parts of fundraising more efficient, and I use it every day. But it can never replace the relationship-building that's at the heart of this work. Donors give to people they trust, not perfectly written prompts.
This lands!!! I founded a music and mental health nonprofit almost ten years ago, and for most of that time I was self funded and working a full time corporate job. The relationship building everyone preaches simply didn’t happen. There was just no time left to have coffee with anyone. I finally went full time this year, and the part that proves your point here is that our largest funder to date is a partner I’d been quietly building a relationship with for nearly the entire life of the org. Years of showing up before there was ever an ask. The one relationship I made time for became the one that wrote us our first check. Curious what you’d tell founders doing this in reverse: the org is ten years old but the real outreach is only beginning. Where would you start? How can I fully start to get in front of people, not necessarily for the ask (which I hope would come in time), but to just start sharing our work and allow them to get to know me and our org?
Stacey Langal yes to everything you just said Stacey. I see this all the time in my current role at Instrumentl. Some think grants = free money and all you have to do is ask. The ask is only a small part of the story. A funder wants to know you are trustworthy, that there is alignment, and that you've done the work to understand what they actually care about before you show up asking for anything. The orgs that skip the relationship step aren't being lazy (usually). They're just under pressure and treating outreach like a formality instead of the actual foundation of the request. But funders can tell the difference between "we researched you" and "we found your name on a list." The good news is this isn't hard to fix. It just takes patience most nonprofits aren't used to giving themselves. Thanks for sharing!
Ad AI becomes more prolific, this situation will increase.Fundraising is relationship building and establishing credibility.I did fundraising for several public libraries who thought that their identity was sufficient for outside funding.All three had deadhead boards and MLS librarians for directors.I had a property management background and put that into creating relationships with the other town departments and the elected city board, selectmen. Establishing credibility first, relationships (too many public library. braries consider themselves autonomous.Today libraries support the full LGBTQ agenda and abortion.Thinking of themselves as heroic defenders of the First Amendment and a place for free books doesn't sellin today's competitive find market.
Hi Stacey! Somehow your post appeared on my feed and after looking at your Foundation I believe the work that I do aligns with your focus of supporting kids and families in Northeast Ohio. Is there a good way to set up a time to learn more about your current partners and if Adaptive Sports Connection would be a good fit? Thank you!
Consider yourself properly outreached. :) Network building is such a huge key to any relationship. Looking to build more for the nonprofits in my ecosystem.
Well said.
We would love to be considered for Funding. We our making history by changing the way Middle School Athletics works. I want to invite you to take a look at these two websites: www.nfmss.org and www.risingranksports.com Would love to converse. Dorian.Williams@intimeofneed.org
One final note: To everyone who reached out in response to this post, thank you for the thoughtful engagement and conversation. If your nonprofit is based in Northeast Ohio, I encourage you to visit our organization’s website to learn more about our giving priorities and processes. If you see a strong alignment with our work, feel free to send me an email with an introduction and any questions. I’m always happy to connect and learn more about the organizations serving our community.