10 tips for the times ahead.

Talking about the current federal budget negotiations is like talking about the weather. Cuts are happening, but unless you’re a member of Congress or a power broker, you can’t do much about it. What you can do is position your organization to survive–and to continue to serve your community.

Severe cutbacks in the nonprofit and public sectors have occurred more than once since The Grantsmanship Center first started training, in 1972. Recently several of our trainers and our editorial board met to discuss what more than two centuries of combined experience have taught us about surviving hard times.

Here are 10 key ideas that came out of our meeting. We hope these will help you through the days ahead. In future issues of {Centered}, we’ll discuss these suggestions in more detail.

1. Keep a close eye on your community’s needs, and focus your available resources on those that are the most pressing.
2. Continue to do what you do best. This is no time to experiment, unless some innovation promises greater community impact or economy.
3. Every proposal should have a solid evaluation plan. Now, more than ever, grantmakers want documentation of how their financial investments make a difference. And now, more than ever, your organization should want the same.
4. Make sure you understand what outcomes are. Include specific and realistic outcomes in your proposals, and speak in terms of indicators of change rather than methods or activities. Most organizations that come to our trainings have not been documenting outcomes. Documentation has always been important, but it is more crucial now than ever. Proof that your services have the desired impact on community needs is a strong argument for support.
5. Be realistic. The federal budget is being cut. Assess your vulnerabilities. Don’t get blindsided. Anticipate what’s ahead, and instead of panicking, take the time to carve out options and develop contingencies. Develop a back-up plan (or two) that will enable you to maintain core services, even if your organization is hit with massive cuts. Since projected federal budget cuts are already affecting how foundations give, monitor changes in the kinds of grants foundations are making and the kinds of organizations they’re giving to. If you haven’t already done so, now is also the time to look seriously at non-grant sources of support, such as individual donors and earned income opportunities. Social enterprise is the wave of the future for nonprofits. And major gifts are still out there, if donors are convinced of the community need and of your ability to meet it. Build relationships with potential donors now.
6. Look for opportunities to build new partnerships and collaborations.
7. Don’t accept a grant for less than it will take to do the job you propose to do unless you have additional funding sources or reserves. Doing a bad job on a shoestring can be worse than not doing it at all.
8. You may have to make hard, painful choices. If so, it’s your responsibility to do so thoughtfully and with foresight. Otherwise what your organization becomes will be shaped by abdication, rather than design. Manage the organization’s budget with great discipline. Then, if you have to eliminate programs and staff positions, you’ll be certain that these cuts could not have been avoided.
9. The current environment challenges nonprofits to clearly articulate who they are, what they do, and why their work is critical to the community’s well-being. If there is a human need–or any other kind of need–that relates to your mission but that can’t be met in the current environment, document the damage you see.  It’s important for the arguments you’ll need to make in the future. Think about the role of public information in influencing future funding. As you collect documentation of unmet community needs, share it with elected officials. In this era of cost-shifting, governments and organizations will try to shield themselves from public anger, so you can expect to see a lot of buck-passing and finger-pointing. Don’t get caught in the crossfire. Since there is a lot of ignorance about the nonprofit sector, position yourself to communicate about how costs are being shifted, how these shifts impact the critical needs of your community as a whole, and how they impact individual residents. When a cut comes down the line, make it clear–to the community, in the newspaper, to the voters–what it means, who’s getting cut off, who’s going to go hungry or cold. This may prompt donors to contribute needed funds, and it may encourage politicians to reconsider what they decide to cut.
10. The organizations that will fare best are those that do the best job of planning, focusing on community needs, and documenting the benefits of what they are doing. These are the organizations that make a real difference in the long run. Beyond that, the people who make a real difference are the ones who persevere. The short-term forecast may look gloomy, but you’re not facing it alone. As you continue to carry out the missions of your organizations, lend support to each other, sharing ideas and resources.

This article summarizes a March 2011 roundtable discussion with {Centered}’s Contributing Editor Jim Abernathy and Grantsmanship Center trainers Mary Ruth Clowdsley, Barbara Floersch, Judy Gooch, and Chuck Putney.

Jim Abernathy, “10 tips for the times ahead”, {Centered}, Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2011

How to survive big cuts in government funding.

If we can be certain of one thing in these changing times, it’s this: For at least the next two years, we’ll see cuts–sometimes radical ones–in government budgets. Federal grant programs are shrinking, and state and local programs that have been supported by federal funds will shrink or disappear. In “Preparing for Federal Cutbacks in Spending” (Local/State Funding Report, March 14, 2011), Glenda O’Neal suggests steps organizations that depend on grants can take to survive this scenario:

• Prioritize and focus on the things you do best.
• Show proven outcomes from your programs.
• Demonstrate that your programs are cost-effective and, where possible, that they will save the government money in the long run.
• Clearly document the need for your services and programs.
• Strengthen or establish collaborations and partnerships with other groups.
• Learn how to accurately forecast likely revenue from grant sources.

