This past week, Funding for Good had the amazing opportunity to present at the Best Friends National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our team spent four days getting to know incredible people from all over the country and learning about their struggles and successes in the animal welfare/rescue world.
This week’s blog is dedicated to a handful of passionate volunteers (you know who you are!) who stopped by our booth to ask this important question:
How can our organization apply for grants or approach donors if we cannot demonstrate our “history of success?”
Some of these nonprofits were just recently incorporated and have not had sufficient time to establish a history of success with partnerships or programs. Others were in the toddler stage of development but have never tracked critical data to demonstrate how their programs were successfully impacting the community.
The encouraging news is that it’s never too late to start tracking data to build that history of success. We all know that successfully reporting impact plays a vital role in generating dollars to support your mission!
Below are a strategies you can use to leverage support from donors while you work to track data for future “history of success” stories:
[Insert important data from that comparable nonprofit/community to support your program design/goals and demonstrate likelihood for success.]
Make sure to get a partnership letter from all collaborating organizations that include the following: statement of need for the project, commitment to partner with your organization, why they believe your organization can accomplish stated goals, and assurances of specific resources they bring to project.
As you work to establish your own success story, it might be helpful to ask “Who is doing this best?”
Identify other organizations at the local or national level that have the capacity, integrity, and passion you want to see within your own nonprofit. Take time to contact them and even visit so you can find out HOW they got where they are. This isn’t a history exam so it isn’t cheating to take notes and even copy the successful steps of others.
When Should an Organization Start Looking at Grants?
Grants and Your Fundraising Plan
Best Friends National Conference: Mandy’s Talk on Grants
