Grant Seeking: Finding Your Best Fit Funder

Lining up grants isn't just as simple as filling out forms from grant makers. Foundations more and more are looking to fund nonprofits that align with their own missions and funding philosophies.

Likewise, fundraisers should be looking for foundations that fit with their missions in order to make the most of the funds and the nonprofit-funder relationship.

During the session, "Who's Your BFF? Building Lasting Relationship With Grant Makers," at Blackbaud's bbcon earlier this month, Heather Stombaugh and Matthew Stombaugh from JustWrite Solutions provided a few resources fundraisers should utilize when seeking grants in order to find their "Best Fit Funder."

For starters, fundraisers should ask the following questions, which JustWrite Solutions turned into a preliminary worksheet grant-seekers should fill out:

• What compels you to give to your nonprofit?
• Why should people care about your nonprofit's work? What change does your nonprofit make in the world?
• What are three essential factors in matching your organization's priorities to a grant maker's priorities, mission and giving guidelines?
• What is the board's role in grant seeking?
• What is the executive's role in grant seeking?
• What is the staff's role in grant seeking?
• How can you use social media in cultivation?
• What is the purpose of a pre-application meeting? Who should attend?
• What is the purpose of the site visit? How would you plan for one?
• If your proposal is declined, what should you do?

Those are some good starters, and Heather and Matthew Staombaugh provided a decision-making matrix and a relationship touchpoints chart for the cultivation process, which you can view at right.