02/09 Thought Leadership slides

1. Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. 1
Does your organization want
a million-dollar grant?

3. Who am I?
A RESEARCHER

4. My 2nd Lens

5. How I applied it =
Build Measurable, Sustainable Non-Profit Programs in Every Field

6. Well over $250 Million +
in applied, administered and awarded funding

7. Only to discover

8. So, I became obsessed
Just to ask -
What is the real
cause behind
non-profit failure?
Started a non-profit
consulting business
Persued a Doctor of Education
In Organizational Change

9. What we will NOT cover today
 WHY non-profits fail

10. What we WILL cover today
1. A brief overview of the non-profit landscape
2. WHAT is real sustainability
3. WHAT is a readiness stage & WHY knowing your stage is
critical to success
4. HOW to assess your non-profits stage
5. HOW to apply this stage to your work moving forward
A real conversation about the funding level your non-profit is truly ready to apply for,
and how to grow that capacity in 2023.

11. Learning objectives
1. Awareness of the condition of the non-profit landscape
2. Knowledge of what is needed by an organization to apply for high
levels of funding
3. Assessment of where your organization and programs fall on a
scale of readiness to apply
4. Understanding of select steps needed to increase stages
5. Sharing of the resources available for your organization to
advance in next steps to apply

12. Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. 12
A Brief Overview:
The condition of
the non-profit landscape

13. How much funding is really out there?
 Over 100,000 Foundations and Public sector funders offer grants to non-profit
organizations
 26 grant-making agencies in the US federal government grant sector. Federal
grants are reported as the largest award source.
 The top three grant making foundations are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
the Ford Foundation, and the Lilly Endowment. These three foundations combine
to a value of over $60 billion in investment assets (P&I).
 Corporations represent 17% of non-governmental grant funding (Grant Station).
In 2020, over $470 billion was given in grants in the United States;
and it just keeps growing

14. How are non-profits doing amidst
ALL that funding?
 50% of nonprofits fail in the first year
 30% of nonprofits fail to exist after 10 years
 49% of non-profits are operating without a strategic plan
 67% of leaders are planning to leave their position within
five years (with limited to no succession planning).
*National Center on Charitable Statistics (see additional references below)

15. Average size of non-profit
“The vast majority of the non-profit sector is comprised of small organizations,
with almost nine out of 10 spending less than $500,000 annually.”
Less than
10%

16. What it takes to apply for grants
 A foundation grant may take between 15-20 hours to complete,
while typical federal grants might run up to or over 100 hours to
complete (Charity Science).
 The grant writing average success rate is only about 1 in 10 grant
proposals is considered (Professional Grant Writer).
 Larger foundations funding more than $10 million annually have
lower application success rates than smaller foundations (under $1
million). This is due to the applicant pools being significantly larger
for the larger funding opportunities (Candid).

17. FUNDERS
Brief profile of a funder that offers
million dollar + grants
 BUSY
 Get around 1,000+ applications per month
 Do not think you are special – this process
is VERY, VERY competitive
If you wanted to get into Harvard - how hard would you need to prepare?
*Note – TODAY, this also applies to smaller size grants

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Sustainability

19. “Million dollar grant?” “OF COURSE!”

20. Sustainability
NON-PROFIT
BUSINESS
FOR PROFIT
BUSINESS
NON-PROFIT
BUSINESS
PLANNED
BUSINESS
MUST

21. What sustainability IS and IS NOT
IS IS NOT
Organizational plans - complete and
frequently applied
Fundable because “your mission will do
good”
Proven, written, historical capacity to do
the level of work you are proposing
“Believe me, we can do this”
Programs with written goals, metrics, and
outcome plans
“These activities should result in
something, but we are not really tracking”
Known and connected in the funding
comunities
“We will stand out because we are
unique”
Diverse funding portfolio
- Grants
- Individual/ Major donors
- Corporate funders
- Events, etc.
1 or 2 types of funders
(this includes founders & parent
organizations)

22. “Ugly Baby?”

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What is a readiness stage
&
Why it is important to your
organizational success

24. What is a readiness stage?
Where your
organization stands
against key questions
funders ask when
reviewing your
capacity as an
organization to receive
funding.

