By Marie McKinney DPI-NGO Briefings and Events
June 16, 2011. Whether you are running a nonprofit for the arts or providing valuable outreach for the community here or abroad, there is so much you can learn from finding out what others are doing in different sectors. There was so much to learn at the U.N’s DPI/NGO Relations Communications Workshop called: “Finding Funding for NGOs in a Challenging Global Economy” in New York City. There are many similarities in best practices by NGO’s and nonprofit arts organizations. I have led programs in both sectors in my work at The Negro Ensemble Company, educating artists as business professionals; providing small group facilitators training for health professionals, teachers and ministers in New York and Monrovia, Liberia with Restoration and Healing Inc in family violence, sexual abuse and civil war trauma, and providing cultural education and events for schools and the community with The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers and Native Horizon.
For those who missed the conference and hands on breakout session, here is a summary of the morning session’s events.
On Thursday May 26th NGO or Non Governmental Organization staff and leaders met with UN representatives and fundraising experts to discuss new strategies for fundraising in the current economy. Among the panel experts were The Foundation Center’s Luz Rodriguez also founder of a new initiative called www.grantsace org which is a user friendly site that helps organizations here and aboard access important funding opportunities and skills. Also UN Representative Gail Bindley-Taylor and fundraising experts Lesley Vann and David Andrews were in attendance.
According to Luz Rodriguez, the best NGO funding is earned income, like thrift shops, sales initiatives that make the NGO more attractive to funders. Funders like to put their money where there is most value. These kinds of projects allow funders to see the self sustainability of the organization and that the cause was a broad base of supports. Most funders want to know that they are not the only one funding an NGO. Furthermore, NGOs can access budget proposal fundraising planning information and be introduced to corporate giving by engaging board members to make use of their contacts. There are free at library learning centers and online tutorials through the Foundation Center. More intensive seminars and fee based seminars are accessible in other countries through www.grantspace.org. The Foundation Center directory online is the best resource for getting information on funders with 100, 000 profiles of private community foundations and corporate giving programs.
The Foundation Center maintains core resources at 79 Fifth Ave 2nd floor and 5 locations of library learning centers have been created by branching out to Nigeria, China, Brazil, and more free of charge to NGOs around the world. Other centers can be created with an investment of $990 for a $6000 library in fundraising books and instruments.
Hand in hand with critical training that NGOs receive, learning to fundraise and cultivate relationships and learning the nature of philanthropy and showing up as partners rather than needy recipients of funding. Foundations fund vital partner ready to effect change not the needy. They have more interest in the anticipated impact and how to evaluate the impact and results of the programs. It’s all about results articulated well, (successful or not) and how results were produced and the lessons learned along the way. I urge you not to make the mistake of going after funders as if they are a meal ticket instead of a person. They need to know that they are dealing with another viable business person. People fund people. Be honest about your results and don’t say you will do more than you will produce. A lesson learned has value.
To roll up your sleeves and have no book keeper, no one to answer the phones while you are gone also have to have good business sense and good financial management systems in place to gain new sound financial planners. They need to see good fundraisers and good financial managers who are articulating the finances of the projects that we need to accomplish.
www.grantspace.org is a site accessible around the world, more user-friendly. Under tools there are samples of documents and proposals… winning proposals. There is free access to it anywhere in the world.
Lesley Vann Principal of Community Internal Consulting
People give to people and organizations that they come to respect and trust. Ways to create strategies, a cohesive plan, group dialogue and funder research can be found at The Foundation Center. Funding research at libraries-in Yonkers, librarians eager to help, or purchased service by month are all useful there.
Tap your existing networks with personal relationships calling individuals and creating relationship can be done best on the golf course…Trust is cemented through group credibility. You have to be fiscally sound.
Stay in touch and cultivate relationships For example: Citizens for Global Solutions CGS invites people to donate multi stream fundraising by direct mail, Model UN events as part of their annual meeting. During an event one person announced that they were doubling their contribution, (matching funds). A fellow was always giving $100 a year. They made that person important and that person left 1 million dollars when he died.
The UN Association from San Francisco empowers the UN peace culture and education they show how successful their programs are in the types of causes they promote. They use names of celebrities to draw people to the events. Ask for donations from unexpected places. Speakers on fundraising from Universities could make donations never underestimate the power of relationship. Be optimistic. Look at the websites of those people and organizations you respect.
