Fundraising HayDay

As grant professionals, communication is the root of our work. Not only are we responsible for conveying information through the written word, but we must communicate with a variety of colleagues, subject matter experts, program directors, finance personnel, leaders, elected officials, funders, and more. We’re talking with Michelle Gladieux about the value and importance of communication, plus how we can be direct and vulnerable and diplomatic (through practice) to improve our communication skills.   JOIN THE FUNDRAISING HAYDAY COMMUNITY: Become a member of the Patreon   WHERE TO FIND OUR GUEST: Michelle Gladieux Gladieux Consulting LinkedIn

Amanda and Kimberly have a combined 50+ years of grant work. To say our cohosts have learned a few things along the way is an understatement. They are sharing their top 10 lessons learned along the way – maybe a few of them will resonate with you.

For many grant professionals, the leap from working for an organization to starting your own grant and/or fundraising consultancy is a scary one. There are so many questions, from wondering if you should be an LLC or sole proprietor to what to charge and how to market your business.   The Fundraising HayDay cohosts partnered with Allison Boyd, Owner of Boyd Grants, to create Morphology, an on-demand training to help you create a consultancy business that works for you. On the podcast, we are sharing why we leapt into the world of consultancy, how to define success, and what you can expect from Morphology.  

Foundation and corporate grants are a funding source for many nonprofit organizations, but since these funders are not required to have a website, your best source of information is their annual Form 990. On that document they are required to share information about their assets, board members, recent grantees, and a few details about how to submit an application (or not if they do not accept unsolicited applications). Sounds easy, right? Oh, if only it were so. Today, we’re discussing where to find what you’re looking for on Form 990s and venting our frustrations when things are not where they’re supposed to be.   SHOW NOTES   Tax Exempt Organization Search on IRS Website HERE

Have you ever worked at an organization where you were expected to bring in all the funding plus a million other things? Your title might be Development Director, Grants Administrator, Director of Fundraising, or anything along those lines. But that title alone doesn’t mean you have the time, skills, capacity, and energy to do all the things dumped in your lap. Multi-tasking is a total myth, so we’re here to breakdown how you can be a successful fundraiser while juggling everything else on your plate. Here’s a hint: without outside help, you can’t do it all.   SHOW NOTES   To better understand the origins of nonprofit work, go back and listen to Fundraising HayDay’s Season 6, Episode 21 – How to Have Uncomfortable Conversations About Race, Bias, and More with Fleur Larsen – How to Have Uncomfortable Conversations About Race, Bias, and More - HayDay Services

People come to the grant field from a variety of backgrounds and their work varies depending on their clients, focus, and experience. Dr. Janelle Harvey’s passion is nonprofits and ensuring they have the resources needed to thrive. She shares her insights on being mentored, working with faith-based organizations, her recent experience with the Milestone Circles program at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, and so much more.   Show Notes:   Faith and Fundraising Podcast on Kingdom Purpose Radio - Kingdom Purpose Radio – Harvey (drharveywrites.com) & Christian Radio | Kingdom Purpose Radio   Harvey NPO Consulting, LLC - Harvey – Harvey NPO Consulting Group (drharveywrites.com)

Many grant proposals allow, and sometimes require, letters of support. Whether you call them support letters, letters of endorsement, or commitment letters, this is a means for funders to see the wide range of “support” for your project or program. They can be gathered from individuals, nonprofits, government agencies, elected officials, businesses, school systems, civic organizations, and more. But getting quality letters in a timely manner isn’t always as simple as you think.

The fastest road to burnout is overloading your staff. Boards, elected officials, executive directors, and other leaders must understand the capacity of time and resources necessary to develop and manage grant proposals. It is not a solo sport. So before chasing the dollars, ensure the right people with the right skills are on your agency’s grants team to ensure success and longevity of your grant funded programs.

What two things are necessary for a sustainable nonprofit? Fundraising and administration. What two things are nonprofits often judged for spending money on? Fundraising and administration.   Programs serve people, but you cannot have programs without funding and staff. Nonprofits need oversight. They require finance personnel, fundraisers, executive directors, and more.   Too many organizations and people perpetuate the overhead myth – the notion that overhead costs (like administration and fundraising) should be 10% or less. Let’s debunk that myth together.

Logic models: you either love them or hope you never have to create one. But the truth is, you should not be intimated by one. Simply put, it is a flowchart that highlights the important elements of your planned work and intended results related to a grant funding request. With a one-page diagram, you can easily outline the vital elements of a grant application and use it as a template to build your narrative.   Show Notes:   W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide

In 2023, today’s guest (Laura Chynoweth) penned the blog post “Disrupting the Development Hierarchy” in which she spells out why grant writing so often is found at the bottom. Laura, founder and CEO of Grant Fundraising Consultants, joined us to share those reasons and ways in which grant professionals can educate their colleagues and others about the true nature of grant work. The truth is, those who conduct prospect research, develop grant proposals, and manage grant awards play a vital role in the fundraising arm of organizations. It’s time that is understood.   SHOW NOTES:   Laura Chynoweth’s Grant Professional Association Blog Post Article “Disrupting the Development Hierarchy” - Disrupting the Development Hierarchy - Grant Professionals Association   Laura Chynoweth - (2) Laura Chynoweth, MA, CFRE, GPC | LinkedIn   Grant Fundraising Consultants - Granted Fundraising Consultants