25. STAGE 1 = PLANS
STAGE 2 = CAPACITY
STAGE 3 = HISTORY
STAGE 4 = PROGRAM
STAGE 5 = CULTURE
Do others internally support
your work?
What shows this program is
needed?
What shows you have done
the work before?
What shows you have the
elements in place to do the
work?
What functional plans do you
have in place that show you
are structured and planned?
The Assessment Building Blocks
Based on the key questions funders ask when they review your organization

26. The Complete Readiness Staging
Assessment
Contains
Over 200
Metrics
Evidence
Based
Partnered
with major
university
funder
Tested with
over 25
organizations

27. Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. 27
Assessing your
organizations readiness
to apply for a
$1 million dollar grant

28. How does your organization
measure up?

29. SCORING SCALE
STRONGLY
DISAGREE
NEUTRAL
STRONGLY
AGREE
DISAGREE AGREE

30. Please take out your pen and paper

31. STAGE 1 = PLANS
1. Do you have a strategic plan with exceptionally
clear mission, vision, goals?
2. Do you match all program development to your
strategic plan?
3. If I asked someone who knew nothing about your
work to look at your website, could they very easily
tell me your organizational goals?
4. Do you have a fundraising plan that tells you
exactly why and for what you will be asking a
funder to give you money?
1 5

32. STAGE 2 = CAPACITY
1. Has your organization been around for at
least 3 years?
2. Has your organization managed funding in
excess of 500K?
3. Do you have at least 2 subject matter
experts (SME’s) on staff with advanced
degrees directly working on your
programs?
4. Do you have one document ready that tells
me all about the key leaders in your
organization?
1 5

33. STAGE 3 = HISTORY
1. Have you been funded by at least 2 very
well-known large funders (Gates,
Bloomberg, Ford Weinberg, etc.)?
2. Do you have at least 5 program related
partnerships with other highly credible
organizations?
3. Do you have written and signed MOUs with
all of these organizations?
4. Do you have a complete audited 990?
1 5

34. STAGE 4 = PROGRAM
1. Do you have thorough, documented evidence that this
program fills a proven societal gap?
2. Does the program have a clear, intentional, fully
described in writing target audience?
3. Do you currently have at least one person that will
dedicate 100% time to this program?
4. Does the program have clearly listed SMART - short,
intermediate and long-term goals written on paper (ideally
in the form of a logic model)?
For this assessment – Focus on only 1 Program
1 5

35. STAGE 5 = CULTURE
1. Does your leadership and board feel it is within
their scope of work/ duties to open doors and
make connections for your programs to get
funding?
2. Does your leadership team meet with you at least
one time per month to define a plan to connect
with funding prospects?
3. Do you meet with your board at least quarterly to
discuss outreach to funder connections?
4. Do other units, divisions, teams within the
organization advocate and market this program to
funders?
1 5

36. DETERMINING YOUR STAGE
 Tally your scores for each level (each level from 1-20)
 Tally your total score (from 1 to 100)
STAGE Possible scores Description
1 1-20 Pre-Contemplation
2 21-40 Contemplation
No score of 1 or 2 on ANY question to go above this level
3 41-60 Preparation
4 61-80 Action
5 81-100 Maintenance

37. Your Stage is NOT
 A one size fits all
 Exceptions DO exist
If your organization has “silent” organizational
issues that precede these questions –
those must first be addressed
MY GOAL = TO GET YOU TO PAUSE & RETHINK

38. Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. 38
What to do with your
assessment information

39. STOP DOING THIS!
PUT IN TONS OF HOURS APPLYING TO
GET MONEY
TRY TO
EXPLAIN TO
DONOR WHAT
WE DID WITH
MONEY
FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH MONEY
HOPE WE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH
MONEY IF WE GET IT
PUT IN TONS
OF HOURS &
MONEY
APPLYING TO
GET MONEY
THEN FIGURE
OUT WHAT TO
DO WITH
MONEY IF
YOU GET IT
HOPE THE
PROGRAM
KNOWS WHAT
TO DO WITH
MONEY IF
THEY GET IT
TRY TO
EXPLAIN TO
THE DONOR
WHAT YOU
DID WITH THE
MONEY
START OVER/
LOOK FOR A
NEW FUNDER

40. ALSO STOP DOING THIS!
PUT IN TONS OF HOURS APPLYING TO
GET MONEY
TRY TO
EXPLAIN TO
DONOR WHAT
WE DID WITH
MONEY
FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH MONEY
HOPE WE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH
MONEY IF WE GET IT
PUT IN TONS
OF HOURS &
MONEY
APPLYING TO
GET MONEY
DENIED
DO MORE
RESEARCH
ON “ALIGNED”
FUNDERS
PUT IN TONS
OF HOURS &
MONEY
APPLYING TO
GET MONEY
DENIED

41. Consider this;
MOVING FROM THIS TO THIS
IS VERY POSSIBLE
BUT, TAKES TIME & EFFORT

42. Believe in a process
(based on stages of change model)
PUT IN TONS OF HOURS APPLYING TO
GET MONEY
TRY TO
EXPLAIN TO
DONOR WHAT
WE DID WITH
MONEY
HOPE WE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH
MONEY IF WE GET IT
Applying for a million-dollar grant takes extreme preparation and time

