501c3 Archives - Page 3 of 3

Little known hacks on how to apply for grants for nonprofit organizations – with Dr. Bev Browning

#028 – Today I am speaking with Dr. Beverly Browning. Dr. Bev is the author of 44 grant-related publications, including six editions of Grant Writing For Dummies and Nonprofit Kit For Dummies. Her online courses are taught to thousands of students annually. She also has a 16-week virtual Coaching/Mentoring Program. Dr Bev says….

“You will not get funded if you are not innovative, creative, and unique.”

Dr. Bev offers resources on:

1 Grant Writing and Funding

2 Board of Directors Training

3 Strategic Needs Assessment

4 Professional Development Training

5 Proposal Development and

6 Internal Peer Review

Check out Dr. Bev’s free resources on her website – https://bevbrowning.com/nonprofit-resources/

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Resources

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Funders are looking for nonprofit organizations that are filling gaps.

#2 Check in with your local United Way to find potential funders .

#3 The work is 80% research / 20% writing.

#4 Don’t go for funding until you’ve built a relationship with the funder.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[2:00] The first step is to do an organizational assessment
[3:01] Volunteers should ease the Executive Director's responsibilities
[3:22] Give or get policy
[4:50] Executive Director should NOT be leading the SWOT analysis
[6:36] Volunteers can have greater insights than paid staff
[7:40] Nonprofit leaders may have vision but may lack organizational management
[8:37] Funders are looking for organizations that fill gaps
[9:37] You will NOT get funded if you are NOT innovative, creative, and unique
[10:00] Look at the United Way for gaps in your community
[12:55] A grant is 80% research / 20% writing
[13:35] Look for buzzwords on the funder's website
[14:20] Don't apply for funding before you've developed a relationship with the funder
[16:25] The best board members put in 15-20 hours per month
[17:20] Good relationships can overcome bad writing
[18:13] Typical foundation proposals could take 1-2 weeks for a newbie
[19:23] Most new nonprofits cannot get federal grants
[23:25] A plan for building relationships with funders

A few secrets everyone should know before starting a new nonprofit organization – with Gigi Lawrence

#027 – Today I am speaking with Gigi Lawrence. Gigi founded Nonprofit for Newbies, a consulting and networking community, to help people start new nonprofits. Gigi is a mompreneur who started off in the financial consulting world, but didn’t feel fulfilled. She knew she wanted to help others, but was unsure how. After she took a job as a nonprofit financial literacy program director she knew she had found her calling. Gigi says….

“If your foundation isn’t structured correctly and you don’t know how to explain your process. You don’t know how to explain your programs in a way that others are going to understand and be motivated to move forward with those services or that program and being involved…..

…you have to be able to sell yourself, sell your organization, and in order to sell it, you have to know what you’re selling and you have to believe in it.”

Nonprofit for Newbies either advises or refers “newbies” to one of the independent contractors in their network on:

Starting their nonprofit
Grant writing
Writing their business plan
Fundraising
Marketing
Accounting
Board Development, and
Mindset

As of this interview, her Facebook Group has over 10k members.

Gigi has a ton of free resources on her website

https://www.nonprofitfornewbies.com/social

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Resources

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Be able to clearly explain your programs and what you do.

#2 Get board members who will help you execute your mission.

#3 Have people you are serving represented on your board.

#4 Get local high school or college students to help with your social media at little or no cost.

Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[3:45] We have a vetted consultant netwrok
[5:30] It comes down to getting your foundation right....
[7:20] Most questions I get when people start
[8:12] Considerations when forming your board
[11:40] Have representation on your board
[12:40] Changes since the pandemic
[15:30] Use college students to help with social media
[16:45] Focus on the tasks that are a good use of your time
[17:27] Make sure you spend some time budgeting
[19:33] Voices of Color
[20:51] How Gigi got started

What nonprofit leaders ought to know about hiring a virtual assistant – w/ Vicki Burkhart

#026 – Today I am speaking with Vicki Burkhart, founder and CEO of The More Than Giving Company. The company supports nonprofits with Virtual Assistants who allow nonprofit leaders to focus more on their mission and less on tasks. Vicki says:

”In most cases, they will come to us and say, I don’t know where to tell you to start so things have gotten so out of hand that they are already in a chaotic state” ….. “once you have a VA, you will start to see the time come back in your day”.

The company takes a different approach because it ONLY hires VAs with nonprofit experience. In addition, their VAs typically have 3 – 5 years of experience as a VA and they are put through a certification program.

Some of the popular tasks VA’s take on include:

Basic bookkeeping;
Database / contact management;
Manage social media;
Assist in donor engagement; and
Draft communication.

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Resources

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Four Major Obstacles to Nonprofit Success – lack of a plan; wrong board make-up; fundraising capacity; and lack of action.

#2 Once you hire a VA, you will start to see time come back into your day.

