Candid insights
The big picture of the social sector, backed by data and expertise
Serving the Public Good (by Invitation Only)
America's foundations are not particularly interested in receiving your proposal. Earlier this year I did a quick search on Foundation Directory Online (FDO) of the 96,042 independent, company-sponsored, and community foundations based in the U.S. The results were pretty shocking: only 26,663…
November 30, 2015
Funders, thank you for doing these 12 awesome things
Hi everyone, after talking to an ED of color who was on the verge of quitting the field after a horrible and demoralizing experience with a small grant that left her almost in tears, I started writing a post called…
October 1, 2015
Throwing a Fundraising House Party? Here’s What You Need to Know
If you're looking to raise money for a good cause without the extravagance of a full-on gala, having a house party can be great as a simpler, more intimate alternative. Held in someone's home, usually with no more than 50…
July 8, 2015
4 Steps to Identifying Your Key Messages
I worked with a client recently on honing their messaging. This organization has a focused mission, a clearly articulated approach to its work, and specialized niche within its ecosystem of actors and stakeholders. They know their constituents and they can…
June 22, 2015
The Clinton Foundation Reveals Its Donors: Should You?
A fundraising foundation has two world famous founders, a global network of generous donors, and a track record of grantmaking success. One of the founders plans to run for higher office, and the foundation makes the decision to be highly…
June 1, 2015
Social Sector Knowledge Sharing: A Manifesto for 2015 and Beyond
Within the last six months, three of the world’s largest foundations—the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Ford Foundation—have all announced that they will require open licensing and knowledge sharing for all grant-funded products and content. In…
April 20, 2015
Where Can I Find a Nonprofit’s Form 1023?
Lately, I've been getting a lot of Ask Us visitors who want to see a specific nonprofit's Form 1023, also known as its exemption application. This question usually comes from would-be nonprofits that want to refer to Form 1023 samples…
March 6, 2015
Document Checklist for Grant Proposals: Part 3
Part 1 listed documents to collect during the prospect research stage; Part 2 listed those to collect when you submit your letter of inquiry or proposal. Part 3 will look at what to keep when you've been notified, and suggest…
December 29, 2014
Document Checklist for Grant Proposals: Part 2
Part 1 listed documents to collect during the prospect research stage. In Part 2, we'll continue our checklist with content to collect when you are submitting your letters of inquiry or grant proposals. Letter of inquiry. Grantmakers are increasingly asking…
December 17, 2014
Document Checklist for Grant Proposals: Part 1
A Foundation Center South visitor was trying to organize paperwork related to grant proposals and asked if we knew of a checklist that listed every document that might have something to do with a grant proposals. We couldn't find one,…
December 15, 2014
What Can I Do If a Nonprofit Isn’t Following Its Bylaws?
This is another question that visitors often have for our Ask Us team. Curiously, I've had a hard time finding a succinct answer to this seemingly simple question. Corporate attorney Paul Davis Fancher of Troutman Sanders presented a free webcast…
December 9, 2014
Top 5 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals
Crowd-sourced from Foundation Center trainers, here are our top five tips for developing successful grant proposals: Do your homework! Research, research, research. Conducting targeted research helps you find the right funders to partner with and support your organization's work. Sending…
October 30, 2014