43. UNDERSTANDING YOUR STAGE
STAGE Definition Description
1 Pre-Contemplation Not yet acknowledged there is a problem/ Denial.
2 Contemplation Acknowledging that there is a problem. Not yet ready
or sure of wanting to make a change
3 Preparation Getting ready to change
4 Action Changing behavior
5 Maintenance Maintaining the behavior change
**Stage 6 = Relapse -- Returning to older behaviours and abandoning the new changes

44. INITIAL ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
STAGE Initial actions to consider
1  Gather data defining need
 Determine risks for not making changes
2  Gather models and evidence of successful program
development
 Recruit high level champions to support process

45. INITIAL ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
STAGE Initial actions to consider
3  Conduct assessment meeting with leadership to outline key gaps
 Gather organizational and program document needs
4  Fill determined gaps
 Create clear, targeted communications materials
 Focus on building community (creating supportive partnerships, etc.)
 Establish strong relationships with funding community

46. INITIAL ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
STAGE Initial actions to consider
5  Create regular schedule of meetings and discussions to revisit reason for
change
 Collectively review materials and determine needed updates quarterly
 Fundraising calendar with regularly scheduled funder engagements &
applications

47. Consider this change
Instead of asking;
“Does my
organization want
a million-dollar
grant?”
Consider asking;
”How can my
organization
prepare for
a million-dollar
grant?”

48. Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. 48
Resources

49. Stage 1 & 2 Resources
STAGE Initial actions to
consider
Resources
1  Gather data defining need
 Determine risks for not
making changes
 Tracy S. Ebarb (2019). Nonprofits Fail. Seven
reasons why. National Association of Nonprofit
Organizations & Executives (NANOE) -
https://nanoe.org/nonprofits-fail/
 Pitman, Mark (2018). Wake up call report. The
Concord Leadership Group LLC -
https://concordleadershipgroup.com/report/
2  Gather models and
evidence of successful
program development
 Recruit high level
champions to support
process
 Non-profit program development basics -
https://www.capterra.com/resources/a-guide-to-
nonprofit-program-development/
 Champion recruitment -
https://resources.kindest.com/how-to-get-your-
champions-involved-with-your-non-profit/

50. Stage 3 & 4 Resources
STAGE Initial actions to consider Resources
3  Conduct assessment meeting with
leadership to outline key gaps
 Gather organizational and program
document needs
 Gap Analysis development -
https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/gap-
analysis-template/
 https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/gap-
analysis-template/
4  Fill determined gaps
 Create clear, targeted
communications materials
 Focus on building community
(creating supportive partnerships,
etc.)
 Establish strong relationships with
funding community
 10 standard sections of a grant application =
1. Needs & Problem Statement
2. Organizational capacity
3. Current programs & activities
4. Target populations served
5. Partnerships
6. Program design/ Work plan
7. Measurable outcomes and goals
8. Management/ Key Personnel
9. Evaluation plan
10. Budget and Budget narrative
 Community partnership development -
https://publications.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Inc/Com
mon/_download_pub.cfm?id=14333&lid=3

51. Stage 5 Resources
STAGE Initial actions to
consider
Resources
5  Create regular schedule of
meetings and discussions to
revisit reason for change
 Collectively review materials and
determine needed updates
quarterly
 Fundraising calendar with
regularly scheduled funder
engagements & applications
 Foundation Directory -
https://fconline.foundationcenter.org
 Instrumental - https://www.instrumentl.com
 Granthub - https://www.granthubonline.com
 Community Foundations -
https://www.cof.org/community-foundation-
locator
 Grants.gov - https://www.grants.gov
 Recue plan funding -
https://www.naco.org/resources/featured/america
n-rescue-plan-act-funding-breakdown
 How to develop a logic models -
http://toolkit.pellinstitute.org/evaluation-
guide/plan-budget/use-a-logic-model-in-
evaluation/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dIav79Pi78

52. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world:
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
― Margaret Mead

54. References/ Sources:
 https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianaltman/2016/03/20/half-of-nonprofits-are-setup-to-fail-how-
about-your-favorite/?sh=68cb93a84619
 http://fortune.com/2017/06/27/startup-advice-data-failure/
 https://www.bls.gov/bdm/us_age_naics_00_table7.txt
 https://concordleadershipgroup.com/approach/research/
 https://smallbiztrends.com/2019/03/startup-statistics-small-business.html
 https://givingusa.org/about/faq/
 Pitman, Mark (2018). Wake up call report. The Concord Leadership Group LLC
 Ebarb, T., 2019
 Tracy S. Ebarb (2019). Nonprofits Fail. Seven reasons why. National Association of Nonprofit
Organizations & Executives (NANOE)
 Sargeant, Adrian & Day, Harriet (2018). A Study of Nonprofit Leadership in the US and Its
Impending Crisis. Plymouth University.
 https://www.instrumentl.com/blog/grant-statistics-and-trends
 https://www.cpe.vt.edu/gttc/presentations/8eStagesofChange.pdf