Being able to tell a convincing story is an important issue for anyone working on a government grant proposal; but, sadly, too many proposals tell no story. Proposals may contain plenty of information, but they must also incorporate a cohesive story line that unifies the narrative. What is a Powerful Story? According to Jennifer Aaker, …
Finance/
Financing & Loans
A couple of months ago I wrote my first posting on fundraising ethics. In that posting I posed three questions — three situations that required ethical resolutions. And, although there have been a few emails from readers that related to ethical questions, the situations that I posed have not been addressed. So, in the context …
When I was young, there was a rule about thank-you notes. If I got $5 from a distant aunt, I wasn’t allowed to spend it until after I had written and mailed her a thank you note. When you were young, you probably had a rule at your house that was similar. It’s a great …
That was the subject line in a recent email in which the writer asked: “We have a skilled fundraiser who wants to do an event for us. She is willing to do it for 10% of profits after expenses. She is passionate about our cause and has worked hard for us for a couple of …
… in the Combined Federal Campaign… is to run a stealth CFC campaign. If a nonprofit has done all the work to become admitted to the CFC, and then they keep it a secret, it shouldn’t be a “surprise” when the results are not as good as they hoped. With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, You …
An email asked if I know of any resources for designing an “Ask Package” The writer explained: “I’ve found lots of general rules such as ‘include your mission statement’ and ‘specifically outline what their donation will cover’ but I can’t find any templates for designing one. Are there any websites you could recommend? “We’re a …
If you’ve started down the yellow brick road to nonprofit foundations funding, then get set to meet some different characters (foundations) along the way – specifically: Private, Corporate, Family, and Community Foundations. Much of the information below comes from the wizards at the MIT Office of Foundation Relations; I’ve added the bulleted items in italics. …