Streamlining Access to Philanthropic Money
A recent, fabulous article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy was written from the perspective of nonprofit leaders and what they want to tell funders about their efforts to acquire resources for their particular nonprofit. The basic takeaway from the article, published on July 7 by Joan Garry, highlighted the need for streamlining and less bureaucracy.
What I liked about the article most specifically was that it got actual quotes, in bulk, from nonprofit leaders about their view of applying for philanthropic support, in particular from larger individual foundations or community foundations. Here are some of my favorites...
Can you please offer a more streamlined grant application process for organizations with fewer than X number of full-time staff...I write the grant proposals and pay the bills.
If you believe in our work, invest in it with sustained unrestricted grants. Think of it this way…if my entire organization’s budget is equal to the salary of one of your staff members, it’s a good bet that we don’t have pricey software or a computer less than five years old.
You know the college common application? Can we build one for the nonprofit world and get every foundation to use it?
We sometimes think of nonprofits as large entities with staff and bigger budgets. But it turns out more than 90 percent of nonprofits are very small. If funding organizations read this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, it might give them an opportunity to think about those 90+ percent of charities that don’t have the resources to work like a larger nonprofit organization.
