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Nonprofit Radio for September 7, 2018: Foundations As A Tool For Collective Power

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Brad Smith & Ana Marie Argilagos: Foundations As A Tool For Collective Power
We kick off Foundation Center Month on Nonprofit Radio! Live from the Foundation Center in New York City, our guests are Brad Smith, FC president, and Ana Marie Argilagos, president & CEO of Hispanics in Philanthropy. We’ll find out what FC offers for small- and mid-size nonprofits; what trends Brad and Ana Marie see; and how foundations can help our country come together at a time of great division.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And from new york city, our first ever live audience show live audience. Thank you so much for being here. Prove it. I live because the music is playing what shouldn’t be ? I’m glad you’re with me. I’d be stricken with glass a phobia if you told me that you missed today’s live audience show foundations as a tool for collective power we’re kicking off foundation center month on non-profit radio my guests are brad smith, foundation center president, and anna marie are lagos president and ceo of hispanics in philanthropy. Find out what the foundation center offers for small and midsize non-profits what trends are panel sees how foundations can help our country come together at a time of considerable division, and we’ll be taking questions from our audience is our guests also include our studio audience ? Thank you again for being here, coming live to the studio and, of course, our youtube audience. Although youtube, we got a bunch of people on the live stream, it we’ll be taking questions from them as well. I’ve got giveaways going to prizes, giveaways at the end, you could keep your phone handy and when is it ? Never ? Not handy, but uh, but don’t be answering email during non-profit radio doing that or texting, but keep your phone around, you’re gonna need it. Tio win later on. I’m tony steak, too. We’ll talk more about foundation center month, responsive by pursuing full service fund-raising data driven and technology enabled. Tony dot, m a slash pursuing weinger sepa is guiding you beyond the numbers. Wagner, cps, dot com bye, tell us, turning credit card processing into your passive revenue stream. Tony dahna slash tony tell us, and i texted you. Amglobal donations made easy text npr, to. Four, four, four, nine, nine, nine. But don’t do that right now. I’m i’m thrilled, really, i’m excited that brad and anne marie, our first guests for conditions in a month on our first live audiences, thanks so much for being here. Let me give them the formal introduction. Bradford case smith devoted his entire two career to the philanthropic and non-profit sectors you joined foundation center as president in october two thousand eight, when the foundation center snatched him up. He was president of the oak foundation in geneva, switzerland, a major family foundation with programs and grantmaking in forty one countries, he led the ford foundations peace and justice, peace and social justice program, their largest program area, distributing hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations working in human rights, international cooperation, governance and civil society in the u s and around the world foundation center is that foundation center dot or ge and at fdn center anne marie are you ? Lagos has a successful track record working within the public and non-profit sectors. She joined hispanics in philanthropy as president in january, she’s guiding h i p with a bold vision to usher in a new generation of philanthropy that is by and four and about the latino community. She was a senior adviser at the ford foundation as a cz. Well, did you know each other support monisha ? No, you did not. But you come together. Destiny brought you to non-profit radio together. Seated next to give a two ford foundation. She was part of the equitable development team or work focused on urban development strategies to reduce poverty, expand economic opportunity and advance sustainability across the world. She served as deputy chief of staff and deputy assistant secretary of the u s department of housing and urban development hood. She was a senior program officer at the annie e casey foundation. There she spearheaded the foundation’s work in rural areas, indigenous communities and the u s mexico border region. Hispanics in philanthropy is at h i p online. Dot or ge and she’s at a m underscore ari lagos. But you left out the most important part, which i got from her. What i leave out krauz boardmember that’s. Not a yes for indigent center, boardmember. Oh, well, she should be sitting close to me. Then. Ilsen board members have our special special treatment. Um, so, brad let’s, start with you. Let please acquaint people with the foundation that is so much going on here. Data and research the directory, the excellent programs that are often free acquaintance with what’s going on here. Yeah, we do a lot. So there’s a very long answer. This question and there’s very short and to the very short answer. Somewhere in the middle is basically what bloomberg goes for the financial sector. We do this. We capture the data about what foundations do in america and around the world. They’re assets, the program priorities. What kind of grants they make, who they make, the grants to what the grants are. Four where the grants are located, where the beneficiaries are located, we captured this data, we coded, we clean it, we process it and put it out in all sorts of different ways for nonprofit organizations, for foundations, for researchers, for consultants and for journal, some of the major consumers of information are non-profits and you may say why in the era of the internet do we need to have all this information ? Can’t we just google it ? Well, it actually turns out that more than ninety percent of foundations did not have websites so you can find them if you go so the foundation center takes the tax returns and other data from all the foundations of the there’s about eighty seven thousand foundations in the us, many more around the world. We put all that out in searchable databases and tools, the biggest being foundation directory online, and these serve as fund-raising research tools for non-profits foundation director online is heavily used by large non-profit universities, y m c a a is, for example, red cross organizations like that, but also medium and smaller size non-profits and is also available for free around the country at physical locations is part of something called the funding information. Is there bullets their libraries throughout the country ? Right ? Libraries, community foundations, other community based organization people can walk in, get instruction. I’m using the directory there, all staggeringly, a real live person, which i know is kind of an anachronism in today’s world. But there’s actually a real person there, not just a screen who will help you do your search to see what foundations might possibly fund your green. So that’s one big audience for our information the other big audience actually its foundations themselves foundations are endowed institutions they have a lot of privileges because they’re in tao, they’re not selling things on the market, they’re not raising money, and i’m not kissing babies to get votes, but they all because because of all those things, they’re somewhat isolated, so it’s very difficult for foundations to answer. Two basic question, and those two questions are who’s doing what ? Where and how can i know what other foundations already know about my issue area ? And we help answer those questions for any issue, be a climate change at risk youth, racial equity, whatever you can think of the foundation center can actually tell you what all the foundations are doing about that issue and who their partners are in this country and increasingly anywhere in the world. And we can also tell you what other foundations have already learned about what works and what doesn’t work in working on some of the major problems that face our society. So those are some of the things we do, we do a lot more. We’re very busy or going programs about the programs here in the the programs here, yes, we’re we’re sitting and we’re sitting here in the clark training annex. Of the foundation center thirty two old slip, we offer a full programme of training. It is both fee and fee based training and special events that training curriculum focuses on proposal, writing fund-raising research how to get grants for foundations how to get corporate sponsorships we have a very popular siri’s of class that’s called the proposal writing boot camp where you come in and you spend three days in a full room without a non-profits and you walk out with a letter of intent and a proposal that is ready to send to a foundation and you learn how to do it along the way. We have a lot of special events to increasingly in our sector is changing, so we find it non-profits have lots and lots of new questions and you need so really, you know, what do i do ? What’s the best way to deal with social media ? How do i maintain my reputation in a very volatile, contentious public sphere ? Um, how do i work with millennials ? That’s a favorite topic, actually, how doe i actually approach a foundation ? Those kinds of we have a lot of special events where you bring in people. Who are experts in these fields to talk to people and these air, largely free event ? So we have some fee based, some free events, and we have lots and lots of free online tools to really popular websites one called grantspace, which has an enormous amount of information or non-profits on how to get grants, and another one called grantcraft, which is actually for foundations and foundation professionals. It’s a you were hand foundations of very interesting. I did it for much of my life, you know, fremery and, you know, neither one of us went to college to get a degree in being a philanthropy point or being a foundation person. Its a very large industry in the u s foundations have over eight hundred billion dollars mass let’s give up sixty two billion dollars a year. There’s over seven thousand program officer king foundations. But there’s nowhere you can go toe actually learn how to become a program. You learning on the job ? So what grantcraft does a zit curates practical information from people are actually doing the work and then makes it available to the hole and that’s part of grantspace certainly, but that’s grantcraft that’s. Grantcraft and these programs you have live here through the years i’ve spoken in probably a dozen of them on none of the topics you mentioned that you planned, but fund-raising plans. E-giving um, it’s just enormous resource, not only for the city, but now, i mean, now a lot of the programs are streamed live, you don’t have to be local to participate and learn from the live program, yeah, and we actually have our own physical locations, their own field offices, which are regional offices in atlanta, d c cleveland, new york, clolery in san francisco, we run similar program, so, you know, these are tremendously valuable they’re also very valuable to us because i’m constantly amazed by the people and the cause is that come in the front doors of this organization, and what we find is a lot of the people that sign up for the free events are not, you know, it’s, not harvard university it’s not planned parenthood it’s, not big non-profits these are people who are on the front lines dealing with some of the most difficult problems, and some of them are just creating their organization who fulfill their dream, and we’re very proud of the fact that we can run organization the way where we can offer as much free information and free services to people who can’t. Before now, i produced non-profit radio, the podcast for small and midsize shop, and i think harvard and m i t could learn from the guests that that i have on the show, but i know they’re not they’re not listening, i’m producing it for the other ninety five percent. All right, let’s, let’s dahna anne marie, talk about hiv mean hispanics and flandez bonem you know, in the current political environment, latinos are r r bashed i mean, it’s, you know, it’s zane ful, a lot of the attention that is directed the evil attention, so, you know, how are you ? How has this changed ? Your changed your work and how you elevating latino ? Back in the eighties, when i first started my professional career working in a community organization doing the mobilizing, we used to wonder how we could move the needle because latinos were invisible and we couldn’t understand how to become visible and seeking some respect, dignity and fairness. And now i’m like, well, those were good days being visible because, yes, right now we’re in the bull’s eye of the senna phobia, the racism scapegoating, it’s very, very ugly brad a za good boardmember else they brought often talks about the democratizing of data as part of, like that’s the way i explain to my mom what foundation center is hispanics and philanthropy, i think about it as democratizing philanthropy, so that philanthropy is not for us professional foundation philantech points you called it, but that it’s accessible to everyone, so that at hispanics in