Fundraising HayDay

IRS 990s

Foundation and corporate grants are a funding source for many nonprofit organizations, but since these funders are not required to have a website, your best source of information is their annual Form 990. On that document they are required to share information about their assets, board members, recent grantees, and a few details about how to submit an application (or not if they do not accept unsolicited applications). Sounds easy, right? Oh, if only it were so. Today, we’re discussing where to find what you’re looking for on Form 990s and venting our frustrations when things are not where they’re supposed to be.

 

SHOW NOTES

 

Tax Exempt Organization Search on IRS Website HERE

Pro Tips for When You Wear All the Hats

Have you ever worked at an organization where you were expected to bring in all the funding plus a million other things? Your title might be Development Director, Grants Administrator, Director of Fundraising, or anything along those lines. But that title alone doesn’t mean you have the time, skills, capacity, and energy to do all the things dumped in your lap. Multi-tasking is a total myth, so we’re here to breakdown how you can be a successful fundraiser while juggling everything else on your plate. Here’s a hint: without outside help, you can’t do it all.

 

SHOW NOTES

 

To better understand the origins of nonprofit work, go back and listen to Fundraising HayDay’s Season 6, Episode 21 – How to Have Uncomfortable Conversations About Race, Bias, and More with Fleur Larsen – How to Have Uncomfortable Conversations About Race, Bias, and More - HayDay Services

Mentoring, Faith-Based Funding, and More

People come to the grant field from a variety of backgrounds and their work varies depending on their clients, focus, and experience. Dr. Janelle Harvey’s passion is nonprofits and ensuring they have the resources needed to thrive. She shares her insights on being mentored, working with faith-based organizations, her recent experience with the Milestone Circles program at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, and so much more.

 

Show Notes:

 

Faith and Fundraising Podcast on Kingdom Purpose Radio - Kingdom Purpose Radio – Harvey (drharveywrites.com) & Christian Radio | Kingdom Purpose Radio

 

Harvey NPO Consulting, LLC - Harvey – Harvey NPO Consulting Group (drharveywrites.com)

How To: Letters of Support

Many grant proposals allow, and sometimes require, letters of support. Whether you call them support letters, letters of endorsement, or commitment letters, this is a means for funders to see the wide range of “support” for your project or program. They can be gathered from individuals, nonprofits, government agencies, elected officials, businesses, school systems, civic organizations, and more. But getting quality letters in a timely manner isn’t always as simple as you think.

Right Sizing Your Agency for Grant Funding

The fastest road to burnout is overloading your staff. Boards, elected officials, executive directors, and other leaders must understand the capacity of time and resources necessary to develop and manage grant proposals. It is not a solo sport. So before chasing the dollars, ensure the right people with the right skills are on your agency’s grants team to ensure success and longevity of your grant funded programs.

Unlocking Courageous Leadership with Julie Boll

It’s a bonus episode! In January 2024, Kimberly and Amanda (your Fundraising HayDay cohosts) attended Courageous Leadership training led by Julie Boll. Over 8 weeks we each built and refined our calls to courage, affirmed our skills, and learned what courageous leadership looks like for us. Today, Julie is taking the reins and interviewing us about this process and the changes in our business and daily lives. Sometimes you need a little push to dream big, and Julie helped give us the nudges we needed.

 

Show Notes:

Announcing Fundraising HayDay’s first Patreon experience. Join our Ear Buddies membership at $5 to support the podcast AND access member only benefits: https://patreon.com/FundraisingHayDay

 

Julie and Dana’s January 2025 Retreat in the Redwoods – visit  www.juliebollconsulting.com/hayday for a discounted price and more details

I am ADMIN

What two things are necessary for a sustainable nonprofit? Fundraising and administration. What two things are nonprofits often judged for spending money on? Fundraising and administration.

 

Programs serve people, but you cannot have programs without funding and staff. Nonprofits need oversight. They require finance personnel, fundraisers, executive directors, and more.

 

Too many organizations and people perpetuate the overhead myth – the notion that overhead costs (like administration and fundraising) should be 10% or less. Let’s debunk that myth together.

How To: Logic Model

Logic models: you either love them or hope you never have to create one. But the truth is, you should not be intimated by one. Simply put, it is a flowchart that highlights the important elements of your planned work and intended results related to a grant funding request. With a one-page diagram, you can easily outline the vital elements of a grant application and use it as a template to build your narrative.

 

Show Notes:

 

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide

Disrupting the Development Hierarchy

In 2023, today’s guest (Laura Chynoweth) penned the blog post “Disrupting the Development Hierarchy” in which she spells out why grant writing so often is found at the bottom. Laura, founder and CEO of Grant Fundraising Consultants, joined us to share those reasons and ways in which grant professionals can educate their colleagues and others about the true nature of grant work. The truth is, those who conduct prospect research, develop grant proposals, and manage grant awards play a vital role in the fundraising arm of organizations. It’s time that is understood.

 

SHOW NOTES:

 

Laura Chynoweth’s Grant Professional Association Blog Post Article “Disrupting the Development Hierarchy” - Disrupting the Development Hierarchy - Grant Professionals Association

 

Laura Chynoweth - (2) Laura Chynoweth, MA, CFRE, GPC | LinkedIn

 

Grant Fundraising Consultants - Granted Fundraising Consultants

Giving USA 2024

Each year, the Giving USA Foundation and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU Indianapolis releases the annual Giving USA Report. Their goal is to “advance philanthropy through research and education.” The results from the data collected and studies in 2023 were released by Giving USA on June 25, 2024. Our cohosts are highlighting charitable giving by source, types of recipient organizations to receive charitable giving, and why this matters to recipients. The overall message is that while overall funding increased, it did not keep up with inflation, and that will impact nonprofits and their work.

 

Access the data we highlighted from Giving USA on today’s podcast episode here: Giving USA: U.S. charitable giving totaled $557.16 billion in 2023 | Giving USA

 

Download the infographic from Giving USA with the highlights of their findings here: 2024 Infographic – Giving USA