David Andrew David J Andrews Associates, LLC
Integration of Fundraising Technologies
What do people fear? I don’t like to ask for money. I’m going to suggest a departure from what you know. The best fundraisers are the best story tellers. Let me tell you a story….A good story has:
1) A quest,
2) It is exciting,
3) It has heroes that do amazing things.
Translate the story to those potential supporters.
Let me tell you how they did it. Would you like to be a part of how they did it? Here’s how you can be a part of it…
People fund a cause greater than themselves. People fund People. People they have heard stories from. The funder says: “I was successful and I never understood why. I amassed it and once I funded a great cause I knew why I had worked so hard.”
Have a relevant mission in the light of today’s reality. How does your mission relate to the world’s issues, that people are concerned about? They will be interested.
Leadership Creativity and Vision find people that are not just people who are “the same old, same old.”
They look for innovative programs and partnerships. Donors look for leverage. People not afraid of working with others in partnership (other organizations and others doing the same (or complimentary) things they are doing).
Funders ask: How are you working with others to achieve more together than you can reach by yourself?
Donor Acquisition –
Foundation Center The gold doesn’t come to meet you. Donors are all around you. Brochures, cards and people you see in community organizations there are many sources for the most powerful people to people conversations, personal word of mouth. Your task as a fundraiser is not just to acquire but keep donors by creating interest through communication and positive relationships. Newsletters letting them know what you are doing, telling a story and including them. You are not a fundraiser that asks for money, you want them to talk to others about what you (we) are doing as a group. Have them tell your story to others and participate through:
1) Newsletters,
2) Websites, about international sites and what you are doing there.
3) Take time to systematically think about the 5 people who support you most that you got excited about. If it’s a good story they will tell the story at cocktail parties over and over and multiply your donors.
Evaluation
Evaluating your results is most important. It’s even more important when someone else evaluates you—get a University to evaluate you and that will be a homerun if things are wrong with the program share that with your donor too. Honesty is what donor prizes most here’s what went wrong, here’s what we learned!!! 3rd party evaluation is very important.
Renew Donors and Share Results
Recognize your supporters, practice giving recognition of donors who have made it possible. There is nothing that cannot be achieved, if you are willing to share how it was achieved with your donors. Take out most recent funding letters or proposals read them for the story they contain. Could it be more exciting and innovating? And secrets you have by all the things you have learned.
More information on www.davidjandrews.com : Presentation on June 14 at University of Pennsylvania Club Fundraising Seminar for greater depth.
Questions and Answers
What are some of the worst pitfalls for fundraisers?
Luz Rodriguez: One pitfall is when earned income is not a mission related activity, these funds .should be kept at a minimum. Like if you have an Italian restaurant, legally it has to be insignificant amount associated to the theme of the cause. If it were a restaurant with a theme from Darfur and it educated every customer, and every meal educated customers then that mission was related to the mission of the restaurant; then it unlimited how much you can make according to laws in the US.
Learn what your state laws are, they are different in different states.
David J. Andrews: The best way is to tell stories about where things work and where the organization makes a difference.
Luz Rodriguez: Publically announce the results of evaluations. How many were saved because of t e program? Take the example from marketing of companies, even celebrities.
Participant comment: The UN is too quiet about their impact around the world.
There are local chapters of the UN and websites and speakers and info at Local associations of UN are active.
David J. Andrews: Example children of Armenia fund makes 1000s from those who have immigrated here. They are very successful-when we tell the story of the problems of Armenian children. The Armenian community is generous and raised $ 3 million in donations and auctions.
Start with the participation
Question: What is more important the story or the story teller?
Luz Rodriguez: The story and the storyteller are equally important Research what speaks to that person and frame the story to their interests.
David J. Andrews: The Ask: How to Ask for Support for Your Nonprofit Cause, Creative Project by Laura Fredricks, Ivan G. (FRW), speaks of a long journey with potential donors. Person to person, you build the relationship and judgment call
Luz Rodriguez: Put Pay Pal on the website. Get a college intern to do it for you. Take pictures of projects from Cameroon, for example and how to deliver new trends of NGO operation. Have a market on your website get them to purchase things from you and make donations.