philanthropy, what were doing at the network of foundations and philanthropists and philanthropist are givers, clan typist or anybody like stephanie, like zohra ? Like leda, my mom, my brother, everybody can be a giver, and so what we’re doing is complimenting that kind of mentality so it’s not just the professionals, but also folks that want on on ramp, into investing in their communities, in their infrastructure, in there institutions. And how do we do that ? It’s a new way of thinking about philanthropy so that it’s complementing each other, and so the power and balances that you know very well between foundations and the non profit organizations, the grassroots organization that are on the ground that so that there is some kind of ah equity in that exchange because they’re coming with resource is an expertise, which is just a sound. You got something going on now that your civic participation glamarys program i just started in january, and this was just in a few states like justin, five or sixty and wrists south. Um and we’ve been working with our partners at the e r piela endorphin, the national center for responsive philantech thank you for doing that. Non-profit radio we have jargon jail, yeah, acronyms get you jailed immediately. Arika bank but ncr shot out to their fantastic work on the south, looking at the incredible lack wit, equity and everything prum access to education to jobs to housing. Oh, and all of this is really because of a lack of influence, and so the civic participation in the south were looking at states where you traditionally think of latinos, florida, texas, the growing community in north carolina, but we’re also looking at louisiana, we’re looking at georgia states where we don’t traditionally have latinos but are very much magnet for latinos right now in georgia in terms of absolute numbers is the tenth largest latino population. Ah, and how do we make sure there’s an opportunity for them to have voice ? Because that the end of the game that’s what it’s about ? We need voice and agency so that off people are are able to participate in the civic fabric where schools don’t teach civics anymore ? And so we’re trying to do is recreate that civics. What kinds of activities i don’t i don’t know if it’s right to ask what you’re looking to fund, but what ? To what level do you want people to be active ? You want voter roundups, voter and voter registrations, or is it encourages people to run for office or all of that ? Or, you know, one of the problems is that we only think of civic participation as voting and voting is very important, but i would say it’s a proxy for civic participation, just one proxy being counted as part of the senses is another, but really being going to p t a meetings, being involved in your community in ways that affect you every single day a lot it’s year around on a lot of different topics. S o the voting is the one that gets attention, but no, we’re encouraging year round engagement with you’re whatever is the process, is it about the park ? Is that about ? The school is about access to health ? Is it ? How do we get better jobs ? So that’s what ? We’re encouraged, why their reluctance to be civically engaged in the latino community they’re right now, there’s so much mistrust in the system you have people, people are locking themselves at the houses and and i’m not going out you in washington d c i just read a washington post article where folks are going to renew their passports and their except instead sent to deportation proceedings because their birth certificates are even though they’ve had a passport for twenty, thirty, forty years right there, there’s a lot of of what do you call it ? Of mistrust in the system ? People who are residents, permanent legal, lawful residents are also not being. They go to natural eyes and their instead sent into deportation proceedings. What i saw last month when i took a group of fifty five thunders to the border to san diego. Ah was people who are coming in applying for political asylum. They’re doing it the right way with the papers. They’re coming from places that are war torn, they’re not economic refugees of political refugees, and they’re being sent into the next day without access to a lawyer. Anything they’re being bin that background, esso before start changing and there’s no playbook because we’ve never released in our lifetimes. We haven’t lifted of your so what hip is trying to do is provide that rial time information. It’s a lot of what we do, that’s. Why we took funders to the border region. We took them, by the way, not to texas ah, but to a place like san diego. Auntie wanna so that people could see that it’s not just central americans and mexicans that are coming that are getting affected through a system but there’s huge tent cities with thousands of haitians, there’s thousands of people from africa, from nepal, from india, venezuela, brazilians that are coming and that are trying to navigate the systems which are not written anywhere and there’s a lot of there’s, a lot of discretion and how officials are dealing with it. And so that requires a real time learning from the program officers. From the philanthropist who are making decisions on their invest. The strategy is so that’s one of the things that we tried to do is providing that rial time learning so that they can get that knowledge but also coordinate their investments with others. We also provoc developed funds. So right now we have a fund on the family separation crisis on families first altum um, in addition to the mini grant programs that you referred to, which is the civic engagement in the cell ? S o we have lots of different things running, and also we offer on a ram’s i’ve started the conversation by saying how khun you you and you be a giver, so we have ah, first and on ly bilingual crowdfunding platform in america’s, which is hip give. So if you’re a grassroots organization and you don’t have a development person, we can we provide the capacity and the opportunity you through this platform for you to be able to make yourself visible and raise funds latto bread uh, was an amendment to the akron entail thing with jordan down, these are going down. I think we have to give it a pass for hip. Hip have best understood in them that they have introduced a cz hiv president ceo okay, of hispanics, implants that one’s understood. But n c r p and c r p is not want i know. Um all right. So you have all this, this trove of of data research ? What are you seeing ? Trend wise ? What what’s what’s ah what’s growing in funding or ? And i’m also interested in what areas you might feel are not getting attention that needed the data is really powerful because of not only do we have it, but we’re able to geo locate it, which means you can see it on a map so you can search, you know, a mapping platform by an issue, for example, let’s say, you know, you want to understand what philanthropy is doing for hispanics and latinos. You can search it for bye beneficiary group or you can search it by what is how is philanthropy benefiting hispanic and latino populations buy-in basic education. You can then filter a subject and the population group you can see it so it allows you to actually spatially also and visually see, you know the gaps if if you were to do sort of a survey and virtually any country in the world and there are forms of philanthropy and most all countries, you would find that the two biggest issue areas that get funding our education and health. This is true universally, i think it’s true for lots of good reasons. The good reasons are that there’s a very good research and very good data that shows that the highest returns on investment in terms of social mobility and education and equality is is for education. So that’s a good reason to be planning education, but it’s also for reasons which i think you are somewhat less impact driven, and they have to do with all the murders. People tend to give money to their own lovers, and they the fund-raising departments of large universities are very good at reaching out to the people that went to them and getting gifts from them. Health. I think also because health is something that affects us all andan affects isn’t very personal way, so you often find that philanthropists will tend to want to fund. Health institutions and subjects within health specific disease, for example, cancer because of a very personal history because of a family member because of a friend, maybe because of their own life, they were personally, you know, they were touched by a disease and they were helped by an institution, and they want to give money for that. So there’s a lot of money that goes to help in education when you get outside of that dahna it’s, the money tends to be scattered over a very large issue. Areas, by and large the the toughest, most controversial sort of social justice issues tend to guess the last money because they are divisive, there isn’t agreement, they are controversial and there’s some interesting trends developing that we’re beginning to see that i think have a lot to do with the moment we’re living in one is sort of the creation of kind of emergency foundations, especially in this country after the most recent national elections. Um, and a lot of the really harsh rhetoric that was used during the campaign and the fear that existed after the election, i mean, even for latinos, i mean trumps announcement in trump tower. Coming down right after came down the escalator. Who did he single out ? Mexicans. Right. They’re presenting us rapists and murderers. Oh, and there’s. Probably some good people, too. Yeah, and i think it affected, you know, within our own institutions. I remember we were when the talk of the muslim ban came out. We have muslim staff members and we sought legal counsel because we had people asking us questions. Well, you know, i have vacation. Can i leave the country ? You know, we’ll be able to get back in. So we wanted to make sure we understood actually, what the legal parameters, or so that we could best support staff. Do you feel like social justice is not getting the funding ? Well, it’s getting this kind of emergency. But what worries me about it is that’s all ad hoc. Well, it’s react i think it’s coming for good reasons. Foundations don’t operate in a vacuum. Foundations have constituencies. And the, uh, the constituency the foundations which of their grantee partners were coming them and say, we need support no are being hip, be it the mexican american legal defense and education fund all the different kinds of rights organizations out there, the groups have worked with him a great immigrants, for example, they were tremendously scared of the new situation. How are we best going to serve our population that’s in need ? So i think it was an understandable and a good response of foundations and say, we’re going to create special funds to do this. What worries me about it is that if you it’s funny, right leading up to the elections and after the elections, i was doing a lot of speaking around the world, and i was speaking on the topic of the role of full answer being a liberal world. And the notion of a liberal was actually coined by fareed zakaria in the nineties, when he was looking at the growing phenomenon of government, democratically elected governments around the world that were behaving in undemocratic or liberal ways without respect for constitutions, for basic rights, et cetera. And this was always something that, you know, sort of comfortably us analysts saw happening somewhere else, but not in the us, and what we’re seeing is it’s happening in europe. It’s happened united states having a large swathes of the world where you have elected leaders that are sort of changing the way the game or for democracy um and one of the things that i was talking about in these speeches is that this is not an isolated phenomenon in one country. This is a global phenomenon and the solution there’s not sprint, this is america and it’s being driven by riel issues that i think all of us were not paying enough attention to. We’re not paying enough attention to the long term effects of globalization which created income concentration, the top of the society around the world, the fact that traditional working class is around the world were seeing their jobs being displaced and this incredible flow of people around the world that produces a very convenient supply of scapegoats. We’re seeing this all over in industria of entries, people that look different, they talk different languages, you know, that’s the problem, you know, that’s why we don’t have jobs, that’s why we don’t have wage growth get going, i have to have to stop it from erica’s amglobal business because we’re funded on i promised the audience that we’re going questions i had said both both halves right after i do. A little business here and talk about our sponsors going questions. So you got, like, three minutes or so to think of your questions. Okay ? Um the first is pursuing, and they’re knew e book is fast non-profit growth stealing from the start ups, they take secrets from the fastest growing startups and apply those methods and practices to your non-profit it’s free as all their resources are it’s on the listener landing page and that’s that tony dot m a slash pursuing capital p regular cps they have something