#3 Volunteer boards are finding they are spending way too much time doing the detail work and not enough time cultivating donors.

#4 There is a direct correlation between time spent on the stuff you need to do and the minutia.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[2:35] Four major obstacles to the success of nonprofits.
[6:20] The cost effective piece makes the NPVA program really attractive to a lot of nonprofits.
[6:52] They find that relying on volunteers typically ends up with a lot of the work coming back to them.
[7:27] The back office of any organization can be well-run by a NPVA.
[9:02] You can contract for buckets of hours with us or you can customize a contract depending on needs.
[10:02] Our NPVAs can handle basic bookkeeping.
[10:45] NPVAs can help with multi-year pledges.
[11:48] In most cases, clients they tell us they don't where to start
[12:11] Once you have a NPVA, you will start to see the time come back in your day.
[12:40] Volunteer boards are finding they are spending way too much time doing the detail work.
[14:10] I don't know how I have survived this long without one.
[14:40] I was surprised how proactive she was.
[16:52] There's a direct correlation between the stuff you need to do vs the minutia.
[20:54] How much do NPVAs cost?

What every PTO volunteer ought to know about starting, maintaining, and fundraising for a parent-teacher organization – with Sandy Pfau Englund.

#023 – Today I am speaking with Sandy Pfau Englund. Sandy is a skilled nonprofit and tax law attorney. When parents at her kids’ elementary school recognized her articles, she was recruited to join the PTO.

The PTO did not have its own EIN – it was using the schools. Nor did it have tax exempt status. If you named the list of errors, it was making all of them.

“It was overwhelming for the other volunteers. That’s why I got recruited. You don’t have someone that does tax exempt and non-profit law that’s the mom of the kids in your elementary school. It’s not just an everyday thing.”

That led her to start Parent Booster USA – to help PTAs, PTOs, booster clubs, and chapters remain in compliance with the IRS and state regulators. She wanted to make it easy – at least more accessible for groups to keep up with these regulations.

She has a ton of free resources – her policy is that “for every paid service, we have to have a do it yourself guide” so that if someone wants to be a weekend warrior, they can.

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Resources

Parent Booster USA

My RENOSI

Book – School Fundraising – So Much More than Cookie Dough

Amazon Smile

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Don’t decide who can give and who can’t – let them decide for themselves if they can give or not;

#2 To be eligible for grants, you need to make sure your registration is up to date;

#3 There is no such thing as a tax deductible, Christmas Tree or anything else – if buyer is getting something of value, you need to identify that value for them; AND

#4 Fundraising benefits need to be for the WHOLE group, not for only one individual.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[3:48] Members have hung in and done a little bit of online fundraising, if they could.
[5:18] Can we just disband for a year and then come back?
[5:45] What are the burning questions are you getting?
[6:40] Be transparent with you donors...
[8:31] You can't use 501(c)(3) for personal gifts/benefits...
[9:46] Don't be afraid to fundraise in tough times.
[12:18] Leave the funding decision to the donor...
[18:44] States are getting more aggressive with compliance.
[19:35] For every paid service, we offer a DIY guide.
[20:49] I want to make it easy...
[21:19] Information drain when leadership turns over...
[22:07] IRS letter shows up and we don't know what to do...
[23:23] There is no such thing as a tax deductible Christmas Tree.
[24:00] Booster club participation and donations can't be mandatory
[25:10] Benefits have to be for the whole group, not just one member...
[28:00] Best practices is to cover big expenses that benefit the entire group.
[30:12] It should not be this hard

What everyone ought to know about marketing and communications for nonprofit organizations with Kivi Leroux Miller.

#022 – Kivi Leroux Miller is a communication and marketing guru. She lends her superpower to nonprofits – helping them craft clear, effective, and timely communication to their communities, donors, volunteers, and partners.

She shares some easy and straightforward steps that we can apply to our own organizations.
Kivi has several “Rules of 3” that help simplify all of this. Be sure to stick around until the end to hear them all.

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Resources

nonprofitmarketingguide.com

Book

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Be sure you are clear on 1) who you are talking to; 2) what you’re saying to them; and 3) how you plan to deliver that message;

#2 Your community is NOT the entire world – you need to fine tune your target market;

#3 Consistency is more important than frequency; AND

#4 Create a 4-6 editorial calendar.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[2:03] Who are you talking to? What are you saying? How are you saying it?
[3:16] There really is no such thing as the general public.
[4:31] Psychographic NOT Demographics.
[4:57] You have to know who you are talking to.
[7:10] The people who take action are your people.
[7:44] PUT - Personal Useful and Timely.
[9:58] How do you deliver your message to your people?
[11:17] Think about what people are looking for on Google.
[13:20] Consistency is better than frequency.
[15:49] Pace yourself.
[16:39] Figure out your home base.
[17:14] Just because it's a good idea does not mean you need to do it.
[20:00] Create a 4-6 week editorial calendar.
[24:44] ASK, THANK YOU, and REPORT.
[27:27] Make a choice and follow through.

