Page 9 - CEEM Shopping Mag February 2020

Nonprofit Fund Development

Tanya Humphrey, LCSW

North Star Project Black Economic Development Program

• Has the credibility of your agency been established? Do you have verifiable outcomes, longevity,
community buy in, consumer satisfaction, or experienced staff and board involvement?
• Making a case for the program/service is vital to convincing the funder to invest in your organization.
The mistake commonly made is this is where writers want to become “creative” writers. Grant writing
is technical writing and should be supported with documented data such as; population to be served,
geographic area service will be provided in; how services will be delivered and most importantly how
program will be evaluated. I caution you to be aware of unnecessary jargon.
• Potential funders must be able to clearly understand what it is you are asking them to invest in.

Overview: Describe the background and history of your organization, community support,
achievements and Board qualifications.

Goals and Objective: Your goals should be realistic and achievable, they must also be measurable.
Methods or Strategies: Describe the activities and services you will provide to achieve your objectives.

Evaluation: This section is extremely important. Describe how you evaluate the effectiveness of
your program.

Staff: Identify staff title, qualifications required and responsibilities.

Budget: When submitting a funding request check, check and double check your budget. Did you
follow the RFP directions correctly, do you clearly understand the limits on administrative allowance
and don’t make the mistake of asking for so little that you are unable to provide a full and robust
program. Funders are seldom looking for the lowest proposal but the most effective one.

The evaluator/reviewer should be able to clearly understand exactly what it is your organization
does, why this program is needed, who will benefit and what those benefits will be.

In order for your organization to become adept at fund raising you must invest some time in
learning best practices, and devise a strategy that fits your mission, abilities, and needs.

Reference source “Starting and Running a Nonpro t Organization by Joan M. Hummel

Nonpro t Fund Development | Page 2 of 2