on their block that may interest you it’s new revenue recognition standard will it impact me ? Okay, not the sexiest like most click candy ish title that you’ve ever seen on the web, but that’s because they’re sepa is right their heads aaron the tax code where you want you want your cpa’s heads to be in the tax codes, federal and state, so they’re where they belong. It’s a new this wide sweeping rule about contributions and how you account for them categorise them. You’ll find that at regular cps dot com, you’re quick resource is then you click blogged tell us credit card processing. I’ve read in the past testimonials from non-profits that have referred businesses on those organizations getting a long tale of passive revenue month after month, i’ve read testimonials from those businesses that air using tello’s for their credit card processing, they love it. Um, think of family businesses think of boardmember businesses think of businesses in your community there already supporting you, you can refer them the way to get started is watched the video it’s at the listener landing page, tony dahna em a slash tony tello’s and texted you, you’ll get more revenue because texted give makes e-giving easy it’s. If your donor’s consent a text, they could make a donation to you. It’s simple, affordable, it’s secure. I’ve talked to the ceo chadband boyd very smart guy who’s built a very smart company if you text npr to four, four, four, nine, nine nine you get the info and you can claim a non-profit radio listener offer time now for tony’s take two and i want to talk more about foundation sent a month, but we’re just this is just the kick off. This is the first of four all the september shows in, uh, of non-profit radio are going to be here at the foundation senator live. I’m very grateful to brad and his team for we’ve been working on this since january to put together a month of shows here at the foundation center, a zay, said it’s, our first time studio audiences, taking life questions first time doing that because the podcast. So people listen a couple of days after i recorded after, you know, moments just after a court after it’s published ah, month after it’s published, and you typically get very little feedback from the podcast audience that we’ve got over thirteen thousand listeners. But i get precious little feedback, but i know they’re there because i see the stats, um, so i know people are listening and downloading and listening. Um, so this is a great opportunity, and we’re going to transition to that, uh, right this minute. So now it’s, time for the listener questions to the audience. Question who’s. Got a question. We’ve got a microphone. It was a question for me or brad or anna marie questions. Okay, there’s, a question of front treyz is coming up with a microphone, so you will be, you’ll be heard. Our first one brave first questioner. I’m non-profit mathos takes one, and then they’ll be six. After that, you’ll see. Thank you. Happy toe, warm everybody up. My name is sam. You mentioned a little bit about the work that you do, but i’m curious about which projects or initiatives at your respective institutions your most excited about right now, and maybe reflect how that sort of maps onto this narrative about the great political divide. What most excites you and marie will start. Very hard. I’ll give you two examples. If you allow me. One is based on the civic participation in the south, very worthy and important. But it’s also a test for us at the hip by doing the civic pit participation in a smaller geography. One where i would say there’s, a deep urgency. I’m trying to test the hypothesis that this is something that we should be doing broader. Um, so i’ll be watching to see how this works, and if it works well, you could expect that to go broader. I’m also really excited about our work on leadership and leadership development, because we’re working with the trustee’s foundations and they other, when you think about people who are trustees, and you think about them as being accomplished, people brilliant. You don’t think about them as needing tools or support or or helping articulating a message. I have been a lot of board meetings where i could see me for support. Yeah, and what i’ve seen, what i saw in the first six months as i was going around the country as a listening tour, i was getting lots of folks that were even their new and philanthropy, because, as you said, look, there’s not a course that you take that we’re trying to figure out how to get more connected to others like them, but i saw on over representation of ah, trustees that wanted to understand what trustees in other parts of the country were doing, especially because right now there’s, they often feel a little bit lonely and that they articulate a message and there’s not enough people of color in the board rooms, often not a foundation center, and so they want to be able to understand how they do this from a position of power with people that have very different let the experience so that’s, lots of fun, our work around and jen with latino leaders that are midcareer looks recent to me said you’d get better one that directly relates to this, or did you call the great political divided in so called the foundation center has way have lots of websites that are based on issues, and one is actually about foundation funding for us democracy, it could be found a democracy, not foundation center dot org’s, and this is a data visualization site that allows you to see the many different ways that foundations across the country are investing actually in the functioning of the democratic system itself, things like campaign finance, uh, votre voter participation, government rules and regulations, regulations, accountability on and it gives you an overviewing you khun right down to individual grants and you can see what foundations were doing, and foundations have different views on this. This is not a partisan site. Um, it basically gives you the data so you can understand what what conditions are doing so that’s one of the things i think directly relates to what you’re talking about. The other thing i’m really excited about is actually a technology thing which is totally and that’s, because one of the big problems with the information for the non-profit condition sector is it’s. Based largely on contact returns called nine nineties, the kind of things that most people they already talking about help help you prepare for the c b is right, it’s right on the revenue recognition comes in handy on those ninety’s the the problem with nineties is that they’re filed by non-profits that go to the internal revenue service, the ones that are electronically filed are finally now as a twenty sixteen being released is elektronik open data that we’re not before they were released. This image files and the ones that are file this physical documents are still being released physical dahna there’s a tremendous time leg between one and organization finishes this fiscal year. They have up to a year to fill it out. It goes to the irs, it takes time to get from the irs to public access, and then it takes time for organizations like ours or our partners guide star to actually do something with that data. So we’re dealing with information about the sector that is based on what was happening in the sector as many as three or four years ago, so we’re involved in a project which is basically taking rial. Time flows of information we’re looking at downloading a million new stories a day. We’re looking at over one hundred twenty thousand social media feeds non-profit organizations and using machine learning techniques and data science techniques that basically pull out from that huge torrent of information anything that’s philantech be related individual gifts, the name of a person and organisation and the person a subject a location can we can we see anything about this project ? Not yeah, no, this is a preview of coming attractions, but we’re beginning were we begin to put this information into our products are thematic based websites, so you’ll be able to see together with that more historic information ? What philantech overviewing today and our real goal is that, you know, if you know on ahmadi is really worried about, for example, you know, the separation of immigrant children from their families and goes into our database is a search now that’s not going to show up in the data is three or four years ago. Well, because that’s happened today, but we’re begin to pull in information will show you exactly what the sector is doing about that issue. All right, we’re excited. What i didn’t say is that each questioner actually get the candy. I held that in a bay, and so i wanted i wanted the, uh, one of the first person to be rewarded. I do not know and actually you get two candies. So catch both of these. Yes, alright way. Have any questions from youtube yet ? No, because okay, youtube audience you’re welcome, teo comment and ask your questions and another question right here in the audience, i can tell you want to buy bread ? Yes, and the work that we’re doing, the work that he’s pushing for it has been in credibly powerful. For example, last year, almost to the day we had hurricane maria ah, hey, puerto rico! And it was by using his that of really, really quickly and the data that was compiled by the folks at the foundation center that we were able to show, for example, that five million dollars on average is where foundations from the mainland spend on puerto rico in any given year. Ah, that compared like that during a time when the island was going to debt restructuring. So it was something at the level of detroit, but the court was receiving two hundred, and fifteen million in the whole entire island was eso were able to show the disparities in terms of how different populations or geography these are are receiving the sources or not. And when you bring that kind of data to a foundation representative, you’re saying it’s not just what’s happening here, but it’s repeated all across the space of philanthropy, and this is a systems wide issue, and then you’re able to get people to say, oh, then we need to be a leader we need to make that happen, we need to make a change, and i’m gonna ask you about actually making that non-profit could do to try to make that change, and but i want to see if there are any questions anybody else ? Anybody in the audience now ? Okay, please wear your upfront. Mike is coming see it’s, that candy reward ? I know because without the candy you want, i can’t say i’m asking a question because i’m hungry. He’s a small candies. I wasn’t gonna ask because it’s tough. I don’t know what your answer might be but your questions medium groups like were small startup non-profit what ? Kind of work. What kind of work you do is called core africa. It’s, an african peace corps program. We actually have offices in morocco, senegal, malawi. And we just opened in rwanda. Spending quickly. It’s what’s. Your question. Capacity ? How dough. I mean, we are members of the foundation center. I have sent out hundreds of allies proposals. Rarely do i get a response most of the time. The response is sorry on guy go back and ask why and they say we don’t do that. Um i think about fund-raising with foundations and what the words that come to mind are rejection, discouragement. And the word you used earlier was invisible. Um, how do we break through what’s your advice for organizations like us. I know what the answer is. Capacity. I mean, then fund-raising is on ly one of the things that i dio and its foundation there. Only one of the types of fund-raising that we d’oh. I have fifteen minutes a week. Her foundation fund-raising what’s your advice. All right. So small and midsize mean small small organizations. Um, the time constraints buy-in the rejection. What ? What advice do you have ? How do you how ? Do you get hurt ? How do you get seen ? And you get attention ? Frustrating ? Well, i yeah, i have actually personal experience with that because i worked at foundations. Right ? So and, you know, it’s, the inverse problem. You work in the foundation ? Yeah. I remember. One year at the ford foundation we we decided to count everything that we could possibly conceive of a request, whether it was a full proposal or an e mail or letter of intent. One hundred forty four thousand requests. And in a year where we made two thousand grand. So you spend the majority of your time is the programme office are saying no. And even if you fight against that, you become very jaded, and you become very automatic response. So when i came here, of course, is that this is a non profit organization. So we raised we raise money, too. And i quickly thought i really realized what this is like dating with like, except it has, like, a much hyre rejection rate, you know, it’s, like you get rejected many times every day. And we actually have a few rejection letters, which are i think they’re form letters because they recommend that we actually consult the foundation center and then they give us the address, you know. So so you know, i think that’s also there’s no, easy. We get that question all the time. I mean way teach that a grant begins with a relationship and it’s really true. It’s very hard to cold. Call foundations and get a grant. So we have to open that relationship. Yeah, we