Fundraising II

Fundraising II

The group is looking for know-how for fundraising.

Challenges from the group:

• Funders w/ changing / misaligned priorities
• Catch-22: Need funding to get funding
• Local funders already have a group they're funding
• Lack of trust in me
• Getting them to see the utility of what I'm doing
• How to foster relationships - keeping it warm without feeling annoying
• How to build relationships with new funders
• Project-based funding vs. Operations funding - harder to get funding for general operations support.
• Funder only wants to meet with ED.

Questions from group

• is it ok to overpromise in proposal?
  • always better to do the opposite. but if you establish a peer based realtionship. the proposal/grant almost become irrelevant.
  • if we make the decisions together, your risk tolerance and forgiveness is way higher.
  • if I treat you with dference and empower you as a judge and I only tell you things are perfect and beautiful, you'll feel removed and minimized.
  • structure the dialog so it's open / candid / shared experience.
  • talk 1-2/x wk. trade texts, not reports.
• what if they're a new PM?
  • you're fucked. you're back at zero.
  • they're always going to view you as the last person's project.
  • you have to integrate into their strategy.

Challenges and strategies articulated by Geoffrey:

• Foundations are insular but not b/c they're corrupt - it's b/c they're risk adverse
  • Don't want to fund things that could go off the rails
  • What you're doing might not work

• Program Officers:
  • they are activists too, have made sacrifices to be there
  • Funding is zero sum inside of philanthropy. If my grants screw up, I get less, am more at risk. They have risks.
  • That's why they keep funding the same things.
  • They're going back to their board and need to articulate their strategy

• Fitting into a Strategy and ToC
  • Difficult to get initiative funded w/o being part of a larger theory of change
  • They need chess pieces and game pieces for the strategy
  • If they're already funding a bunch of blue people, they probably don't need more
  • How can I help you ring the bells you're trying to ring -- what can I help you do in terms of solving your problem. Don't think about "how can I be helped"
  • I'm in a conversation with a peer to solve a problem together
  • There's elasticity in the conversation
  • Don't ask for $1M to do XYZ
  • Instead: say "I have an idea, what do you think?"
  • You should get "what if we did it this way instead?" rather than "No"
  • Actively involve the funder in the conversations

• Relationships w/ Funder
  • Update the funder as if you were passing them in the hall in the cafetaria, not like it's my annual meeting with an investor
  • Desire for money doesn't kill relationships. Kill the idea that b/c you want money makes everything else you talk with them about as bullshit
  • Make yourself a smart person w/ a bright idea who wants input and ideas.
  • You're human, they're human.
  • Tell them the problem is going to be hard -- all the things you're going to have to accomplish, including money, and tell them you're looking forward to working together. But don't make it only about money. Don't alienate / make it transactional.
  • Incept ideas in the funder. Don't go directly to what you want. Ask good questions, get them to the spot you are already in.
  • The money is not for you - it's for the work.

• Don't get stuck spending time with the wrong funder
  • There are lots of rich people. If it's not a fit, move on.
  • And, be willing to take side steps if it allows you to get around the wall you keep running in to.
  • don't put all your eggs in one basket
  • be willing to tweak how you think/talk about what you're doing, as you talk to different funders

• Order of ops
  • First touch: how can I help.
  • Second: any chance I can be in the plan
  • Third: Here's how I can impact your plan.

• Framing
  • When you show \up in the inbox, you want to be "person I work with" not

• Strategy
  • Idea: go to folks they're funding, partner, and then go to foundation through them

• Research
  • Do your research on a foundation. Not just at who they funded last year. Look at pattern of funding types.
  • Figure out how you fit into the broad scope of their strategy

• How to talk to funder
  • Don't talk about your employee salaries, operational stuff
  • Don't say "I need to hire 2 more people; don't want to worry about fundraising" - it's not inspiring, emotional, ideological, shared
  • Always make it about what's required to accomplish and meet the challenge set
  • The money is never for the budget, it's for the work
  • They will fund what tugs at their heartstrings
  • Your story should be tight, strong, powerful
  • Anchor in the external challenge set (the work) - not the internal challenge set (rent). The external challenge set is why they're in the field.
  • Sale happens at intellectual, creative, and emotional engagement - involvement in the work.
  • The budget is the rationalization. They give you the money because they like you (and believe in your vision)
  • give them the vision of the way the world is going to change b/c of the impact you're going to make
  • passion, change. THEN tight budget. testimonials.

• have a single thing
  • you need a single thing that you want to take to the top of the curve. expand to europe. build the foundation layer. grow the user base. one singular ambitious thing. there can be complexity inside it, but you need to be able to describe it. they need one thing they can describe that they're funding you for.
  • that singular thing needs to be emergent from the last 4-5y of work.
  • it can be the only thing your organization does from then on. funder won't believe a single org can grow multiple things at once. hard to talk about, but need to know what you're going to stop doing. you can expand again when you're done.
  • originallity is not your friend. patterns: we want to go from left to right. we want to replicate across the state. etc.
  • don't say we've been opearting 5y and want to go another 10. say "we learned this thing, here's what we can do to take it to scale, what do you think?"

• Do a feasibility study
  • constantly engage people
  • try different ways of talking about things, see how they react
  • ask about others you should talk to
  • remix, based on eyebrows of the person you're talking to, real time
  • reduce the risk profile of the person you're talking to. first conversation shouldn't be with your funder. should be with your friend. try to get them excited. then your old professor. then me. constantly practicing. eventually you're ready to start talking to funders.
  • optimize for least time until money you need, not least amount of work.
  • if you talk to ford first, you're going to screw up.
  • work pipelines from bottom up, not top down.

• How you talk
  • "The Work" not "my work"
  • Use the small talk! You're on immediately. You're trying to get them to start talking first. Get to "Why did you choose this field?"
  • Nothing is more powerful than them going first.
  • Everyone likes to talk about themselves. They'll like you more!
  • They'll hand you everything you need to close them. What they care about. Whether you should swear. Ac tivist or education-bsed. how fast to talk. what systems of analysis are wrong. why they're in the field. formal vs. expressive.
  • don't just wait for your turn to talk. Merge with what they're saying. continue to reinforce that you are arm in arm with what they're up to. then you guide them to what you want to talk about.

Advantages:

• Having access