Raising money is not just about raising money

Over the past few months, it has become clear to me that the pain and pressure of having to raise money is excruciating.  I knew it was bad in 2008, but it seems as though it is just as difficult today. Asking a funder for money is a pretty easy thing to do. You simply pitch an idea, complete an application or send in a proposal. It becomes a numbers game. If you ask 50 people for money, you hope that five say yes now and maybe five more say yes later. You always know that 100% is not realistic.

It has occurred to me that the art of asking for money and the science of explaining why you are asking for money are not always connected. Often times, the disconnection comes from within the grant seeking organization’s structure. The CEO, Fund Development Director, Grant Writer and Program Director are not automatically “on the same page.” This becomes really clear to a grant reviewer when ideas and concepts are cloudy because often the responsibility of writing a grant has been left in the hands of a grant writer, sometimes in isolation.  Truthfully, this can be a real problem for the organization seeking funds because the application can appear to be shallow or not well thought out. It is imperative that all the players involved in the “ask” have developed a cogent and clear strategy and that every person involved in the process has signed off on the final product.  It is no longer realistic to think that funders are going to provide grant dollars to organizations just because they like them. Dollars are too tight and options for funding are greater than ever before. Substantive programs are crucial to being funded.

So my advice is to: do your homework, have a realistic strategy, have the whole team “buy in”, have a realistic budget and then have a conversation with the Grantor about the proposal you are about to submit. You may not get funded but, at least you have taken the necessary steps to be fully considered.