teach people that are fund-raising boot camp. We did things like, you know you you map you. You look at who’s on that board. You look at the social networks, you look at their fate, you know, facebook, you looked at length in you see, if do you know anybody who knows that person you use databases to see ? Well, what other found eight ? What other organizations has this foundation given money to ? Two that i know, you know ? Can i get another organization to broker the contact ? I mean, the thing is to somehow find a way to get through tow a personal, huh ? You can. Sometimes there are api request for proposals. Things sometimes, you know, send in something and get something. You know. Also, the work you’re doing is difficult. The relatively small percentage american foundation funding goes for work. Outside the united states, it’s growing in terms of dollars, but the percentages have been reasonably stable. Most of it goes in the us, and then one of the countries we’re working and one is frankie phone, right ? Rwanda, right ? Yeah, what ? And setting all right. And, you know the biasi but for africa funding of us organizations is anglophone africa, where you find the funders in francophone africa, they tend to be european fundez like bilich king baudouin foundation from belgium and one that so you know what you’re also doing is really tough. I mean, we do have their one website. Have you seen it called equal footing dot or ge ? We produce for bloomberg philanthropies and it’s actually, about all the funding that’s going in from foundations into rwanda, burundi and the democratic republic of congo. It’s a free public resource. I don’t really want to give some advice. Isn’t there an std funders ? Well, so what about the broader question ? But small non-profits trying to get attention. I would agree. Because in the philantech well, we know it’s hard but you have changed. How do you get the attention ? Really ? I know it’s. Like trying to date, harvard university ? No, i would agree completely with brad because it’s based on relationships. But if it’s relationships where it looks like you’re pursuing the program off officer will become. We’ll put up more potentially barriers to create a safety. So i think that my opinion and there’s an old adage of if you want money, ask for i ask for ideas. And if you ask for idea, you probably will get money. It’s that it’s going to it’s a hey, i know that you’re overwhelmed with reese. With the need for resource is what i need is help thinking through and get people invested in your work by asking them to not give you money and make it safe immediately. Um, and asking for idea first of all, here’s that’s a target. Thank you for the hard question. She got it also, i will say. And this is it may sound like shameless self promotion, but it’s actually shameless self cross promotion. Because i hosted it here at the foundation center. I think was back in november. We hosted a panel was in november. Tracy ? Yeah. November. We hosted a panel of three grantmaker xero and one grant. Recipient one non-profit doing grassroots work and way we devoted the hour or ninety minutes to that exact subject. Howto build relationships with grantmaker tze how to break through the noise, how to get attention so you could i know you can go to tony martignetti dot com and search for foundation center and it will come up. I don’t know where you would have you confined in the tradition. I’m not tryingto get all the views or something, but i host of the panel right here and it was it was it was outstanding were ranged from social media, teo, other other forms of networking. You know, really it was just how to break through the noise and it was ninety minutes devoted to that. Sometimes i mean, don’t ask for cash, asked for ideas or ask, can we have a meeting in your office or things like that that are not cash, but that are, like at least get your name under their radar, would it ? The advice thing is really important because i remember the years i was a program officer. I, when organizations would act, actually treated me like a person that actually knew something. It had ideas, and not just an atm machine. It was really flattering, and it really worked, and i really appreciate it was really nice being invited to be part, like, you know, being a round table or speak about something i knew about it could be, you know what ? Talk about philantech in africa, talk about human rights, and africa is like that, and that did tend to establish relationships with many times. Did result in longer term grants and partnerships. Another question. All right, excellent. I got to know the candidates. Third row, no problem. My question relates, teo, the technology advancements that you’re making for information that we can search, but other industries are way ahead of the non-profit industry in using technology for efficiency like this whole discussion, rather than each small or medium sized non-profit doing the same exercise of chasing money is the foundation or other philanthropic organizations investigating how to bring technology efficiencies to the back office functions that we all have to go through. Well, you said back office, what do you mean, the grant grant seeking functions or with technology we should be able to fill out, say, a uniformed type of grant request submitted to a database and okay, so we’re folks in that house the same there’s, enormous amounts of cloud ofthis technology, but we were talking, focusing on grant yeah, you know, so i mean, their sales fortunately, i mean, there is, you know, blackbaud there are there are things that the non-profit sector used a lot in the back office, but what you’re talking about it the whole common grantwriting ligation thing, which is, like, the common, you know ? Common application of universities that’s been tried in many different parts of the u s and it started out a successful and then what happened is over time is that because remember, foundations are endowed institutions, right ? So they’re very independent in the idiosyncratic, which also is the flip side of what gives them the freedom to do a lot of innovation. They tended to attach appendices so you would have a common application. But then, you know, each foundation would put, like two or three appendices that were special too, you know, its requirements, and over time, the common application became basically, you know, a seam in two hundred fifty variations. I think what’s different now is theirs. The beginning of explorations about how to use of machine learning and the kind of systems you’re talking about. Two pre populate core information for grant proposals so non-profit doesn’t have toe reproduce it, you know, one hundred times one hundred applications. Again, i mentioned a partner bars guide star guy star has a a essentially a sort of transparency seal program where you upload the core information about your organization, all the kind of separate the requested. And it is. Possible than pour foundations and others to grab that information from a single source rather than requested on still not mean. But the possibility is being created. The thing is, we run sametz perrine mints with large competitions. There was the macarthur foundation one hundred million and change. They provided all the proposals to us, and we use machine learning on those two. Basically sort them in all sorts of different ways mathematics then try to begin to relate technology features of the proposals, too. The likelihood of being approved or not, i want to get through. Ah, question on youtube. Now we cannot provide a candy do our youtube listeners viewers, but we certainly can hear way only just have, like two more minutes or so. So with the question from mint on youtube from america or vista, they want to say these air very good questions, particularly one posed by core africa peace corps. And they do have a question for you. Tony, do we get any candy ? I just i see i am anticipated that question and i even already just said we cannot send candy to the er we could send. I can’t do that, i can be. Look at this panel. Yes. So the answer is yes, i i revise my and from what i said before, in anticipating your question now i thought through and i’ve decided, yes, you have enormous candy. Look, this panel so yes, buy-in all right, cool. Uh, well, you have just like, a minute or so left. All right, i’m goingto, uh i’m going to start to wrap up. I want to warn you live audience and youtube youtube giveaways also get your phone ready, poised and i want to thank our first live audience guests, of course, brad smith and anne marie or lagos from the foundation center here in new york city and from hispanics in philanthropy. Onda marie, all the way from california, you get candy, we got water, we have a pocket. Yes, you want it. You’re gonna make it gonna make a spectacle out of this. Yes. Look at this. We’ll get all the candy you’re getting. Absolutely. Please join me live when he’s thanking them. All right, here’s, your chance. You need your phone. The first five people, the text, they’re gonna win a copy of the book, which is called which the title is braided. Threads are historical overview of the non profit sector. All right, get your phones ready. I have the author on the show. Just about two or three weeks ago. Dr robert penna. It sort of ah, i mean, how did we get here ? Had had in today’s non-profit sector evolved through history on and it’s. Not a boring chronology, but he does start with queen elizabeth the first. And it takes us through to the outcomes movement, but not strictly chronological. Had religion play a part. How did the puritan settlers in the northeast and settlers in the south ? How did that evolved ? Um, how did they contribute to what our sector looks like today ? So the book is really cool. All right, so the number you need the number of course you need the number. Um, the number is two, five, two, five, one five. I can feel the tension in the room, and i feel it. I feel it coming through youtube. Seven, nine, eight, seven, two. Five, two, five one, five, seven, nine, eight, seven they said dr robert penny was a guest it’s a couple weeks ago if you go to tony martignetti dot com and you look up penna p e n n a of course you’ll find him, he’ll pop up and what do you texting ? Okay, the first five people to text, we’re gonna win a copy of the book you text npr and pr november papa romeo, npr for non-profit radio texted the first five people were in the book. Of course, you don’t want to make it, so i have no idea where the winners are. Congratulations, t the five people who have one, whether you’re live streaming with us on youtube or whether you’re right here next week, we’ll be back at the foundation center. We’re talking about community foundations again. We’ve got someone from the foundation center and we’ve got a panelist from the brooklyn community foundation foundation community foundations. How are they different ? How do you approach them ? We’re also going to talk about donorsearch advised fundez great. Look at the panel reaction. Yes, if you missed any part of today’s show, remember, this is podcasts or after have to accommodate the thirteen thousand podcast listeners. If you missed any part of today’s show, i’d be seat. You find it on tony martignetti dot com. We’re sponsored by pursuing online tools for small and midsize non-profits data driven and technology enabled tony dahna slash pursuing capital p wagner, cps guiding you beyond the numbers wetness cps dot com by telus, credit card and payment processing, your passive revenue stream, tony dahna em eh slash tony, tell us and by text to give mobile donations made easy text npr to four, four, four, nine, nine, nine that when you could do that, our creative finishers claire meyerhoff, sam liebowitz is the line producer shows social media’s buy-in mark silverman is our web guy. This music is by scott stein of brooklyn. Many thanks tracy councilman and susan jerome here at the foundation center, working with me since january to bring this perimeter with me next week for not proper radio. Big non-profit ideas for these either ninety five percent go out and be great. Thanks so much. You’re listening to the talking alternative network, waiting to get a drink. Nothing. You could. Hi, are you interested in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies ? Then tune in here on talk radio. Got n y c with me, david every friday, eleven a, m twelve p, m eastern time. As we answer your questions and interview, great guests live on internet radio on building the blockchain where you can catch the blockchain revolution. You’re listening to the talking alternative. Now, are you stuck in a rut ? Negative thoughts, feelings and conversations got you down ? Hi, i’m nor in sumpter, potentially ater tune in every tuesday at nine to ten p m eastern time and listen for new ideas on my show. Yawned potential. 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Um, sam liebowitz, your conscious consultant, and on my show, that conscious consultant, our awakening humanity, we will touch upon all these topics and more. Listen, live at our new time on thursdays at twelve noon eastern time. That’s, the conscious consultant, our awakening humanity, thursday’s twelve, noon on talk radio dot. You’re listening to the talking alternative network. Buy-in

