Incarnate Word Foundation

1. Incarnate Word Foundation Navigating the Funding World in Uncertain Times

2. Foundation Role • Grantmaker: Providing financial support • Convener: Creating a forum for dialogue and collaboration • Educator: Enhancing grantee expertise • Advocate: Effecting change in public policy • Communicator: Addressing community issues in proactive grantmaking

3. Fundraising = Relationships • Process of making donations and awarding grants is intuitive • Different donor pools require different strategies • Corporate donors vs. foundation funders • Older individuals vs. younger, etc.

4. The Heart of the Matter • Belief in the mission • Passion • Telling the story • Making the ask • Building an ongoing relationship

5. Developing a Funding Strategy • What are the funding needs? • What can you build upon? • What strategies make sense to reach the goal? • Who will implement a plan and what is the calendar?

6. Develop a Funding Strategy – the Donors • Who are the potential donors: • Foundations • Corporations • Alumni • Churches • Individuals • Community groups

7. Reaching the Donor • How do you segment the donor marketplace? • What is your story? • How do you tell that story effectively? • How do you reach the donors in the marketplace?

8. The Role of Fundraising Events • Why an event? • What is your group’s capacity for events? • What scale event?

9. The Foundation World • Driven by their own missions and world view • Cutbacks due to the downturn • Emphasis on guidelines, deadlines, outcomes and collaboration • Importance of researching funding to identify potential funders • Cultivation

10. Corporations • Heavily impacted by downturn • Importance of relationship • Possible Advisory Group membership leads to relationships

11. Alumni • Have a positive feeling toward the university and awareness of the work • Delicate matter because of possible conflicting fundraising agendas within the university

12. Churches • Approach as a social justice partnership • Possible speaking opportunities and other support for alums of the prison program when they graduate

13. Individuals • Importance of segmenting the market • Need to develop strategies to get the story out • Possible use of social media • Publicity

14. Community Groups • Service organizations • Rotary, Elks, Sororities, Fraternities, etc. • Getting the story out through a speakers bureau

15. Use Common Sense • Define your goal • Don’t try to do everything at once • Tell the story • Meet deadlines and have a readable proposal • Encourage site visits • Use good manners

16. Major League Dont’s • Rudeness • Gifts • Attempts to influence foundation Board members • Being unclear with what you want • Incomplete proposals • Not saying thank you