Fundraising: Foundations & The
State
Presented by
Larry Wright
Washington State Mentors
Two Parts to the Presentation:
p
The Changing Landscape for Nonprofit
Funding
p
Making the Argument for Funding
Part 1: The Changing Landscape for
Nonprofit Funding
Or
When did ROI enter the nonprofit
vocabulary?
The Changing Landscape
In the 1970s there was a strong consensus
that the welfare state had failed to solve
social problems
The response was a roll-back of state
funding for a variety of social programs
and a roll-out of neoliberal policies
Neoliberalism
Liberalism is the idea that a community’s
problems are best addressed by its
residents
Neoliberalism argues that responsibility for
solving society’s problems should be
shouldered by the people not the state
The Impact of Neoliberalism on
Nonprofits
1.
Emergence of Public-Private Partnerships
as a/the key strategy to address social
problems.
2. A “rationalization” of the nonprofit sector
Public-Private Partnerships
There are a number of examples of state and
federal programs that proceed from the premise
that the state alone cannot solve society’s
problems.
p
2004 federal appropriations bill included $100
million for mentoring programs alone. Much of
this was in the form of public-private
partnerships.
Rationalizing Nonprofits
The idea of “rationalization” comes from Jurgen Habermas.
He argued that society is made up of three conceptual
“spheres:”
p State
p Economy
p Civil Society
Rationalization refers to the idea that one sphere is “taking
over” or “rationalizing” the others
Rationalization
Each of these “spheres” operate according
to different logics.
State & Economy: Instrumental, or meansend, logic
Civil Society: Communicative logic
How does this play out in the real
world?
An instrumental logic emphasizes an
empirical examination of how things are
A communicative logic emphasizes how
things ought to be
Putting it all together
p A conceptual shift has taken place within
the state since the 1970s
p The state has moved away from a
welfare-state model and towards a
neoliberal one.
p Neoliberalism emphasizes the role of the
private sector to solve social problems.
Putting it all together
p
Neoliberalism also employs an
instrumental, or means-end, logic that
values the empirical over the normative.
n
Emphasis is placed on “How things are” rather
than “How things should be.”
What’s This Mean for Nonprofits?
We are in a period of great opportunity and
constraints.
Opportunity: Nonprofits seen as key partners for
state and foundations to solve social problems.
Constraint: The value of a program or organization
is judged almost exclusively in empirical,
quantitative, terms.
What’s this have to do with
fundraising?
The cornerstone of a good proposal or pitch
is a strong argument.
Today, empirical arguments have more
traction than normative ones.
Making the Argument for Funding
Two key elements of the empirical argument:
p
Problem Statement
p
Solution Statement
Problem Statement
The problem statement has to directly address
either the subject identified in the RFP, or align
with the goals of the stakeholder (state or
foundation).
Most importantly: The problem must be
quantifiable.
Problem Statement
The problem statement should:
p Identify the unique issue to be addressed
p Situate the proposed project within a specific
field
p Identify who will benefit from the project
p Describe the scale of the project
n
n
Numbers
Geography
Problem Statement Example
In recent years, the formal practice of mentoring has emerged as a promising
strategy to reduce risk for many of our state’s youth and, in turn, offer these
young people a brighter future. When conducted according to evidence-based
practices, mentoring has been shown to reduce instances of violence and
substance abuse, as well as improve the emotional well-being and academic
performance of youth[1].
The promise of mentoring has translated into a demand for high-quality
programs that can serve the needs of young people in a variety o f contexts.
Currently, however, the demand far outpaces the field’s capacity to supply
services. Research suggests that there are approximately 100,000 multi-risk
youth in our state, but only 15,000 are in one-to-one mentoring relationships,
leaving a gap of 85,000[2].
Moreover, the majority of mentoring programs in Washington currently have
little capacity for expansion. Only 20 percent of the state’s mentoring providers
have annual budgets in excess of $250,000. Similarly, most programs serve
fewer than 30 youth per year[3].
Solution Statement
There has to be a believable and quantifiable link between
your problem and solution statements.
Believable:
- Is there data to support the claim that your solution will
work?
- Can your organization deliver the proposed solution?
Quantifiable:
- Can your solution be detected, measured and reported?
The solution statement should:
p
Outline the key elements of the project
p
Provide a rationale for why the proposed solution will
address the problem
n
Research
p
Consider “level of evidence” when citing research
§
§
§
§
p
Experimental
Quasi-Experimental
Qualitative
Anecdotal
Describe proposed outcomes
n
Quantify
p
Outcomes v. Impact
§ Outcomes refer to the value of something after the project (ex, kids
mentored)
§ Impact is the difference between the observed outcome and what
would have been the case w/o the project (ex, less crime because kids
are mentored)
Solution Statement Example
If mentoring is to become an important resource for reducing risk for some of our state’s
neediest children, we need to learn more about the conditions under which it is most
effective so that programs can become more efficient and we need to generate
economies that allow smaller programs to expand.
This project will do three things:
Grants to Mentoring Organizations
It will increase the number of Washington youth with multiple risk factors in
one-to-one mentoring relationships by 3,300 through a series of
innovative grants.
Evaluation
An analysis of grantees and the youth they serve will create an opportunity to learn more
about the effects of mentoring at-risk youth and the conditions under which it is most
effective.
Capacity Building
It will support the expansion of county-level mentoring partnerships to deliver services
that will increase the effectiveness of organizations and reduce their costs to meet the
present and future demand for mentoring at-risk youth.
Before Presenting Your Argument
p Learn as much as possible about the
history and goals of the foundation or
agency
n
n
n
Attend the bidders conference/call if available
Follow up with the contact listed on the RFP
Where possible, review the work of past
grantees
p
p
Before Presenting Your Argument
Become an expert
For state support, consider
n
n
p
Scale of funding (municipal, county, state, federal)
Type of funding (bond, contract, bill, proviso, earmark)
Build relationships with those that can champion
your cause
Populate your board with individuals that have links to
foundations, government
(program officers, judges, state legislators, policy
analysts)
n Organize donations to political campaigns (personal not
professional role)
n
Thank you