Grant writing is so often seen as a cure-all for non-profits or other organizations. “If we just get some grants. Then we can do….”. The truth is putting a proposal together and submitting it to a funder will not guarantee that you will be funded. #Grants are not easy to come by. Often, it takes a year or more before any dollars come in because of a #grant.
Our cure? Simple, diversify. Diversify your funding portfolio for your organization.
Good fundraising organizations work on establishing a diversified stream of income. If you are raising 90% of your funds from one type of fundraising (i.e. you are almost entirely event, grant, or program fee driven) then you are putting yourself in a precarious position should that funding stream dry up. All non-profits should be diversified. There are an almost endless stream of revenue sources you can tap: government funding, individuals, corporations, foundations, large events, small events, direct mail, online… Make an effort to diversify.
Likewise, if any of your funding streams rely almost solely on one or two big donors, now is the time to branch out. If, for example, your corporate giving strategy relies on the same two big companies year in, year out, it’s time to build a farm team of companies that donate at lower levels, and which you can step up to larger gifts over time.
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We assist our clients in locating, applying for, and evaluating the outcomes of non-dilutive grant funding. We believe non-dilutive funding is a crucial tool for mitigating investment risks, and we are dedicated to guiding our clients through the entire process—from identifying the most suitable opportunities to submitting and managing grant applications.