Each year, the Giving USA Foundation and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU Indianapolis releases the annual Giving USA Report. Their goal is to “advance philanthropy through research and education.” The results from the data collected and studies in 2023 were released by Giving USA on June 25, 2024. Our cohosts are highlighting charitable giving by source, types of recipient organizations to receive charitable giving, and why this matters to recipients. The overall message is that while overall funding increased, it did not keep up with inflation, and that will impact nonprofits and their work.   Access the data we highlighted from Giving USA on today’s podcast episode here: Giving USA: U.S. charitable giving totaled $557.16 billion in 2023 | Giving USA   Download the infographic from Giving USA with the highlights of their findings here: 2024 Infographic – Giving USA  

We often spend more time at work than anywhere else. But that doesn’t mean we are closest to our bosses and colleagues. So how does that work when you have things in your life that affect your work performance? Today we are joined by Melanie Palmer, GPC, CFRE and Leilani Ocasio of Melanie Palmer Consulting, where they share their personal inspirations for leading the "Vulnerability in Grants Work: Set Yourself (and Others) Free" workshop two years running at GrantSummit, a conference hosted by the Grant Professionals Association. Together we talk about building safe spaces and safe communities for everyone to share their moments of vulnerability so we can all work together to be our true, authentic selves.

Grant funding can be used for travel, if the funder allows it. Your needs for travel expenses will vary from airline and hotel costs to reach a conference event to local mileage for traveling nurses to visit seniors in their homes. If federal funding is involved, there are some very specific rules about what you can and cannot do with travel funding. We’re talking about all those specifics to make sure you spend you grant funding appropriately.

Have you started your own business? Are you thinking about it? Whether you plan to be a grant consultant, start a fundraising empire, or want to freelance here and there, it is important to think about your plans for maintaining or growing your business. We are joined by Kim Joyce, Founder & CEO of Kim Joyce & Associates. When she first started her business she had a handful of clients, and today she employees over 30 individuals. She’s got a lot to say about how it happened.  

Grant management is a vital part of the grant life cycle. If you cannot keep the funding awarded to your agency, you are lessening the chance of future funding. Today we’re walking you through the five main components of post-award work. Whether you are new to the grant world or an experienced grant manager, take a listen to make sure you’re covering all the basics.

From small family foundations to large corporation foundations, many funders ask potential grantees to submit an LOI. Do they mean a Letter of Intent or Letter of Interest? Do they want one page or three? What topics do they expect you to cover? The simple answer: it depends. Our cohosts are sharing the ins and outs of all aspects of an LOI in this “how to” episode.

Sure, your title may have “writer” in it, but we are more than grant writers. Grant professionals build capacity, develop programs, conduct research, work with clients, build budgets, and so much more. We also have a voice in philanthropy, because without nonprofits and other agencies to do all of its good works, foundations and government agencies would have money to give but not one to give it to. Our guests, Patrice Shumate and Liyen Chong, are two of the founding members of More Than Grant Writers, a collaborative community space for grant professionals to practice their unique collective power for social and environmental justice. Learn about More Than Grant Writers and how you can add your voice to the collective.

Grant funding is out there. In 2022, foundations gave $105.2 BILLION and corporations $29.5 BILLION. In Fiscal Year 2023, the federal government awarded $1.7 TRILLION in federal discretionary resources. So how do you wade through all those funding opportunities to find the right fit for your organization? We’re walking you through the process today. If you are in need of resources to help conduct your grant prospect research, here are a few: S1, E7 Fundraising HayDay Podcast – Grant Prospect Research  S1, E13 Fundraising HayDay Podcast – Private Funding & How to Approach it  S1, E14 Fundraising HayDay Podcast – Public Funding & You  S4, E11 Fundraising HayDay Podcast – Prospect Research: What’s Old is New Again  HayDay Services Webinar – 5 Free Ways to Fine More Grants  The Go/No Go Grant Decision Guide goes hand in hand with today’s episode. 

During the 2023 #GrantSummit hosted by the Grant Professionals Association, our cohosts interviewed a variety of leaders in the grant field. They shared their experiences, insights, and words of wisdom related to a number of themes ranging from giving back to the profession, leadership, philanthropy, professionalism, volunteering, professional development, and more. Hear key takeaways from each of our esteemed guests: Bernard Turner, GPC, Associate Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Belmont University   Cheryl Kester, CFRE, GPC, 2023 Distinguished Fellow Awardee and Owner of The Kester Group Doris Shivers, GPC, Director of Grant Innovation and Management for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Egondu Onuoha, GPC, President of the Grant Professionals Certification Institute and Vice President of Real Estate and Special Programs at the Brooklyn Hospital Jess Pettitt, Emcee of #GrantSummit, Speaker at Good Enough Now Johna Rodgers, GPC, Immediate Past President of the Grant Professionals Association and Owner of Johna Rodgers Consulting Leilani Ocasio, Grant Professionals Association Board Member and Project Manager at M. Palmer Consulting Mike Chamberlain, CAE, Chief Executive Office of the Grant Professionals Association Pat Duboise, GPC, Chair of the Grant Professionals Association Mentoring Committee and Director at Grant Initiatives Reagan Lynch, Immediate Past President of the Grant Professionals Foundation and Grant Policy Manager at Witt O’Brien’s Scot Scala, GPC, 2023 Distinguished Fellow Awardee and President & Senior Consultant at Scala & Associates