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Nonprofit Radio for February 16, 2018: Build Your Grantmaker Relationships

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Our panel of grantmakers and a grantee reveals savvy strategies for building and maintaining relationships with your institutional funders. Foundations are made of people. How do you get close to them? This is a panel I moderated at The Foundation Center in New York City.

 

 

 

 


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Hello and welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent on the aptly named host oh, i’m glad you’re with me. I’d turn probono genic if you got under my skin with the idea that you missed today’s show, build your grantmaker relationships, our panel of grantmaker tze and a grantee reveal strategies for building and maintaining relationships with your institutional funders. Foundations are made of people. How do you get close to them? This’s a panel i moderated at the foundation center in new york city. Tony take two show you love, we’re sponsored by pursuing full service fund-raising data driven and technology enabled tony dahna slash pursuing radio and by weinger cpas guiding you beyond the numbers. Wagner, cps dot com tell us turning credit card processing into your passive revenue stream tony dahna may slash tony tell us, here’s the beginning of build your grantmaker relationships, we’re here to talk about collaboration and impact, collaborate and impact, and our panel today is going to focus in the collaboration we’re gonna be talking about the relationship, building of collaboration, that aspect of collaboration between non-profits and the funders. All right, most of you are in non-profits potential grantees, and most of our panel are the funders. So i have maybe admonished, is too strong a word, but i have urged them to keep their advice, you know, relevant for potential grantees. How can each of you, in your non-profits collaborate, build relationships with potential funders, and even even when even when you get a no from a funder? What can you do after that? Our concern is that. This is scene is proceeding to transactional. It shouldn’t be transactional, your relationship with potential grant oars. Potential funders can be parallel to the work that you do in individual fund-raising in each of your individual programs, because funders, air made up institutions are made up of people, and we know people fund. So how can you build the relationship, keep the relationship strong, even in the face of a rejection, and thereby collaborate with your potential funders, which hopefully will become your funders? It’s. My real pleasure to introduce our winning panel of beginning with your on your left is caitlin mitchell. Caitlyn is a program and evaluation officer with empower the emerging markets foundation. Their work is around at risk youth in emerging markets in colombia, mexico and south africa. Next. Moving to your right. Dan werner. Stan is social justice program associate with the darkest foundation. Their priority is lgbt social justice, and we have amy berman she’s, senior program officer at the john john, a hartford foundation. And their work is around improving, improving the health of older adults. Christine can associate program manager at project sunshine. She he is our soul panelists who is among you apart, part of the non-profit five oh, one c three community, and their work at project sunshine is direct support to pediatric patients and their families, and anthony sanchez welcome. Anthony is corporate social responsibility manager at american express. They’re three priorities around csr, or preserving historic places, developing new leaders and encouraging community service. Each of their fuller bios is outside. Please, sze, give a warm welcome teo title, please. Now important to know about about christine and anthony, they’re actually they could be holding hands hyre american express that americans press is funding projects sunshine so we brought we brought to the panel one team that is actively collaborating, right? So keeping with you know what? I i, uh, i said is our purpose today we’re going to talk about relationship building, so i’m going, i’m going start with the most basic basic question means we’ll start with caitlin, um, creating strong relationships with funders again, for our, for our audience of small and midsize non-profits how could they what’s one or two ideas that come to mind about creating that strong relationship at the outset at the beginning of a potential relationship? One unique thing about power is that we strive to and have the opportunity to fund an organization for up to ten years, and i say that because when we enter a collaboration with new organization, um, there is not the idea that the organization is going to do everything perfectly, but there are a few characteristics that are really important to us. The first i would say is just honest communication, i’ve had a number of grantees over it’s inevitable that you will have adversity, that something won’t go well go won’t go as planned, and as a program officer in charge of managing our relationship, the most helpful thing to me and the kind of like star grantees versus ones that are a bit more difficult, we want to be star granted, yes are just goes who communicate, explain that, you know, there are delays in the project, often most of the time, for a very legitimate reasons. And in addition to that not only say, you know, unfortunately, caitlyn there’s been a delay, or we weren’t able to do this activity, but also have already problem solved around how to either overcome that challenge and or a different activity. So one grantee in oaxaca, mexico, thie end of their year long program, which was a leadership training for a group of twenty young people, was to take them to mexico city. These are young people who had never really been out of the way municipality in which they lived in right before, a few weeks before they were supposed to go to mexico city, there was extreme violence in their community and a lot of parents rescinded the permission for their young people or their their children to go, so six of eighteen that were planned to go. We’re able to go to mexico city, and that would be a big sort of, like what’s going on. Um, but when they approached me, they said, listen, only six of eighteen could make it. We still went on the trip, they still did all the activities, and we did a camping weekend closer to the community in which they live. They live where sixteen of eighteen were able to participate. We still went through the leadership training. We had hoped for the themes, the bonding that took place, and they still had that sort of new and broadening horizons experience. And then we’re gonna have a chance to talk about some examples, okay? Of impact. We’ll definitely get to that. Cool. So yeah, basically, it sounds like you’re suggesting honesty. If there’s if there’s tribulations if there’s trouble, let your funder no. Yes, much work inside, i think. A non-profit radio i host this podcast. We gotta keep it to an hour. So we got a concise pursuing the field guide for data driven. Fund-raising it’s, the latest resource on the listener landing page tony dahna slash pursuing radio there’s so much data available it’s overload just just the data that you already have these can be overwhelming makes me think of ah howard on network i’m mad as hell, and i’m not going to take it anymore. So much data. The field guide makes your data less daunting talk talk, howard down. This is what’s in it. Five high level steps so you can translate your business objectives into actionable steps. Ah, real world case studies showing you how other non-profits are using data to achieve their fund-raising goals and a worksheet for ah, conversation and thought creation to help your team find the right focus. It’s the field guide for data driven fund-raising tory dahna em a slash pursuant radio. Now back to build your grantmaker relationships. Then what? Aside from no being honest about potential problems, adversity? What else? What else can we do again? Looking to try to look at the outset. Wait! We don’t even have a relationship yet. It’s up to you. But early on at least no that’s. Great. And i was echo exactly what was just said i would also say from the outset you’re a new grantee and speaking from from position the foundation right work and some of the other foundations that we partner with, uh, i want this speaker anything but a new grantee is ah, in a new amazing relationship that your program officers excited about, and the foundation is excited about. Another dynamic within foundations is to not, um, overbear helicopter in and try toe add too much burden onto the grantee because we know that your work is paramount and we don’t wantto sit there and constantly be asking for you for updates because we know that you’ll probably be sending that in a report, so i’d say take the onus and agency to reach out to us and share updates in the interim we love when we get interim updates if you’re and i’ll keep it quick with this story, we have a grand t out in the rural area of california and the rural areas of california have more of ah sabat kind of economic climate of the us south it’s not all l a and the bay area we get updates about winds that they get at the local school board level and within the local court systems, and we love hearing those stories and we share them throughout our foundation on it goes all the way to the board level, so i would just say, be open and honest with us on dh feel free to reach out don’t think there that they’re the big foundation black box, and we will send a move. Port leader? Yeah, awesome open honesty and even reporting when it’s not required. Correct, right? You’re welcome. You’re welcome those okay, geever, by the way, let me also just remind each of you. If you don’t have the mic, you can still speak. You’ll be hurt by this. This fancy omni directional. So no, you’re welcome. You should have it. Yeah, but if you if you, uh, you know, make some quick or something, you’ll be hurt. Okay? So keep it clean because it’s gonna be it’s gonna be heard. It’s gonna be preserved, please. Amy berman. What? I advice for them. Oh, that starting that relationship real strong. So i’m going to go go to before you’re even a grantee. Andi, i agree with everything that i’ve heard so far, but before you’re a grantee, this is your opportunity to really understand who it is you’re going to be meeting with and you should be meeting with with the foundation that you want, teo get to know or go to an event where you know that they’re going to be and you should know enough about number one, their mission kind of grants that they do, because when you talk about the work that you want todo, it has to fit within the strategy of that foundation. But i’ll tell you even more than that, you need to look at the language on that website. So you know you’ve heard some hints here you’ve heard, you know, words like workforce or words like social justice, use those words in describing what you do if you were work, relates to that area, convey what you dio and what your interests are within that kind of language and context that will make it easier for you and the person that you’re meeting with, sometimes for the first time to see where the fit iss now, maybe the person is going to get where the fit is without you having done your homework, but it’s your job to really make that fit a parent so doing your homework in advance is really helpful. And one thing that i would suggest the first time that you meet with the foundation don’t hit an idea because that one idea may be the thing that is not within what they khun d’oh, let them get to know you and the range of things that you d’oh that will be the best entry. And one of the biggest mistakes that people make is they come in with a very specific pitch and there are other things that we then didn’t get to talk about and that’s the thing that would have been the right fit. Are you starting to hear the parallel between your individual giving and your potential institutional funding? Who goes into a meeting first meeting with a potential donor and solicit it doesn’t happen you get you have to get to know them. Amy’s, amy’s advising not only do your research, but very well your first meeting ought not be the pitch and again parallel with your similar to the work you’re doing in the individual fund-raising it’s kind of like asking something you’d marry. You on the way here, it’s, not really a smoker talking that’s where i’m going wrong. I realize that now fifty five years to hear that christine, please. So i’m for our relationship with american express and then other relationships. What we’ve learned is to is and i think why we’ve been so successful, is that as a non-profit we take, we tried really hard to understand the funder. So and previously i actually was at a foundation, so i kind of have both lenses too, but it’s so it’s exciting to have the two perspectives. But i think it’s sometimes you just need to think of funders as though they have all of this money and power, some just going to go in and they must be able to do x y and z i think there’s a lot of assumptions and and expectations that come with that relationship. But you think about the relationship from the point of view of how can i be helpful? What is thie funder going through? How can i? How can we make their lives easier while also maximizing our impact? So it’s not just about i need this from younger i want to get x get why, but okay, work. How can we create a conversation around? So for us at project sunshine, we focus on pediatric health care, so we always start with the child in mind. But we can’t do the work we’re doing without our amazing partners are funders, our corporate partners. And so while making sure that they understand our mission and the work we’re doing to ask them, okay, so that how can we make your life easier? So i think starting from that and doesn’t that sound like something you would ask? Maybe not in those exact words, but parallel again in your individual fund-raising what? What is it about your work? What is it? I’m sorry. What is it about our work that interest you that motivates you? That moves you back-up and what’s. You know, in terms of suggestion, how can we make your life easier? Are there different methods of giving that we could talk about? Maybe a plan to give to makes more sense for you? Maybe it’s structured over a period of years. It’s a one time outright gift. Maybe it’s a gift of something other than cash. Gift in-kind someone some other kind of asset. So, you know, again the suggestion, how can we make your life easier? You’re always thinking about how you can help your donors to make gifts to you. You see these parallels? Upleaf so just to add what toe what christine said, i think it’s important to set expectations, right? So on the corporate side, i mean, most csr teams in a corporation is probably a group of six to eight people at american express it’s a it’s, a team of ten, and we’re basically responsible for engaging over fifty thousand employees so it’s hard to do that, right? So we look for partners who can help us, we can help them with their objectives and to, you know, help with their mission. But on the other hand, we also expect them to engage our volunteers, right? So setting that expectation is important because it’s a win win situation, so we’re helping the non-profit achieve their goals, but we’re also engaging our volunteers, i think setting an expectation up front, it’s super helpful and your collaboration involves a lot of volunteer work out of service work by american express employees. We’re gonna get to that. That grants aren’t only in the form of money, by any means. Let’s. Open it up. Now we’re gonna come back, come to questions periodically through throughout time together. How about questions on this initial round of hi? Um, i was wondering how open funders are, too, like meeting new people, like cold calls, you know, email or phone call, like, how approachable would you say you are, how open to new relationships? This is perfect, it’s. Exactly. We’re talking about what you know we’re the beginning phases of the relationship, how open or you to increase. Sounds like everybody has something, say, uh, good, michael. So on. It’s it’s. Really important that’s a big part of my job. I’m constantly meeting people you know, my area is around aging it’s around care of older adults, so i am on the road as a national thunder. I’m on the road, probably almost every week. I am going and meeting with people. They have very easy access to may. Um, if people are committing their life for doing this work, i’m committing my life toward them, because my foundation’s mission is to do this a swell, so i’m completely accessible. Damn! Yeah, i would. I would say that in our experience, we are one of the largest lgbt thunders, so we get a lot of requests from us based global funders well from us based organizations, and we similarly only have a team of of six or so, so we just don’t have the band with and one of the one of the things i hate about my job is knowing that me, me and my