Go Fund Yourself
Whether for our own art practices, an exhibition or our organization, learning how to raise funds to support our projects is a sometimes daunting prospect. Fundraising is mostly about telling our story and enticing others to believe in our story. Each fundraising effort needs to be tailored to that project and to the requirements of the source of funding: grants/foundations, corporate sponsorships, crowdsourcing, or individual contributions. Who makes a good prospect? Someone or some business that has the ability to donate, an interest in philanthropy, an understanding of the benefits of sponsorship and either already believes in you and/or the goal of the event or is interested in learning more. Someone who is connected to someone you know.
GRANTS/FOUNDATIONS
Grant Research
Foundation Centers provides an online database of grant makers. Research is free at their offices, which can be found in New York City, Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco and Washington, DC., or online at http://foundationcenter.org
Letter of Inquiry
For some foundations, you must submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), which asks to be invited to apply for the grant. This is like a mini-proposal.
Grant Proposal
Again, follow the directions exactly. Here is a typical proposal package:
Cover Letter
Additional Materials that may be required
Proposal Checklist
If you plan to go after more than one grant at the same time, it is helpful to keep track of where you are with each grant process with a checklist for each grant. Here is a sample:
CORPORATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
Find out as much as you can about each prospect and create files to save and update this information. To what organizations/causes has the prospect given before? Do you know what amounts? Can you find reports from other art projects or non-profits to discover major donors and their giving histories? Who can introduce you to the prospect? Do you know what interests a prospect? What moves her or him to donate? Who are the "gatekeepers" - the people we have to go through first to get to the donor? Plan to be polite to these people.
Corporate Sponsorships
Preparing for the initial call/the visit/the letter
During the initial call/meeting
Fundraising Package Considerations
Follow up
Thank yous
GRANTS/FOUNDATIONS
Grant Research
Foundation Centers provides an online database of grant makers. Research is free at their offices, which can be found in New York City, Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco and Washington, DC., or online at http://foundationcenter.org
- Begin search by identifying key words associated with our organization such as women, art, art exchange, art exhibitions, cultural exchange, the region of the world we want to work in
- Research the possible grant makers to determine if they are a good match. Do their granting goals match our needs?
- Look up each grant maker’s website for more information
- Find out the dates that each grant maker reviews grant applications
- From this research, identify wording that can be used to match our request to each grant maker’s culture.
- Look at the list of trustees for each foundation to determine if one or more already has a connection to you. Follow the guidelines provided by the grant maker exactly.
Letter of Inquiry
For some foundations, you must submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), which asks to be invited to apply for the grant. This is like a mini-proposal.
- Write “Letter of Inquiry” at the top of the letter
- An LOI contains 2-3 pages of text plus a budget (if required)
- Create an attention-grabbing title
- Include a description of yourself and your project
- Write a summary, which answers “what are you doing?” The first sentence is the most important. Use a tone that connotes a partnership between you and the grant maker. Word smithing is very important – use the thesaurus, avoid overused words/phrases like “unique”, “making a difference”,or “raises awareness”. Explain the issue or goal and how you are going to do it.
Grant Proposal
Again, follow the directions exactly. Here is a typical proposal package:
Cover Letter
- Very important as it sets the tone for the reviewer. Write this last, address it to a specific person, summarize, very briefly, what you are asking for and our project
- Short paragraph to one page in length at most. Well-written, giving an overview and making the reader want to continue into the body of the proposal
- Includes the main points of the proposal: explain what you do and enticing specifics of the project
- Explain the importance of the project. Do not assume the reader knows you, the background of and the environment around the project or the project itself
- Include good stories and data, but use statistics sparingly
- Share how this project matches the goals of the grant maker and how it addresses an issue or solves a problem
- What do you hope to accomplish
- Goals are the overall ideal
- Objectives are the specific steps to get to that ideal
- Outcomes are the results of successfully completing the project
- Even more specific and very logical steps to reaching the goals
- Include a timeline – who will do what when
- Include who is committed to the project
- Grant makers will want to know how you did if you are funded. Show in the section: how you will evaluate the impact of our project, how you will collect data, do a survey (include survey costs in the budget if used)
- Most grant makers do not wish to be the sole source of funds. Include here other sources that you are going after, committed funding entities, donors, in-kind donations…
- History, background, proof of longevity, your track record, who you target
Additional Materials that may be required
- Financial statement for last fiscal year
Proposal Checklist
If you plan to go after more than one grant at the same time, it is helpful to keep track of where you are with each grant process with a checklist for each grant. Here is a sample:
- Grant maker, foundation:
- Website for Grant Maker/Foundation:
- Phone for Grant Maker/Foundation:
- Contact at the Grant Maker/Foundation/Title:
- Do you know someone on the foundation board, who, background information
- Our Project Title, the amount we requested
- Date our application was mailed
- Deadline for application
- Deadline for decision
- If declined, 1) send thank you for considering your proposal/date sent, 2) ask for advice on how you could have done better, 3) any suggestions for other foundations that would be a better fit, 4) are you able to apply again
- If approved, 1) amount awarded, 2) send thank you letter/date sent, 3) list of requirements (reports, surveys, documentation, etc ) and when they were sent
CORPORATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
Find out as much as you can about each prospect and create files to save and update this information. To what organizations/causes has the prospect given before? Do you know what amounts? Can you find reports from other art projects or non-profits to discover major donors and their giving histories? Who can introduce you to the prospect? Do you know what interests a prospect? What moves her or him to donate? Who are the "gatekeepers" - the people we have to go through first to get to the donor? Plan to be polite to these people.
