Grantwriting

The game of nonprofit is flawed. Learn to play it so you can change it.

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Vu

[Image description: A raccoon, grayish brown, peeking over a thick tree branch, staring directly at the camera with its piercing dark eyes. Image from Pixabay.com]

Every once a while, an up-and-coming nonprofit professional would ask me, “What advice would you give us folks who are just starting in the sector?” This is how you know that you yourself are no longer an up-and-coming nonprofit professional. I am trying to embrace my status as one of the grizzled old-timers with the battle scars:

“When I entered the sector years ago, we had to walk five miles—in the snow!—to deliver a grant proposal. Back then, paperclips weren’t invented, and funders wanted the attachments to be clipped just right. We had to make paperclips out of pine needles. But, there were only eight pine trees west of the Mississippi, and they were fiercely guarded by vicious raccoons. I can still see their beady eyes, glowing red like those sticky dots people used to vote with during community meetings. Of course, back then, the sticky dots weren’t just something you bought at the store. They were gum drops we had to slice by hand. Problem with using those gum drop slices though was that they attracted the raccoons. We spent as much time battling raccoons as we spent running programs.”Continue reading →

Philanthropy and the Destructive Illusion of “Leveling the Playing Field”

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Vu

[Image description: Closeup of a person kneeling on a race track, as if in preparation to run in a race. They are wearing shorts and holding a baton. Image from Pixabay.com]

A few months ago a program officer and I were talking about the lack of funding that goes to communities-of-color-led nonprofits (only about 10% of philanthropic dollars go to organizations of color). He shook his head in sympathy and frustration, sipping on his coffee. “There has to be a way to level the playing field,” he said. This was probably the third time that quarter I had heard that phrase uttered by a funder.

This concept of “Leveling the Playing Field” is very present in our sector in our society, like cats or skinny jeans, and we don’t really question it at all. We assume that it is a good thing. If we just make it so that competitions are “fair,” then the people/groups with the most merit, the best ideas and proposals, will win. If we can just make the field more even, then everyone will be able to play the game and everything is good.

This philosophy has led some thoughtful funders to accept applications in Spanish or other languages, accept handwritten applications, or accept non-written formats such as videos or photos (Although, how effective is this last one when my one-man show, The Agony and Ecstasy of Capacity Building, has never resulted in funding?).

Those practices are great, but can they level the playing field? Can the funding field ever be “level”?Continue reading →

9 examples of funders being awesome partners to nonprofits

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Vu

[Image description: black silhouette of a unicorn standing on its hind legs in front of a huge full moon. It’s beautiful and majestic, like a foundation that provides multi-year general operating dollars (MYGOD!). Image from Pixabay.com]

Hi everyone. I have been on vacation for the past couple of weeks and have reached “peak lazing.” This means I may or may not have not showered in three days and that this post may be pourly edited. Before we begin though, a couple of quick announcements. There’s a crew of fundraisers of color in Seattle who has been working on developing the concept of Community-Centric Fundraising, which I wrote about here and here, with more posts coming out in the next few months. We have an all-day summit that’s open to all fundraisers on September 27^th. We are still figuring out the location and other logistics; please fill out this quick interest form if you want to get updated as we plan this event.

There is also a pre-summit specifically for fundraisers of color on August 23^rd from 1pm to 5pm in Seattle. Please sign-up here (space is limited). Right now we are mainly focused on local fundraisers of color (anyone who raises money and is of color, regardless of their title), but I plan to write about what comes out of these summits in case you would like to host your own gatherings in your cities.Continue reading →

Answers on grant proposals if nonprofits were brutally honest, part 2

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Vu

Hi everyone. It’s been a rough few weeks, but I’m starting to feel hopeful again. Before we begin this week’s not-serious-at-all post, thank you to all the monthly patrons of this blog on Patreon. We are more than halfway to our goal of 250 patrons. Once we reach that, I’ll eliminate all the random ads from this blog (The ads on the side will remain). Also, I’m working on recording blog posts for patrons so you can listen to them while running or cooking or something, but it’s been rough, because hearing my own voice creeps me out. I’ll work on it.

Meanwhile, please go on Grantadvisor.org and write anonymous reviews of foundations you’ve interacted with, or if you are a funder, encourage your grantees to do so. It’s like a Yelp for foundations, and the more we use it, the better and more useful it becomes.

A few months ago, I wrote “Answers on grants proposals if nonprofits were brutally honest with funders.” Well, that was just Part 1. Here is Part 2. Thank you to nonprofit colleagues, who will remain nameless, for helping inspire these questions and responses. Continue reading →

Philanthropy: Whose money is it anyway?

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Vu

[Image description: A pink piggy bank, staring directly at the camera with its small, dark, mysterious eyes. Beige background. Image by quincemedia.com, obtained from Pixabay.com]

Hi everyone. This post may be a little serious, due to one more mass shooting. As a parent, I think of death a lot, but mainly in the context of who would take care of my kids if my partner and I unexpectedly died. It should not be the opposite; no parent should ever have to contemplate whether their kids may survive the school day, much less endure the agony of losing their child. I am thankful for those of you who are working to advance responsible gun laws and other relevant policies and programs. Our sector needs to flex its advocacy muscles more. While we’re doing that, though, there are other challenges we need to take care of.Continue reading →