team really don’t have the band with even though are you? We have open initial funding, concept submission so anyone can send them in. We all do look at them, but we don’t have the bandwidth to have that special touch and tell people. Oh, but this local foundation in seattle area is doing x y z, so? So i would say, just keep at people, find out where those funders in those spaces go, when we attend conferences and other things, you catch people in a different mindset, they’re not running the meetings, they’re not doing their grantwriting up, so i would say catching people in different spaces as opposed to the cold call is one avenue you could you could employ kayman and i would just say it’s a both a do innit don’t is because in power we are open to hearing from from perspective organizations, but do your homework ahead of time and make sure so empower supports work in fifteen emerging market countries. We say that on our website we list the country’s make sure it’s a country that you work in is one that we support uh, we support work with at risk youth ages ten to twenty four if you’re working with the elderly or with children were not the right organization. So in general, as dan was saying, we tried to respect our grand thi’s time, and hopefully the idea would be that then sitting organizations or are granted partners will also do their part too respect our time and something about you that initial really agree with that. Obviously, like i mentioned before, it’s very hard, teo, you know, answer every email, answer every inquiry, so doing research, i think our website is really good at providing as tony mentioned, we support three different pillars, but it it it’s a good place to start because it provides a list ofthe sample projects that we’ve supported there’s. Also an eligibility quiz. So going back to what hates that it it helps you figure out whether it would be a good match or not, because through that eligibility quiz, you know, if you were to select, you know, you’re in a place like arkansas, where we don’t have a large and employee base, that probably wouldn’t be a match because we like to support organizations in specific regions, especially you know, where we have a large employee headcount and and, you know, our biggest market, so doing research is super important. Yeah, so you’ve heard this a couple times now. So what do we do on the individual side? Oppcoll prospect research? You got to do it on the institutional side to you don’t want to embarrass yourself. Bye let’s say failing to send a letter of inquiry if that’s part of the that’s the first step, that latto dahna funder once no, so don’t miss step by not doing your research let’s move the relationship on a little bit now we’re not we’re not the inquiry stage. We’re not at the opening stage now. We’re funding. We are your hyre you’ve selected granted, how can we keep? The relationship strong now we already heard report when it’s not necessary. Keep us involved now some steel you can’t beat your idea. You gotta come with multiple ideas. That’s, why you’re here way also hurt. Share, adversity, tribulations, difficulties along the way. What other advice? Again? Keeping the relationship strong now that we are funded, uh, who wants to anybody could start. Okay, um one one thing that could be a challenge, but i think is also easy to find a potential volunteer for that really makes a difference for us is around honestly high quality pictures of the work that you’re doing if you have a really active social media page. And the reason is that we are not an endowed foundation. So we report to our donors about the work that we’re supporting and it’s really helpful. And unfortunately, some of the grand teeth like it featured the most are those that have really great documentation of their own world. So not every organization can can hyre it’s owned photographer that’s for sure. But i think that’s a good news that may be a volunteer who wants to come learn more about your program if they have. You know, photography skills could be a really great way just just yeah, raise awareness about the work that you’re doing and can i suggest that maybe it doesn’t always doesn’t have to be high production value to be moving and show impact? I’ve seen cases where hyre people who are benefiting from the organizations work? Do you sell do selfie videos and, you know, with some really simple editing tools that could be really compelling, so, you know, they might go on for twelve minutes or so that’s too long, but no, i guess the point is doesn’t have to be high production value necessarily two to convey impacts are so use your social media. Obviously we all know how important video is, how compelling that could be storytelling through pictures as well. Latto you know, let them let them know what the work is that they’re paying for. Please, dad, no, no on b we’ll keep it quick might sound very simple, but i know when i was in very early in my career non-profit that didn’t have much of a development office capacity, um but now i know being on the other and how important make sure your thunders are on your email list, so when you stand out everything about programmatic buy-in aspects or big announcements that, you know, all of your funders are getting those updates that we could focus on your work and that way. Hyre the funders are also updated. Follow him on twitter follow your funders on twitter i mean, it sounds basic, but it might it might get overlooked. Uh, facebook, you know, fan their facebook page, etcetera, etcetera, dahna connect in ways other than what what they’re what they’re requirements are for, you know, quarterly or semiannual reporting or something, you know, connect beyond that again relationship building, right? You’re doing it on the individual side, do it on the institutional side as well. You got something. My name is amy, so you suffer i don’t feel like i’m sorry, okay, so the other thing is about your expectation for us and, you know, it’s important that you have an expectation for us. There are people there are foundations that, you know, everything kind of goes into a black box when when i’m developing a proposal, i actually work with the grantee on the development of that proposal, so i’ll edit it, it’s, not a black box, it’s an intentional, so once we’ve decided we’re going forward, it is a very intentional act, but once you have the grant, the other thing is to consider me as a part of the team, so include us and convene ings, invite us, we may or may not be able to go, but we also have the ability to write and speak. I’ve given congressional testimony on behalf of grantees. You know we are, we can provide you with more than just grantspace port, we can actually provide you with elbow ovaries. We can be helpful to you. We can even bring other funders to the tape. So the more you engage with us as a grantee, more helpful, i can be for you. Excellent examples. Excellent. Thank you, wantto latto. So i know we’ve been talking about social media and videos and high tech stuff, so when i think, though, that that’s very helpful, i think and think don’t know old fashioned is just a meet in person so far after me and i had breakfast today before we came here, and we try to make it a point to remember that for organizations, companies that there’s a person there that you’re talking to, who maybe just got married or so to also build a relationship around the person, not just the institution, i think yeah, as i said earlier, institutions are made up of people i mean, how how plainer can we make the comparisons tear into your individual fund-raising program it’s the same it’s the same strategy keeping keeping informs, inviting you invite your major donors to things, invite your institutional, you’re you’re funders like you said, they may or may not come, but the invitation should always be out there. They should be getting all your press all your tweets, etcetera can’t drive home in it. Let’s, take a break! Wagner cps this testimonial quote, this is my first year and we’re a growing non-profit wagner, cpas. Was completely attentive and gave the impression as if they were right next door when handling our review engagement. Even though we’re in a different state, they made me feel like we were the only client they had, and they were able to walk me through starting up our accounts to finishing our yearly statements. Nothing was too small of a task for them to handle, and they were always available for questions and concerns. The customer service was exceptional, which is a rarity these days and was greatly appreciated. I received great advice and guidance for better business practices from a professional, all while feeling supported and genuinely cared for in the process when your cpa’s really stands out as a partner and i could not be happier with the results. End quote, small cancer research non-profit here on the east coast, supported and genuinely cared for are they butlers, front desk clerks, nurses, first responders, many petty girls are they made her desire somalia’s are they bus boys? Are they airline pilots? Are flight attendants who used to be stewardesses? Remember same baizman when they were stewardesses, slight tennis now of the massage therapists, acupuncturists, nutrition coaches, rehab counselors none of the above they’re wagner, cps, humble weinger cps more than cpas, trusted advisors, you know, they get to know you. I keep reading this testimonial because it’s it’s so, so genuine and just not what you’re goingto see about most certified public accountants. Um, i’ll take care of you and you want somebody who’s going to do that for you going beyond the numbers. Eat. Talk to huge tomb. You heard mi ri a lot about him last week. Talkto him. Good guy. Weinger cpas dot com. Now time for tony. Take two. Show your love. I need you to show your love to our sponsors. Please. These are the companies that are keeping this show. Ah, going to conferences, um, keeping it in the studio month after month, helping me produce the show by sponsoring it. So if cpa’s or fund-raising council and valuable fund-raising content and credit card processing our possibilities for you, then i would be grateful if you would check out our sponsors. You know who i’m talking about? Of course. Pursuing wagner and tell us please show your love to the sponsors. Check him out. Now return to build your grantmaker relationships. So on the corporate side, it about being, you know, you guys being flexible, right? Because, yeah, i can support you through grantmaking and providing volunteers, but there’s also other opportunities, so i always make it. I always make the effort of engaging non-profits where our affinity groups at american express because that if your woman empowerment organization there’s always a way to connect with employees and other ways, right? So we’ll offer volunteers, but we can also bring awareness to our employees, and they could make individual donations through our employees e-giving campaign or through our dollars for doors program, or maybe it’s an opportunity for you to come in and speak to a group of women and just bring more awareness, so the relationship doesn’t just have toe and at grantmaking were always big expanding that relationship and helping you as much as we can. All right, this is a time we’re going to turn teo storytelling. I want it. I want to turn to some examples of how these strong relationships have impacted work on the ground use. Use any example you like one of your one of your grantee organizations and let’s let’s start with anthony. And and the projects on shiny and and why don’t you talk about the work that goes beyond as you were just saying, perfect in trouble, you know, beyond money. So we started our partnership with project sunshine back in twenty ten, and our biggest challenge at that moment was engaging those i mean, where american express that we have several call centers throughout the u s and it’s harder to engage those employees who are you know, their job is basically being on the phone, being in a call center. So we were looking keeper ways to engage these volunteers because, let’s, be honest, most employees want to go out and violence here, but the challenge is finding the time, right? So not every employee has the luxury of going on park and planting a tree for four or five hours, so we thought, why not start this partnership with project sunshine? Who, i’m christine can talk more about what they do create thes care kids that are prepared in house. Esso employees don’t necessarily have to leave the office to volunteer. It only takes one hour. We started that partnership back in twenty ten immediately we got a huge response, because again, people felt like they were able to give back without having to invest so much time fast forward, i think two or three years later, the success of the program helped us build a case to go backto our leaders and say, hey, this is a great partnership were engaging more volunteers we expanded than to other locations on dh we’ve been partners now for seven years, and we’ve engaged over seven thousand employees in the last couple of years, and we’re now internationally. Last year, we started a partnership with project sunshine zoho it’s finding ways of thinking of all your employees population, right? So those who don’t have the flexibility and and i think that’s, what works? Well, that project’s on china heard the challenge that we were having, and they did a great job at finding a solution for us, especially if you’re talking to corporations think broadly again your course way said, your first meeting is not going to the solicitation, you know, make some enquiries. So after you’ve done your research on the web site, maybe talk to some other organizations that, you know they’re funding. However, however you go about your research, especially talking to corporations, you want to think about volunteers because anthony’s point is and please do want a volunteer, and that often is a part of what companies want to give. So it’s more than the money, especially not only limited to companies, certainly, but especially cos don’t think just about, you know, dollars out. Okay, so so how how are your work? Is pediatric patients supporting them and their families? And how are these kids and their families benefiting from this? Is that great questions? So we the healthcare landscape is constantly changing, and oftentimes the child, the patient, they’re stressed and terrified parents, they’re siblings kind of get missed. And so what we do is mobilized volunteers to really provide and come around the child, that the parents, the family, and to treat them the way that if we were the child, the parents or the sibling, we will let me treat it. And so we do a number of different programs we provide in hospital based parties, bringing the joy of childhood into the into the hospital setting, letting kids be kids. So we do that’s one part the part that we work with. American express and a lot of our corporate volunteers are sending sunshine programme, so the sending sunshine program really what’s designed kind of with i mean, american express was a big part of that it’s office based volunteering so volunteer corporate volunteers in their own offices get to ascend, assemble these craft kids so that’s like a standalone craft that that we sent to over three hundred hospitals and medical facilities so that if you i mean, you could imagine if you were a child and you just broken leg, you’re in emergency room, you’re going to be there for four hours, and you have a lot of stressed out doctor’s child life specialists, they able to grab these and give give them to a child to decrease their anxiety, to decrease there, even boredom, to the and to the the sibling who may be with them. And and the care giver is a moment to believe. So that’s one of the that the activities we also create these things called sergi dolls, which are medical play dolls, and we’ve made there’s research behind them about using these dogs to help empower children to understand the treatment that they will. Be going through. And when i first joined projects in china was like, does this really make a difference? And the overwhelming answer from our partners? That, yes, we have a wait list them so clearly there’s a need there, and the and that the need for on the hospital side for these children families that in a line so well with our corporate partners, i think it’s it’s kind of it’s amazing this wind wind that anthony was talking about. So over, i think, with the last time we checked over forty five thousand children, families received these craft kids hyre sergi dolls that american express employees put together, and one recently was around the hurricanes. So the we had said american express has a south florida region regional areas. So we had made a much of craft kits, sent them to hospital suspected by the hurricane. We received this amazing quote phone call from a child life specialist who say you saved our lives. So basically, american express partiers saved our lives because we received i think something like one hundred falik in floods of one hundred fifty two warring families who were clearly distraught and stressed, and the first thing they did was grab as many