We take a practical approach to developing your strategy by asking: How do your current and future fundraising needs align with your organization's mission and strategic goals? What are your current and future fundraising sources?

The next step is to review your current activities, and determine how they can be improved to generate additional funding. In addition, we'll review with you how to incorporate into your development implementation program one or more of the following initiatives:

• Individual Donor Cultivation via direct mail, internet, planned giving, major gifts and related approaches
• Grant Proposals to foundations, government agencies and corporations
• Strategic Partnerships 
• Events
• Capital Campaigns
• Endowments

We'll then prepare a written strategic action plan and work with you to implement it.  

The key implementation services offered include helping you construct or upgrade your prospect database, analyzing your database to determine how to target various groups of prospects, and designing promotions and incentives both in print and on the web.

For example, recent research about effective fundraising messages has found that featuring a single individual vs. showing mass suffering is more effective. Also, local causes are more compelling to donors than ones farther away or in foreign countries. Finally, creating a tie, no matter how small, between a donor and the beneficiary generates higher levels of funding.

The cultivation of donors is complex and filled with a wide number of choices. NonProfit Growth will help you arrive at the best solution for your organization.

You'll also receive a candid assessment of how to improve your website to make it a more effective fundraising tool.

Consistent with your mission, your current development initiatives and new development directions, we will create a funding matrix tailored to each of your strategic objectives that includes the following:

• Public and private funding sources, including government agencies (local, state, federal), foundations (local & national) and corporations.
• Programs that align with your mission and objectives
• Range of award amounts
• Deadlines and funding cycles
• Contact information
• How to apply: electronically, hardcopy; letter of intent or full proposal
• Recommended action steps for each opportunity.

This information can be stored in an Excel spreadsheet or in a fundraising database of your choice. The next step will be preparation of funding requests as described below.

The good news is that funding requests come in many flavors. That means with NonProfit Growth's assistance, you can work simultaneously on many different types of funding requests:

1. Call to request funds and follow up with a 1-page letter

2. Send multiple letters of intent.

3. Complete simple online applications

4. Prepare a detailed, complex proposal that could be 10 to 25 pages long (either online or in hard copy).

5. Send your organization's capabilities summary to another organization which will include you in their proposal.

6. Prepare a proposal to an organization that has invited you to submit your project for review.

Because many foundations and corporations do not accept unsolicited proposals, you want to filter them out and concentrate on the most promising prospects.

NonProfit Growth follows these rules to improve the chances of success:

1. Adhere to the guidelines of the funding organizations even when they seem overly restrictive.

2. Be sure that your proposal is "in the ballpark". There's not enough time to present groundbreaking proposals that go far beyond the interest of the funder. However, if you're passionate about a project, contact the funding organizer to discuss your unique solution.

3. Do your proposal budgets carefully and fully explain them. Set up a spreadsheet template that you can adapt to each proposal.

4. Have all your documents in order: IRS letter, organization budget, list of board members etc.

5. Remember that in most cases, fundraising is a "buyers market" which means that the grant seeker has to make the extra effort.

Almost all donors, both public and private, require partnerships or other forms of collaboration, to qualify for funding. Strategic partnerships are essential to survival and may be an effective way to accelerate your growth and receive funding with less competition.  Being the leader of the partnership is your best option as this position gives you more control over the direction of your project.

In most cases, you will know the best partners for your organization.  You may need help in defining the cooperation and preparing a Memorandum of Understanding or other written agreement.

In those instances where you need assistance in identifying partners, especially national or regional organizations,  for a new initiative, NonProfit Growth is there to help you move into new geographic or service areas or simply expand the scale of your services.