28 Jan

Posted at 14:29h in Competency Eight, Courses, Federal Grants, Funder Relations, Funding, GPCI Competencies, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, GPC, Uncategorized

  Federal Grants: Relationships with Program Officers and Legislators Session 3 of the Federal Grants Series Many development professionals are uncomfortable with federal grants because they don’t feel there are relationships to cultivate like there are with foundation grants. While each federal department is different, there are relationships...

29 Dec

Posted at 08:07h in Competency Eight, Competency Seven, Funder Relations, Leah Hyman, Relationships
I’m not the type of person who sends out holiday cards. I want to be that type of person. I feel like I should be that type of person. After all, I love receiving them; the photos of our friends and family and their “year-in-review” recaps always bring a smile to my face. And I grew up with a mom who is great at sending holiday cards. I have vivid memories of her pulling out the notebook filled with addresses, often with amendments and notes penned neatly beside certain names. She’d carefully address and stuff envelopes with a card and letter detailing our family’s updates and accomplishments. By giving my brother and me some editorial power over our own paragraphs (so we could keep our very cool reputations intact) and soliciting our help with the envelope stuffing, she was giving us a primer in relationship maintenance.

02 Nov

Posted at 13:55h in AGS Staff, Competency Eight, Ethics, Relationships
While there are legal requirements for nonprofit organizations around transparency and disclosure of financial information, there can also be some grey areas where ethical decisions aren’t as clear. For instance, it can be tempting to apply for and accept funding anywhere you can get it. But what if you serve clients who are struggling with substance use, and a potential funder is known for contributing to the opioid crisis? If accepting money means you are straying from your mission, or if you have any doubt about the morality of doing business with a certain corporation, it may not be worth the financial benefit. Your goal should be to build funder relationships that you can stand behind and feel good about. Here, we are going to explore a few other ethical dilemmas you may run across when building relationships with funders.

23 May

Posted at 21:39h in Competency Eight, Funder Relations, Funders, Hayley Waynick, GPC, Relationships, Strategy

Several years ago I attended a webinar through the Grant Professionals Association entitled “Pet Peeves of Funders.” The trainer had conducted extensive surveys with grant-making entity officers in her area to assess their biggest pet peeves with the organizations they fund. One program officer surveyed...