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NEWS FROM PENNSYLVANIA FOUNDATIONS ONLINE 

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Welcome Grant Seekers! 
 
Welcome to PA Foundations Online e-news. 
Our team of development experts will be sharing fund raising tips with you, along with the latest in information from Pennsylvania Foundations and how to maximize your grantseeking efforts.  
Common Fund Raising Misakes and How to  Fix Them
 
1)  Focusing on your organization's needs rather than on the community need.
It's very easy to get distracted by your organization needs - general operating money, funds to start a new program, money to hire more staff, etc. and then forget that the reason your organization exists is because there is a need in the community.  And it's that need that gets your donors concerned, engaged, and motivated to help you provide the solution. 
 
Be sure all your donor communications, newsletter, grant proposals and website contain compelling language and/or photographs about the problem that exists.  Once that is established, then move on to sharing how your organization offers a quality, effective solution, including details about how general operating money, or more staff, or a renovated building will help you improve and enhance that solution.  
 
2)  Only communicating with your donors when you ask them for money.
Life in a non-profit organization is hectic, to say the least, and it's easy to get into the habit of only connecting with our donors when we're asking them for money.  However, donors are supportive of organizations that are doing work that relates to their passions and interests.  And if donors don't really know what you are doing, their interest may wane.
 
It's extremely important to stay connected with your donors throughout the year.  Regular communications, such as newsletters (both printed and e-news), short updates, or
e-mailed links to items of interest will help to keep them engaged, informed and interested in your work.  These can be short and concise, and they need to carry a message about the need you are addressing, and what specifically you are doing to make the world a better place.  
In This Issue
Common Fund Raising Mistakes
Increasing Grantseeking Success
New & Improved PAFO Coming Soon!
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links
 
 
 
 
Increasing Your Grantseeking Success Rate:  Reading the Guidelines
As many foundations' investments are still languishing from the depressed economy, it is more important than ever to do thorough, comprehensive foundation research. Once you locate the information you need about a prospective funder, follow the guidelines exactly.
Most foundations receive many more proposals than they can fund, and a poorly prepared proposal that ignores application instructions will most likely be rejected very quickly.
 
Read the guidelines, and do just what the foundation requests.  If a foundation says they want a 3 page narrative, write 3 pages, not 4.  If they want a one paragraph summary, provide one reasonable size paragraph, not a paragraph that consumes a whole page.
If a foundation has a required cover sheet, use it - and make sure you are using the most recent version of it, not something you've had stored on your computer for several years.
 
And, one last tip:  an annual subscription to Pennsylvania Foundations Online will help you to easily and efficiently keep abreast of funders' changing guidelines and requirements.
  
A New and Improved Pennsylvania Foundations Online is Coming Soon!
 
KeyAt PA Foundations Online we are dedicated to providing the grantseeking community here in Pennsylvania the best quality information specifically designed to meet your research needs.  We are proud to announce that PA Foundations Online has been rebuilt, retooled, and will soon be better than ever! 
 
But not to worry - PA Foundations Online remains simple to use -it will just be more powerful.  New features include:
1)  expanded major interest codes that allow you to search for funders by specific programs and issues
2)  lists of search results can be downloaded into Excel for sorting and future use
3)  funders' grants lists can sorted by amount, date, grantee or major interest code - for example, this allows you to easily see how many grants a funder made to a specific interest.
 
Watch for these new features, which will be available soon!
Ready to learn what PA Foundations Online can do for you?