Posted on Thursday, 21st May 2009 by chris wignall

A couple quick comments to non-profit leaders on how to get funding from Catalyst and most other foundations that I communicate with.

1. Don’t send me an uninvited, impersonal, and obviously form letter requesting funds. I will not respond positively. Take even a few minutes to give me a call or read some of our website and you will quickly discover the kinds of things we are interested in supporting and the process and criteria that govern our decisions. Not investing these few minutes tells me strongly that you are only interested in our dollars and not at all in what matters to us. Seth Godin has some wisdom you should heed.)

2. If in the course of communication about a particular project I ask a question that is somewhat probing and challenging don’t just stop replying. If I didn’t want an answer I really wouldn’t take the time to ask. My goal is not to insult or offend; it may be to raise something I think may be a blind spot in your proposal, but most likely I am being quite genuine. If my question makes it apparent that there is no likelihood of mutual compatibility spend the extra 30 seconds to let me know you don’t see value in continuing our interchanges. Closing the loop is a basic professional courtesy.

3. Understand that just as charity leaders have conversations about their interactions with various funders, donors also talk about things from our side of the table. In my experience there is care taken to avoid broad brush criticism, but our due diligence and professional development require some level of this interaction.

The bottom line for this semi-rant is this: If your fundraising strategy is lazy or rude you are probably losing out not just on the immediate project, but also on significant potential in the future.

Of course; the leaders who would do those things aren’t taking the time to read this blog either so this probably hasn’t been a useful exercise for me or you. Sorry

Posted in Catalyst, Partners, Philanthropy | Comments (2)