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Quick Tips on Grant Research, Major Gift Fund Raising and More! 
June 2011 - Vol 2 Issue 3
In This Issue
Navigating the World of Foundation and Grant Research: What does Pre-Selected Only" REALLY mean?
Asking for Major Gifts
More Quick Tips for Grant Rejections
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Welcome to the Pennsylvania Foundations Online E-newsletter.   
Our team of development experts are sharing new fund raising tips with you, along with the latest in information from Pennsylvania Foundations Online and how to maximize your grantseeking efforts.  

Navigating the World of Foundation and Grant Research: 

What Does "Pre-Selected Only" Really Mean?

Maneuvering through all the information that's available about foundations and the grants they make can seem like an overwhelming task.  That's why Pennsylvania Foundations Online is such an essential tool for any non-profit organization seeking to raise funds from foundation grants.  Quite simply, we've done a lot of the work for you!    

 

The people who research the information for each PA Foundations Online profile are highly trained professionals who understand your needs as a grant seeker.  They also know how to find and interpret the important information you need and present it clearly.  Our goal is to make your searching as efficient as possible, and not waste your time.  

 

Ø      PA Foundations Online only contains information about foundations that make grants in Pennsylvania.  Unlike other research products, we don't contain foundations that are located in Pennsylvania but never give here.  

Ø      We also don't contain foundations that are extremely small, and grant less than $500 a year. 

Ø      With few exceptions, we don't list foundations that make small grants to support only one very specific type of cause, such as high school graduates from a specific high school going on to one specific college. 

Ø      Or foundations that are really trusts and exist to provide operating support for one named organization. 

 

We want the foundations in PA Foundations Online to be useful for you, and we don't want you to be bogged down with misleading information that will just waste your time. 

 

But what about that phrase, "Does not accept unsolicited proposals," and its cousin, "only gives to pre-selected organizations" we are encountering more and more?  What do those statements really mean?  Quite simply, there is a box on the IRS 990 PF form (the tax return that private foundations are required to submit annually to the IRS) that the person completing the form can check that says "does not accept unsolicited proposals."  And these days, more and more foundations are checking that box just to reduce the amount of requests they receive. 

 

Some foundations do only give to a pre-selected list of organizations year after year.  However, at PA Foundations Online, our researchers take the time to carefully analyze whether or not that is really how the foundation does business.  If the researcher sees a sufficient quantity and variety in the grants being made from year to year, then we will provide a full profile on that foundation, including comprehensive lists of grants made in prior years.  This enables you to make a fully informed decision about approaching that funder.  

 

So, in conclusion, for the savvy grant researcher, "pre-selected only" doesn't always mean "pre-selected only" - and PA Foundations Online is the very best tool available to help you make that determination.  Happy Grant Seeking!

Asking for Major Gifts:  Tips from the Experts 

 

Check out our new "Profitable Ideas for Non-Profits" radio show!

 

Click here for our newest show, "Asking for Major Gifts," which contains a lively discussion with Corrine Sylvia and Connie Carter, two experienced major gift solicitors, about how to approach this sometimes daunting aspect of fund raising. 

The show includes tips about:

*why major gift fund raising is so important

*how to motivate, inspire and support major gift solicitors

*step by step strategies for planning, implementing and following up on the "ask"

*and much, much more! 

 

Learn from the experts the steps you can take to raise more money from major gifts!
 

More Quick Tips for Grant Rejections

 

In our last issue we listed a few sure-fire, time-tested strategies for ensuring your grant proposals will NOT be funded.  We had such positive feedback, we thought we'd share a few more time-tested strategies contributed from our readers!

 

  • If the funder didn't fund you the last time you submitted, make a few pointed comments about that and how disappointed you were. 
  • Make sure to use long run-on sentences, with lots of semi colons.  In fact, a paragraph that's just one long sentence is even better. 
  • Don't use any statistical information from independent sources to back up your needs statement.  If you do use statistics, be sure not to reference where they are from. 
  • Don't use any subheadings in your proposal.  Grant reviewers are smart enough to figure out where the subheads should be.  Besides, they might get bored if you made it too simple.  A single multipage paragraph is just fine!

 

We'd like to hear from you!  Please click here to send us other tips and strategies you've discovered. And keep on smiling!

 

 

Ready to learn ...

 what  PA Foundations Online can do for you?
 
PA Foundations Online is THE most comprehensive and affordable tool to help you raise money in Pennsylvania from foundation grants.  It's fast, powerful, and very easy to use. Visit us at PA Foundations Online to put this powerful tool to work for you!  
 
Take a 4-minute guided tour of PA Foundations Online by clicking here.

 

 
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