At Grand Central Station you can rent space there for your organization.
Lesley Vann: A new fundraising website www.charitybuzz.com helps people donate things and auction things. If you have access to celebrities, ask them to donate the use of their celebrity home. Get a celebrity to create a bid if you have access to celebrities.
Friends of model US affiliate to an Italian NGO built an NGO office here in the states as an intermediary. The organization got a fiscal sponsor equivalency determination equivalent to a US NGO, sharing the expenditure responsibility. www.Cafamrica.org large intermediaries that help administer nonprofit fundraising overseas. International center for non-profit law www.COF.org Council of Foundations
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life
Question: (Marie McKinney) we were in Monrovia with Restoration and Healing Inc. training health providers, teachers and preachers to lead groups in family violence, civil war trauma and sexual abuse. When you provide services, often you find so many other needs. How do you go about creating a Foundation Center Grant Space fundraising library in Liberia or the US?
Luz Rodriguez: $995/per year for $6000 worth of resources for Liberia and other organizations and write a grant for it. Find a safe place for it. We will go to teach them how to use it.
Lesley Vann There are techniques in storytelling. What do donors value? Find partnerships and partners that can contribute to the cause, by leveraging matching gifts. I love this… 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 matching gifts. Why is it at great investment? Fund raisers want to achieve goals that are least expensive that have the most value.
Question: What are some of the “no-no’s” of fund raising?
David J. Andrews: Try to get 3-5 “No’s” daily. Don’t over promise. Don’t promise what you can’t do, that can’t be delivered. Promise less and deliver more. Don’t work with a consultant that takes a percentage of the gift! They sign a pledge they will not do that.
Luz Rodriguez: Don’t misuse funding relationships. Don’t schmooze with fund raisers like you are looking at an ATM machine instead of a person. Fund raisers are people. Genuinely say what you know of my funding work. They are still people that want to connect at the human level, so approach them in a genuine way. Never underestimate the power of the bookkeeper. You have to be accountable for every cent and show layers of audits. We must show we can manage more money than we have.
David J. Andrews: Don’t ever give up. Go back to people who you think should be giving to the cause.
How do you begin reaching the younger people? Face book, Twitter accounts, website, emails, e-groups and keeping current. Keep profile and mission statements and short comments and stories that keep them updated on events and meetings at your organization. Offer volunteering opportunities and getting involved. A youth advisory committee and helping people know what’s cool.
Young Professional clubs. Young donors-Visit campuses young people interested in learning and sponsor speakers mobilize on college campus circuit.
NGOs can have a young people forums needed to connect and communicate their efforts
Gail Bindley-Taylor radio
Pick it up a notch, market in a compelling way, a multi generational way. The executive committee is about to change. Now timing is good to contact them. How do I get to the UN?
The stories we hear of if we hear about you are stories of people who are no longer suffering because of what happened, and visuals. See happy kids in Liberia because of the UN on Social Media. YouTube face book and paradigm shift from problem to the resolutions.
Chuck Hitchcock June 8 NGO DPI Executive and peace mission at the German Mission RSVP Janet Salizer Hitchcock.charles@gmail.com . RSVP Peace Action event learn more about NGO and the UN and learn about peace action
Paint with Chocolate Artist exhibition and donate to you www.chocolate painter.com
David J. Andrews: There is enough wisdom in this room to raise everything you need. Share your wisdom with others, worry less about fundraising and keep doing the work!! Bond with your audience (who potential donors) and let them share in the credit for what has been accomplished. Doing these things may come with unlimited endowments.
Continue to speak your story. Get on TV; create a UN representative organization- a Model UN’s for 5 and 6 and 7year olds that is compelling.
Say “We” instead of “I”, collaboration begins at home and see how well you work together at home. You have a team, the staff, volunteers and board members. Bring your own team together all contributing together. Learn to be strategic to tell that story. Everyone on the team needs to be mission driven. Talk with the staff and everyone is mission driven. The mission comes before individual personalities. Event: 871 UNPlaza June8th 5:30pm
Wed June1-2 new assoc NGOs assist new partnership RSVP orientation dpingo@un.org
