Investing in Friendraising in 2009 to Secure Your Fundraising Future
David Maeir-Epstein – Resource Development Consultants for Nonprofits in Israel www.israelgrants.com
There is no question that 2009 will be one of the worst of recent years for foundations, but it is critical now more than ever that work be done so that your organization will be in line when the economy turns around. Moreover, the situation is not bad for everyone:
1) Madoff victims, individuals and foundations, which had and lost substantial invested funds, are clearly eliminated from the pool of potential funders. This is however, a relatively small minority of the total number of individual and foundation philanthropists (notably the Chais Family Foundation)
2 ) Many foundations still have millions of dollars and some have billions.. While 2009 will likely be a year in which the amount of money they give will remain constant or be reduced, they will continue to operate. They fact that they may be freezing the acceptance of new applicants, does not mean that you should not be establishing connections, networking, submitting draft proposals, and arranging site visits. The very foundations that won’t be accepting new applications will have staff that has more time to hear about and relate to potential clients. Therefore, a long range prospective is required. Organizations that submitted proposals in 2008 will be the primary victims of foundation cutbacks, however, organizations which do not prepare and develop a relationship and submit in 2009 for 2010 funding will not be in the running when the economy turns around as should happen in 2010.
3) Individual philanthropists who have seen the value of their assets reduced on paper as a result of the fall of the stock market, are understandably hesitant to make new commitments. However, in many cases the funds that they ‘lost’ were funds that over the past several years they had ‘earned’ on paper. Developing a relationship with them now, at a time when immediate support is not likely , your initiative could be seen as a genuine attempt at “friendraising” which will hopefully pay off when their on-paper bottom line assets rebound.
The author is CEO of a consulting firm specializing in assisting nonprofits with obtaining foundation grants, developing Friends organizations, staff supervision and laya nd professional training. See www.israelgrants.com