of these yellow projects on chain bags that are volunteers put together as they could and went from chaos to come. And these were her wits chaos to come immediately. Christine, how do you convey that message to american express that they would feel the impact of their work? So we don’t have a phone call with anthony, and we do try to sow way have a great development team that does a lot of social media, and we’re trying we try to provide photos reporting all the things that we had talked about on this panel so that we could make sure that power corporate incorporate partners feel that, yes, so we did for that specific one we were on the phone, and then anthony, who fed it back to the actual employees from actually we’re in a such a satisfaction right on our employees and those who volunteer because you see the immediate impact, right? So it’s not like going on like a community center and painting a wall blew right there’s really not much impact that you see there? Yeah, you paint the wall, but with these care kids, you know, if one hundred volunteers create a thousand kids, you know that they’re going to get to a thousand kids who need them. So every time i post project’s on shine project on our internet site, it sells out in a matter of like five minutes, like, okay flooded with emails because, again, it’s a good way for employees just donate a now hour of their time and see the immediate impact that these kids have. I could tell caitlin is burning, the answer will come back. I just wanted teo say this is an example of where that sounds like a phenomenal volunteer opportunity where it’s both beneficial in it’s a meaningful volunteer opportunity that’s beneficial not just for the volunteer, but also for the organization. I just want to say this is one of those moments where feel free to push back against your donor, where if they’re really excited and want to send volunteers your way and it’s actually going to create more of a headache, then be helpful or if you work in a context where it’s not appropriate tohave caitlyn as ah white, thirty two year hold american coming in, i thinkyou internationally. But with at risk, youth are more sensitive. Populations feel free to say no, because all too often, i think organizations, especially if it’s, a donor asking, feel i’m required to take on this hungers. And sometimes it’s it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Um the shining of ah story that one repeat that some of the themes that we’ve already heard, and i, i’m reminded of a grantee partner of ours, that it was actually same grantee that i mentioned working in the rural areas of california. Um buy-in they’ve been a grantee of ours for three, three years, so not, you know, like a historic one for us, but not a baby. And we have had an amazing relationship. They send us that the updates we’ve met curated this relationship. We took a tour of the central valley of california, seeing all the work they’ve done, we bought our ceo of our vice president, we met dolores huerta, and we really got to see their work after that site visit. You can tell that the relationship kind of tipped a little bit. You could tell that way had a shorthand. We had a common connection and fast forward to two weeks ago. The head of the project is doing great work, and they’re trying to scale their program. Um, we shopped thiss program director to the ford foundation, to the open society foundation and to an anonymous donor that works in this space. We introduced them tio like mine and thunders that we know here in new york city because we know that their work is so amazing, you know, in the rural areas of california kind of far away from big foundation institutions except for the california down men. Um, so that’s that’s a story that i love that i don’t think that may be a lot of grantees would think to say, please introduce us to your other fundez as you might think, that is a no overreach or or going past, but i think you can get a read on that relationship once it reaches that tipping point. That’s something i’m sure a lot of organization just wouldn’t even think to do. Introduce us to your other funders. Got to take a break, tell us credit card and payment processing. Check out the video at tony dahna slash tony tell us explains the process of businesses getting with tello’s making that switch and how you get fifty percent of the revenue that passive revenue month after month after month think about the businesses this makes sense for in your community and send them to watch the video after you watch. It you watch first, like that car dealership that which i was putting down car dealership. I was thinking i had such a bad such a bad experience. First time i bought a car, i don’t know where my mother and father were, but we agreed on a price. And then the guy the the finance manager put on this one act play festival with the supposedly his the executive above him. About what? What? Ah, what a great price i was getting. It was for me to over here in their office, and they kept the door open and the finance manager was being berated. I told you nothing below sticker. The guy giving me, like a hundred fifty dollars off sticker price, right? I told you nothing below sticker. This can’t happen again. One act play festival happening in this office with the door open for me, the client to hear outside. And so the finance manager comes out, you know, he’s looking sheepish, total total fabrication. I said, is everything okay with our deal? You know, he said he said, everybody has a boss. All right, think about those car dealerships. Tony got a slash tony tell us now, back to building your grantmaker relationships. I mean, you gotta you gotta impact story. I do have an impact story. So in the foundation world, the most popular areas to fund are the arts, education and children, and my foundation does not fund that. In fact, out of one hundred five thousand foundations in this country, only six are primarily focused on older adults, so very, very small group of funders that do work nationally in this space. And we really care about, um, creating age friendly health systems, you know, how are they gonna be responsive to older adults caring about serious illness and end of life and also about family caregivers? So one of the grant is here in new york city, it’s the center towards to advance palliative care, trains people to provide care and make sure that they haven’t vamp scare planning so that their, you know, their goals are what i care is that they get at the end that they relieve suffering. They make sure that people have the care that they need when they go through a very serious illness, even when they’re going to get better from serious illness to help them get through that serious illness. Um, and so the kinds of impact this work has had today, a palliative care is in roughly ninety percent of hospitals nationally. That’s. Huge. It only came to this country in the nineteen eighties. We have been along and sustained thunder in this space, and we may be slowed a warm, but we tend to be a longer and sustained thunder around impact. Um, the other thing was, there were very few funders that were interested in this space. Does anybody remember the death panel? Conversations? Okay, well, thankfully, we’re not having a lot of those today, but, um, there were very few funders that we’re doing focused work in this area. So i decided i was going to start having calls. This was not with the grantee. This was on behalf of the grantspace. I wanted to create a safe learning space for foundations that might be thinking about this. They wanted to learn. And so what’s happened with that. We now have a very large collaborative. People are more strategic. I know people that they want to fund. We fund together some things. We fundez next to each other and other things, um, this past year, about eighty million dollars in new funding was in this space. And this is on behalf of the grantee, the grant he could not have had those calls, but it was necessary to begin. Teo, bring people into the space. And now they’re coming out of the woodwork. We actually did a grant. Teo, give somebody money to help coordinate this crew. Um, you know, coordinate the calls and everything else. So thie impact is huge. The only other thing about this was about seven years ago. I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. And i had been doing this work long before my you know, this is my my area. Um, but then i made a decision. How could i make use of the situation to further healthy grantee? So i’ve been writing, speaking, uh, we’ve put on congressional briefings together. So any other way that i can be helpful, i am definitely shoulder to shoulder with grant. Thank you for sharing. Thank you, kayman a backstory. And then we’re gonna come back to the come back to you. It’ll be peppermint lifesaver time very shortly after caitlin’s kitten’s got an example. Yes. And i would just go back to some power can fund your question around, like, what to do once your rd, a grantee in-kind of in the medium term and how it can be really helpful for the relationship. So just to say one of the key criteria we look for when determining whether or not we’re going to fund an organization for a second a third, a fourth year, is this idea around are they learning organization? And by that we mean a couple of things on one, um, really, the most important is, like i said, we don’t expect programs to go perfectly there’s challenges that come up youth are dynamic and changing issue areas arise eyes um, but really impactful grantees that we have in great relationships in the really impactful programming are constantly learning and adapting and analyzing what went well, what it’s our strength what’s an area for improvement and even again, the same grantee in oaxaca, mexico. So in the course of their programming found that the middle school population that they were working with we’re engaging in self harm and cutting, and they recognized we as an organization don’t have expertise on this. But they themselves reached out, identified an organization in canada that focuses on this and then came to us and said, listen, and our next grant, we would love to include a line item to have training on this to better serve our young people and with a learning organization, i would just say also, openness to feedback, we think, you know, we support programs across the globe and sometimes see similar challenges in best practices, so it’s not donor-centric but being open to feedback is really important, even if you don’t necessarily take it on. And then also with this learning organization comes which sounds li, but playing well with others. So we often ask grantee organizations what other organizations are doing great work in their field and, um, it’s a rite of flag for us if they if they come back and say no one else is doing it as well as we are, which has happened and, uh, yeah, so i would say being a learning organization, playing while collaborating with other service providers, it’s something that we look four and yeah, provides question occurred to me based on what you and amy and we’re saying, especially if you’re being funded, what about? So if none of your funders duitz ask, can we meet your other funders? If you’re a grantee, what about saying we’d like you to meet our other funders? What about the grantee putting that those that possibility together? Is there a downside we’re talking about? Could there be a okay, so so the grantee could think of it. If none of the funders do there’s no doesn’t seem to be a downside to that, and just a just a couple of sentences. Don’t do this. Stop your top, don’t do this. Yeah, the worst thing that you could do is when you have an opportunity to get funding, to listen to the thunder about what it is. You should be funded. In other words, don’t move from your mission if it’s not helpful to your mission and strategy. It’s a disaster, okay. I’m going to just i’ll answer this from my previous foundation experience. One thing was, don’t get angry when you get there, like when you get defunded. So there was one of the things that was very difficult. Was when was for funder, is to not fund that’s very hard, i think, from i’m sure everyone here knows and to have to send out a declination is also hard to have that he met with anger and accusation. Not great. I would say, don’t go into your automatic pitch, right? Because we have objectives. You have objectives. So it goes just backto what we’ve been saying, doing research, and not just assuming all american express is a big company, with so much money that we would necessarily support. I’m sure your mission is important. But it might be something that we’re not is not within our gunman’s, that we would support. So not just going into your pitch and assuming that. Then don’t do it, miss deadlines, this deadline? Yeah, don’t miss deadlines you can man asked for an extension, don’t do it! Eleven fifty nine the day of but my in my over four years in philanthropy, i know exactly those organizations that i think you’re going to fall through the cracks unless our team reminds them and i feel like that’s a perception issue happens with individuals. You won’t know that one person that made a bad impression in your family or at work and that perception than permeates it and then stays. So just have a schedule have reminders have your assistance remind you whatever, but yeah, don’t nastad please there’s so many technical tools that can help you. You do everything from wake up to know when to go to sleep, everything in between. So i used the use the app to use the tools we have bonem to one i would say is don’t fall off the place the face of the earth so we’ve had some grantees just disappear. Yeah, and and not communicating, i would say, even if it’s a one line, you know again in mexico, right after the earthquake, we reshot guarantees how are you doing? So you know, we’re in the trenches, but thank you for thinking of us, boom, or, you know, where is your report? I’m sorry, there’s been delays. Just keep the communication open, so please let’s, join me in thanking that’s. It in-kind christine werner and xero miree. Buy-in i hope you see all the connections between your individual fund-raising and your newly invigorated institutional fund-raising program. Next week, turbocharger grants fund-raising john hicks returns you see how coordinated the show is, grantspace that grants week after week, this is all put together. If you missed any part of today’s show, i beseech you, find it on tony martignetti dot com were supported by pursuing online tools for small and midsize non-profits data driven and technology enabled. Tony dahna slash pursuant radio wagner, cps, guiding you beyond the numbers. Regular cps dot com and tell us credit card payment processing, your passive revenue stream durney dahna slash tony tell us our creative producer is claire meyerhoff. Sam liebowitz is the line producer, shows social media is by susan chavez. Our music is by scott steiner brooklyn, new york you with me next week for non-profit radio, big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent go out and be great. What’s not to love about non-profit radio tony gets the best guests check this out from seth godin this’s the first revolution since tv nineteen fifty and henry ford nineteen twenty it’s the revolution of our lifetime here’s a smart, simple idea from craigslist founder craig newmark insights orn presentation or anything? People don’t really need the fancy stuff they need something which is simple and fast. When’s the best time to post on facebook facebook’s andrew noise nose at traffic is at an all time hyre on nine a m or eight pm so that’s, when you should be posting your most meaningful post here’s aria finger ceo of do something dot or ge young people are not going to be involved in social change if it’s boring and they don’t see the impact of what they’re doing so you gotta make it fun and applicable to these young people look so otherwise a fifteen and sixteen year old they have better things to do if they have xbox, they have tv, they have their cell phones me dar is the founder of idealised took two or three years for foundation staff to sort of dane toe add an email address card. It was like it was phone. This email thing is right and that’s why should i give it away? Charles best founded donors choose dot or ge somehow they’ve gotten in touch kind of off line as it were on dh and no two exchanges of brownies and visits and physical gift. Mark echo is the founder and ceo of eco enterprises. You may be wearing his hoodies and shirts. Tony talked to him. Yeah, you know, i just i i’m a big believer that’s not what you make in life. It zoho, you know, tell you make people feel this is public radio host majora carter. Innovation is in the power of understanding that you don’t just put money on a situation expected to hell. You put money in a situation and invested and expect it to grow and savvy advice for success from eric sacristan. What separates those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to one’s ability to ask others for help. The smartest experts and leading thinkers air on tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent.