How to build effective community partnerships: Kristine Ensor shows you how to find the right partners to put your small nonprofit on a path to financial stability.

#021 – Kristine Ensor is an experienced and successful fundraiser and freelance writer.

She has figured out the power of community partnerships to drive long-term support. The great news is YOU can do what Kristine has done! Anyone can. You just have to put in the work of finding the right partners and then cultivate those relationships.

Kristine gives some great insight on just how to do that. Collaborating with a few good partners can free you from the stress of dialing for new dollars every year.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Kristine’s first-hand account about how one volunteer day unexpectedly turned into years of financial and board support from the local office of a national cable tv provider.

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Resources

Kristine Ensor – Linkedin

Donor b ox

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Companies look for partners who actually do the work for the causes they believe in;

#2 Networking is ESSENTIAL – relationship building is at the core of building strong partnerships;

#3 Participating with your local chamber of commerce is GREAT way to meet potential partners; AND

#4 Don’t stop after you’ve received a check – sit down with your partners periodically and find out what is working for them and figure out how you can provide more value to them.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[3:00] The FIRST step in identifying community partnerships.
[5:42] Companies look for nonprofits with expertise in the causes they care about.
[6:22] Get clear on WHY you want a community partnership WHAT you can offer the partner.
[6:48] It's all about relationships.
[8:35] Who do you know and who do they know....
[9:48] Looking for grants....
[11:04] Start a networking database.
[12:13] Networking is essential.
[13:05] Chamber groups LOVE nonprofits.
[15:51] If both sides are excited, that is a sign of a good partnership.
[16:08] Communication is key.
[17:22] Bring solutions instead of just asking for a check.
[17:45] Get testimonials when you do good work.
[19:33] Do regular reviews with your partners to ensure objectives are being met.
[21:03] You have to be ok cutting loose if it's not a good fit.
[22:13] Comcast Cares Days

SEO for Nonprofits: You don’t have to be a SEO professional to know why SEO is so important for the online success of your nonprofit organization – Dave Evans.

#020 – Dave Evans, founder of Impact SEO. Dave got his Search Engine Optimization foundation by working for a SEO guru and then several startups. He now shares his deep knowledge of SEO with mission-driven organizations making a positive impact in their communities.

His mission is to help impact organizations reach more people and communicate their mission more effectively. He shows them how to get found on the crowded internet.

Dave does a great job of laying out why it’s so important for organizations to have a thoughtful SEO strategy. AND it does not have to be hard. Most of us can do this.

Be sure to check out Dave’s FREE guide – “How to apply for Google Ad Grant”

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Resources

Impact SEO

FREE RESOURCE: How to Apply for Google Ad Grant

4 Key Takeaways

#1 Focus on 3 pillars: Trajectory, Foundation, and Compound Interest;

#2 You have be clear on what your organization does and who you serve before you can make sure that message is clear on your website;

#3 Produce relevant content so someone searching for what you do will find you; AND

#4 Non-profits can apply for a Google Ad Grant – $10,000 per month in ad spend.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[3:11] 3 Pillars: Trajectory.
[3:50] 3 Pillars: Fundation.
[4:35] 3 Pillars: Compound Interest.
[5:15] SEO is central to the 3 Pillars.
[6:42] Your website should communicate as though a board member is sitting down with someone one-on-one.
[8:28] You have to be clear on what you do yourself before you can make that message clear on your website.
[9:15] You want to find the people that are ready to join your cause.
[9:48] You don't want to make it a challenge for someone to donate.
[10:11] The problem is most people just don't know what steps they could take right now.
[11:40] If your website is not clear, you are missing opportunities.
[14:45] You want to be in a position where someone actively searching for you or your organization finds you.
[15:42] If you want to change your trajectory, then you need to know who you're trying to reach.
[16:24] Developing relevant content will get you to the top of Google searches.
[18:15] Raising awareness for what you do.
[19:58] Speak to the needs of your target audience.
[21:10] Google Keyword Planner.
[21:50] What organizations get wrong is NOT making decisions from data.
[24:49] Google Ad Grant.
[26:37] Qualifications for Google Ad Grant.
[27:08] FREE RESOURCE: Google Ad Grant Guide.
[29:12] Client went from 20 sessions per month to 20,000 after taking Dave's advice.
[30:54] Dave's website audits.
[32:08] I want to help change the organizations' trajectory.
[33:09] What changes do you see staying with us in a post COVID world?

A few secrets everyone should know before starting a new nonprofit organization – with Gigi Lawrence

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What nonprofit leaders ought to know about hiring a virtual assistant – w/ Vicki Burkhart

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What every PTO volunteer ought to know about starting, maintaining, and fundraising for a parent-teacher organization – with Sandy Pfau Englund.

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