Corporate Sponsorships
- Create levels of sponsorship (small sponsorships can add up), including gifts-in-kind and the possibility that a sponsor would provide volunteers. Determine what we can do for sponsors at each level: logo placement in the catalog, on event signage, in programs, inviting the sponsors to the event, introducing the sponsor at an event, having a sponsor introduce someone at an event, having the sponsor’s products at an event, taking photos of sponsors with dignitaries, having a table at an event…
- Develop a project budget to determine the amounts needed for what purposes. Corporations may be interested in supporting one aspect of a project, if not the whole.
Preparing for the initial call/the visit/the letter
- The purpose of the initial contact is making a connection. If it leads into an ask for a donation/sponsorship, then ask. Prospects can be helpful in many ways - sharing helpful experience, offering to volunteer, providing names of further prospects, providing in-kind donations, and, of course, donations and/or sponsorships. Keep the bigger picture in mind. Any offer of assistance is a success for you- getting any kind of "yes" is a coup. In the least, you had the opportunity to share some information about our organization or project.
- Review the research about this prospect.
- Prepare a brief introduction - whether it is a letter, an email or for initial contact in person - which includes your purpose (talking with the prospect about your organization), how you are connected to the organization.
- Again, be polite to the "gatekeepers" - the people who schedule appointments, who greet you when entering the office, the administrative assistants. These people can make your access to the prospect smooth or difficult.
- Talking to a prospect face to face is most successful.
- Tell the prospect that you will not take up much of her/his time and mean it. If she gives you 15 minutes, be prepared to be polite but get your message across in that time and then be the first to move toward wrapping up the meeting. Thank her for her time and anything she was able to provide. If it appears that she is interested in further discussion, tell her you could certainly stay longer or set up another time to continue. Always be respectful of her time.
- Be on time for the meeting or for the scheduled call.
- If possible, take the liaison/the person who knows the prospect with you or have her call ahead to ask for the appointment "________ (the name of the liaison/friend) is interested in accompanying me."
- Don't give up. Follow up. "I recently sent you a letter/email/left a message about (your project). I am very interested in hearing your thoughts on this project. Would you have time today/this week for me to come by or for me to take you for coffee? OR, (if you do not think you will be successful getting some face to face time with the prospect), would you have a few moments right now for me to briefly tell you about my project? I would very much like to get your perspective."
During the initial call/meeting
- Have supporting materials with you if you are meeting in person - a folder that includes brochure or flyer about the project, a letter covering the points you will talking about, a donation postcard with a link to your online donation site to facilitate online and mail donation methods. Be prepared to leave this with the prospect - make sure it is neat and professional.
- Know all the details that you can about the project - the dates, location, who else is supporting the project, what organizations are involved, the theme, the goals....
- Be prepared to invite the prospect to become more involved. Would she like to come to an exhibition/event that is currently happening? Would she like to talk with other people involved in the project.
Fundraising Package Considerations
- Be amiable.
- Use "you" more than "I".
- Include images/photos of people - interacting, responding to past projects.
- Include anecdotes, stories about the people that past projects have interacted with.
- Start out with some program, story that is new to the donor.
- Include mostly positives, what the project accomplishes instead of what it needs.
- Include deadlines, “the project needs funding by____”.
- The "ask" should be repeated within the body of the letter. For example, include a one line between paragraphs that asks, in different ways, for assistance, Can you sponsor us? Would you be able to donate?
- Letters should be formatted so that it is easy to read – spacing, indents, etc.
- The writer should consider including a quote from another supporter, someone who has participated in one of our events in the past and consider putting this quote above the greeting line.
- Letters should provide links to more information such as your website. Include a FAQ sheet or a link to such a list.
- Letters should show how many people are involved and how they are involved.
- Letters should include testimonials.
- Letters should tell the person exactly what you want - do you want volunteers, do you want a check, do you want an introduction to another entity?.
- Your website should have a "donate now" button, linked to an online fundraising application, and links to social media pages.
- The package can include past press about the project.
- Demonstrate how your project makes a difference to our targets
- Demonstrate how you set out goals and plans
- How do you evaluate your projects?
- Do you have history to show that you are able to deliver on your promises?
- Do you have a good reputation?
- What are the various sources of your income?
Follow up
- Any information you gather about the prospect goes to your central donor files for future projects: background information, whether there was a donation or response of any kind. If you are declined, try to find out why and have that included in the donor list database.
- No matter the results of the call/meeting, send a thank you letter - even if it is just for her willingness to talk with you. After every contact, after every event. Include links to further information about the project and contact information. She might change her mind later.
- Typically, after trying three times to make contact with a prospect, it is time to move on to another one.
- If a prospect responds positively in any way, thank them in person and follow up with a written thank you and with a review of what you discussed and agreed upon, dates for completion, etc.
Thank yous
- Send the initial thank you within a week of the donation or agreement to sponsor.
- Follow up an email thank you with a mailed one.
- Consider including a video in the thank you - a sampling of the artwork, participants thanking the sponsor, an overview of the event.
- Be formal in the greeting line of emails as well as letters. Use Dear Ms./Mr./Mrs._____,
- Open with how the donation is being used.
- Include contact information and links for more information.
- Include link to the event website.
- Use a P.S. that include an invitation to another event, a resource, additional thanks.