“Demystifying Charity Registration” at The Foundation Center

 

Foundation_Center

On Tuesday, March 11, I’ll deliver Demystifying State Charity Registration Laws at The Foundation Center in New York City. We’ll go from 10am to noon.

Here’s registration info. It’s free!

These are the requirements in 49 states and DC, that you be registered with state authorities in each state where you solicit donations.

If you have a “Donate Now” button on your site you’re soliciting in at least half the states. Likewise, if you send email or US Mail solicitations or host events where someone asks for money, you’re soliciting in the states where your messages land and the events take place.

Here’s what you’ll walk away knowing:

  • how to protect your officers and board by getting into compliance
  • what these registration laws are
  • why compliance is more important now than it has been in the past
  • how to know where you need to register
  • how exemptions work
  • specifics of New York state registration
  • a plan to prioritize and get started

Along with a colleague, I delivered this a few weeks ago at The Support Center. An attendee wrote:

“Well done, useful & timely workshop. This issue is lurking below the surface and should be made better known.”

I agree. I’m working on it. 

Someone else believed the program, “Might help our clients evaluate where to focus their registrations.” Cool. I always have consultants in the audience.

I promise you’ll walk out knowing a hell of a lot more than you know now. I hope you can be with me!

Here’s registration info. It’s free for Pete’s sake. 

My slides are below.