Jan Kary, CFRE – Jan Kary & Associates Planet Philanthropy 2017 Foundations: Breaking Through “You’ve Been Declined” and Stewarding to Success Jan Kary, CFRE – Jan Kary & Associates

Foundation Outreach Basics You’ve found the PERFECT grant opportunity! You’ve read and followed the grant guidelines carefully You’ve studied the grantor’s 990 to review history of past funding Your ask is aligned with grantor’s expressed interests You’ve itemized your program’s phenomenal measurable outcomes Foundation Outreach Basics

Foundation Basics - continued Your ask amount is aligned with grantor’s giving history Your grant is written in understandable language avoiding jargon You’ve found in the company an internal employee “champion” You submitted the grant (on-line or on paper) by the deadline Foundation Basics - continued

Foundation Basics: check! Grant submitted: check! Now the hard part: The wait for grant review Then it happens: The decline letter arrives How could this possibly happen for the perfectly-written grant???

Wisdom for all Grant seekers: As it relates to foundations…. “Your morale - and even your sanity - will be improved if you don’t expect fairness, justice, or rationality – not to mention basic courtesy.” Martin Teitel, Author

Breaking Through the Decline Contacting foundation for a de-brief call following receipt of decline Offer volunteer/on-site visit opportunity to the funder Re-examine potential Board connects Inviting the funder to non-ask event(s) Send newsletters and other touch points Seek to build relationships Attend programs offered by the funder

Some Quotes from an Expert Grantor… Martin Teitel, former Foundation CEO and former Non-Profit Executive Director Author: The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Winning Foundation Grants: A Foundation CEO Reveals the Secrets You Need to Know

Marty’s Tips The most successful LOI’s…. Avoid causing a program officer to experience MEGO The importance of vision statements Check.Your.Math Grants are often declined because…

Things You Can do to Help Your Proposal Make the First Cut Write a compelling summary List concrete, specific outcomes of your work Connect each step of your work with your goals Present a budget in standard format that’s legible and patently sensible Get the proposal in early Offer to meet. Once.

Red Flags Foundations are Wary of Lobbying or Political Work High staff turnover Huge gap between top and bottom salaries Board composed mostly of famous, inactive people Board composed of staff Extensive, expensive media strategies

Ways to Improve Your Proposal Go on a cliché and gobbledygook hunt Use short sentences, active voice, lots of white space Paint word pictures that draw the reader in Write as much from your heart as from your head Have a friend edit your prose Talk with successful grantees of that foundation When in doubt, don’t

Frequent Mistakes Talking mainly about problems, not solutions Describing specific problems with general solutions Prolific use of buzzwords and jargon Budgets that don’t add up Parroting the funder’s guidelines without linking them to the work

Maybe You’re Thinking….. “But you’re only talking about some foundations….not the ones I’m applying to. The foundations I’m targeting will act differently when they see my stunning proposal…”

Thank You. Jan Kary, CFRE Jan Kary & Associates www. JanKary. com 202 Thank You! Jan Kary, CFRE Jan Kary & Associates www.JanKary.com 202.438-6750 jkary@verizon.net