Simple Ways to Manage Confusion Around Fundraising

For many nonprofits, and even some companies, federal funding constitutes half of an annual operating budget. Certain federally funded programs, like USAID’s Feed the Future or USDA’s Food for Progress, are necessary to ensure we, in the United States, have access to healthy food to serve our families and ourselves. Additionally, federally funded programs help build diplomatic capital, or in other words, ensure other countries have development infrastructure to advance and succeed, encouraging global economic prosperity and halting excess migration. These programs are critical, and a reduction in funding can be devastating.
 
Any nonprofit budget officer knows that an announced federal funding cut must be met with months of preparation, forecasting different scenarios to avoid program shortfalls and quick delivery of replacement funding to ensure constituents relying upon this critical funding for shelter, food aid, access to water, security and education are not hurt by such cuts. Seeking new funding sources, and considering alternative partnership scenarios, will be critical to ensure nonprofits, companies relying on federal funding, and other organizations impacted by massive federal funding cuts stay afloat.

 1. Find your place among the risks: Companies are increasingly mitigating risks throughout their operations and supply chains, both to ameliorate bad press, but also because it makes business sense to do so. Finding causes that support business decisions aligned with profit is a trend here to stay. Companies across the sector spectrum, from food and agriculture, to consumer goods, to apparel to manufacturing, are finding ways to “do well by doing good.”Identifying solutions that add value to a big company, and helping them mitigate risks within their operational frameworks, will be a helpful way to add corporate funding to a nonprofit or small for-profit budget.
 
2. Partner for a cause: The number of social enterprises (companies that seek a profit while also giving back to improve social capital) has risen dramatically over the last decade. There is even a Social Enterprise Alliance, helping social entrepreneurs gain valuable skills to succeed and thrive, both in mission and in profit. Social enterprises are often initiated with an idea that can both shift the traditional consumption market, AND make a difference while doing so. Inherent in a social enterprise model is therefore a need to give back to causes that deliver on the enterprise’s mission. Identifying ways to partner with social enterprises that align with a nonprofit mission or cause will amplify opportunities for funding.
 
3. Collaborate around big money:  Several big foundations no longer accept unsolicited proposals, and the number of funding categories is shrinking. This means that while nonprofits and other funding recipients should still count on foundation funding for the time being, they will need to be more innovative and efficient in their outreach and approaches. Coming to the table with a multi-faceted, collaborative concept to solving a problem posed by the foundation will be appreciated. This means that nonprofits may consider joining forces with complimentary nonprofits, reducing the costs of delivery, and being forthcoming around comparative advantage opportunities. Likewise, a nonprofit may approach one of its private sector partners to pose unique funding leverage scenarios to a foundation, built around existing programs of work that need scaling.
 
There are ample ways to identify prospective partners whose end game is the same, but whose approach may be a bit different. Making it easy for a foundation to fund this type of partnership by laying out the collective action born of the collaboration is key.
 
Do not discount the U.S. Government, even with reduced funding. Reductions in certain program funding may be temporary, and even for those that are longer term, we are facing a time where we must do more with less, be efficient and creative, and push our government to keep funding flowing where it is most needed – to help those that cannot help themselves. For more information, visit www.connectiveimpact.com