Jim Abernathy, “How to survive big cuts in government funding”, {Centered},
Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2011

Get ready for increased foundation giving.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently surveyed 89 private foundations that account for about a third of the total assets of U.S. foundations. A key finding: their overall grants will go up modestly in 2011. In “Foundations Rethink Priorities in 2011 as Assets Slowly Recover” (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 10, 2011), Marisa Lopez-Rivera and Caroline Preston report that 37% of the surveyed foundations plan to give more this year, 33% say their giving will remain the same, and 11% anticipate a decline. Most expect to increase their giving in 2012, as their assets continue to recover from the drops that began in 2008.

The Chronicle asked foundation staff and others for advice on how best to approach foundations this year. In “A Focus on Signature Programs Can Help Charities Gain Grant Makers’ Support” (also from the March 10 issue), Caroline Preston offers these tips:

1. Emphasize how your group is collaborating or partnering with other organizations.
2. Demonstrate the urgency of your project or activities.
3. Show how your organization has limited your suite of programs to those that have demonstrated success.
4. Show exactly what results funds granted to your group will produce.
5. Report your financial condition honestly and completely.
6. Be sure your goals are compatible with those of the foundation.
7. If organizations like yours have received grants from the foundation, ask those grantees for advice.

Jim Abernathy, “Get ready for increased foundation giving”, {Centered}, Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2011

Bill of writes.

Resolved by we grant writers and program planners that in order to design a more perfect program, write more excellent proposals, use a more professional approach, establish a new and better way of thinking, ensure our program’s fundability, and provide for the common good through better programming—we do hereby hold these truths to be self evident:

1. Ask not what the funding agency can do for you, but what you can do for the funding agency.
2. “Artfully sell the problem.”
3. Good grants are read, but only excellent grants are funded.
4. “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!”
5. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
6. Better your thinking by asking better questions.
7. No field ever got plowed by a farmer turning it over in his head.
8. Be friendly to your Reader/Scorer and your Reader/Scorer will be friendly to you.
9. Remember the “Aha!” Factor.

Jonathan O’Brien, Right Before You Write

A Donor Bill of Rights.

“Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V. To receive appropriate  acknowledgment and recognition.

VI. To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.”

Developed by:

American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (AAFRC)

Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP)

Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)

Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)

Endorsed by:

Independent Sector

National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC)

National Committee on Planned Giving (NCPG)

Council for Resource Development (CRD)

United Way of America

Understanding the story arc.

“If one were to diagram a typical story, the drawing would look a lot like a bell curve, a line gradually rising up, peaking, then falling back down. That would be a visual image of a story arc, which represents the unfolding of events.

“First, the storyteller invites the reader into the universe he or she has created. Characters are introduced. Time and setting are established. Then the story begins traveling up the arc with the introduction of conflict between the protagonist (the hero) and other lead characters on one side and the antagonist on the other. The drama unfolds. Tension begins to build. In the most compelling stories, this brings readers to the edge of their seats.

“Tension continues to mount until the tale reaches its climax. At this pivotal point, something significant, and usually dramatic, happens to one or more of the main characters. Then the tension breaks. This is a cathartic moment, often for both the characters and the reader. What has occurred is so significant that the lives of one or more of the main characters will have changed forever. After this moment the storyteller leads the reader back down the arc, providing a complete, satisfying resolution of the conflict and a wrap up of the story.

“In truly exceptional stories something also happens to us as readers. Our view of the world changes. Outstanding grant proposals can have the same effect. They motivate a prospective funder to award a grant. And that’s what it’s all about.”

Cheryl A. Clarke, Storytelling for Grantseekers

The difference.

“The difference between the right word and the wrong word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

Mark Twain

20 powerful principles of structure, style, and readability.

Write with a top-down approach. Write your conclusion and place it first.

Break things down. Break your subject into two to four parts, and use a lead sentence.

Use transition words. Use transition words to signal the flow of your writing.

Employ the six basic writing structures. Use the basic writing structures to order ideas.

Keep like things together. Finish discussing one topic before going on to discuss other topics.

Support what you say. Use specific and concrete words to support what you say.

Personalize examples. Add personal examples to make your writing more memorable.

Keep it simple. Use simple words to express your ideas.

Cut down long sentences. Make your writing clearer by dividing up long sentences.

Eliminate needless words. Cut down redundancies and excessive qualification.

Gain active power. Favor active sentences, not passive sentences.

Favor verbs, not nouns. Avoid nominalizing your verbs and adjectives.

Always use parallel forms. Express a series of items in consistent, parallel form.

Capitalize on sentence variety. Vary the length and beginnings of your sentences.

Choose an appropriate tone. Write with a positive, personal tone.

Capitalize on layout and design. Add more space around your writing to increase readability.

Employ readability tools. Make keywords and phrases stand out.

Consider using headings and headlines. Use headings and headlines to divide or summarize your writing.

Keep your writing gender neutral. Avoid using the masculine generic to refer to both genders.

Go back and rework your writing. Wait until your writing stands still before you call it finished.

Brandon Royal, The Little Red Writing Book

Award-winning prose.

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately, so they will be guided by its light.”

Joseph Pulitzer

When less is more.