Foundant Technologies brought together a panel of four experienced grant professionals to address a group of more than 200 grantmakers this past December. The purpose of the virtual event was to explore how grantmakers could improve relationships with nonprofits, to promote partnerships between grantmakers and grantseekers, and to contribute towards mutual trust.
Although scheduled to last one hour, most grantmakers were still tuned in when the event ended after 1 hour and 30 minutes, and the chat box was filled with questions and requests for similar sessions. The grant pros had a lot to say, and clearly the funders were interested.
The panel comprised Laura Cochran, Senior Development Associate at the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership; Stephany Hessler, Grants and Foundation Manager at Save the Bay in Maryland; Diane Leonard, Founder, DH Leonard Consulting & Grantwriting Services in upstate New York; and Anna Smoot, Grants Administrator at Eagle Mount in Montana. The event was moderated by Kellie Utzinger and Tammy Tilzey of Foundant.
“While this brief article can’t summarize all requests the grant pros laid on the line, the examples below provide a sense of the discussion,” said Barbara Floersch, grants expert and author of You Have a Hammer: Building Grant Proposals for Social Change. You can view the entire event at https://resources.foundant.com/education-webinars-for-grantmakers/strengthening-connections-with-your-nonprofits#main-content.
- Provide contact information for someone who can answer questions. Be open to discussions with us. We don’t want to waste our time or your time and even when we’ve researched your interests and funding history, a discussion is the best way to assess whether we’re a good fit.
- Be sure your questions are specific rather than vague. Tell us exactly what you want to know.
- Provide information on your timeframe for funding decisions.
- If you impose character or word limits, err on the side of generosity. If answers to certain questions typically leave foundation reviewers unclear, expand the limit for those questions to allow more space for explanation.
- Be sure your language is inclusive. If a foundation notes DEI as a special interest but application language only uses he or she, that inconsistency is troubling.
- As much as possible, work to increase consistency across foundation applications. When each funder wants data in a different way, applicants must slice and dice data for each proposal.
- We love the question, “Is there something else we should know that we have not asked.” That flexibility helps us tell our story.
- Reporting requirements should be in balance with the amount of grant funding. For example, a $5,000 grant should not require quarterly reports.
- If we must upload specific documents (e.g., audit, 990), don’t impose upload caps that require us to spend hours with your IT staff working to expand the limit to meet the requirements.
The panel had numerous other recommendations and the funders were listening. “The requests from the grant pros were respectful, professional, and honest,” said Floersch. “It’s worth a listen no matter what side of the great divide you live on.”
