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The State of Grantseeking and Its Implications for Grant Professionals

Dahna GoldsteinFounder and CEO

Grant Professionals AssociationConference 2013

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Introductions

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The State of the Nonprofit Sector

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The new normal

Giving USA 2013 Highlights

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Service demand is increasing

Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey

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Majority of organizations not able to meet demand

Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey

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Overall giving is increasing slightly

Blackbaud Index, September 2013 Data

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A majority of organizations reported increased donations

Nonprofit Research Collaborative, Winter 2013

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Which is an improvement over last year

Nonprofit Research Collaborative, 2012

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And a more significant improvement over the prior year

Nonprofit Research Collaborative, Late Fall 2011 Fundraising Study

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2012 saw greater giving growth

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Organizations’ overall fundraising success varied by size

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…and by issue area

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Organizations are feeling optimistic

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But they have felt optimistic before

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More organizations met their fundraising goals in 2012

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The State of Grantseeking

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Government grants are a relatively small percentage of overall fundraising

Urban Institute, The Nonprofit Sector in Brief: Public Charities, Giving, and Volunteering, 2013

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Foundation grants are an even smaller percentage

Giving USA 2013

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Grants are over a quarter of funding for 42% of nonprofits

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Mid-sized organizations rely most heavily on grants as funding source

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State of Grantseeking

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Government funding has decreased

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Foundation assets are recovering

2012 Council on Foundations – Commonfund Study of Foundations

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But foundation giving is expected to stay relatively flat this year

Foundation Center – Foundation Focus 2013

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Competition for funder dollars is intense

• “We have seen federal funding be drastically reduced for human services. We also see a greater competition for local grants and resources. ”

• “Our challenge is finding additional funding to reduce dependency on state dollars. ”

• “Due to the economic conditions, fewer funds are available and therefore the competition for funds is greater. Our location limits the number of agencies to apply to, other than the federal agencies.”

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Private foundation grants remain the most frequent funding source

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Private foundation grants are the largest source of total funding

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Private foundations were also the source of the largest grant

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The sources of largest grants vary by organization budget size

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Organizations continue to submit many requests to grantors

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…and continue to get grant awards

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Organizations rely on different people to engage in grantseeking activities

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Most organizations get grants under $100,000

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Small Organizations

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Medium organizations

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Large organizations

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Grant award sizes stayed the same or increased

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…but that hasn’t been consistent

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Organizations submitted the same number or more grant requests

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Which resulted in increased numbers of grants for 30%

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Trends over past 2 years

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Service area impacted sources of largest grant award

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Organizations face both internal and external grantseeking challenges

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Greatest challenges vary by organization size

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Project Streamline, addressed to funders, identified challenges

• Enormous variability• Requirements that aren’t “right sized”• Insufficient net grants• Outsourced burdens• Trust undermined• Reports on a shelf• Fundraising gymnastics• Due diligence redundancy• Double edged swords• Time drain for grantmakers, too

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How does this resonate with your experience?

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Implications for grant professionals

• Economic conditions are not necessarily greatest challenges, but have a lasting impact

• Manage relationships with existing funders

• Don’t assume that this year’s funder will be next year’s funder

• Address specific guidelines (goes without saying, but…)

• Speak directly to funder’s mission

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Implications for grant professionals

• Impact of government funding reductions isn’t over

• Diversify• Focus on basics• Grant trends can inform strategy and

prospecting

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Focus

• On developing and cultivating relationships

• On grantwriting fundamentals• On high ROI prospects – and issues

that matter to them• On net positive grants

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Net Grant Calculation

Amount of awarded grant-

Total grant costNet Grant

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Total Grant Cost

Time spent researching opportunity+ Time spent preparing proposal+ Time spent

corresponding/communicating/meeting with funder

+ Time spent on compliance and reportingALL* Cost of salary/salaries of people involved in process

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Total Grant Cost Calculation Starting Points

• Average time spent on grant proposal creation = 27.45 hours (median 20 hours)

• Average time spent reporting = 20.48 hours (median 10 hours)• Median salary for a development director = $95,631• Hourly = $55 (assuming 35 hour work weeks, 2 weeks vacation)• Over $1,500 to apply for grant, over $1,100 to report

Note: these numbers are for foundation grant applications/reports (from Center for Effective Philanthropy). Government numbers are higher.

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There is an increased need for grant professionals

• Experienced grantwriters = higher ROI

• Opportunity for consultants

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…but corresponding stress on ability to pay

• New hires are not in the cards for many organizations

• Many don’t have the cash flow to pay consultants

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Organizations remain optimistic about the next six months

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A bit about PhilanTech

• Tracking• Requirements

• Deadlines• Reuse information

• Deadlines• Reuse information

• Research• Relationships• History

Find Apply

ReceiveReport

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“Ugliest” Grant Tracking Spreadsheet Contest

Go to http://bit.ly/UglySpreadsheet to enter

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Questions?

Dahna Goldsteindahna@philantech.com