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The Grantsmanship Center News Articles Archive

501(c)(3): To Be or Not To Be?

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Just because an organization does good work, it doesn't necessarily qualify for tax-exempt charitable status. Nor does it have to incorporate.

501 c 3- To be or not to be.pdf
A Basic Guide to Program Evaluation

CLASSIC ARTICLE - More and more grantmakers are demanding program evaluations as a condition of funding.

A Basic Guide to Program Evaluation.pdf
Answers to Some FAQs About Program Related Investments (PRIs)

CLASSIC ARTICLE - As an alternative to grants, some foundations use a lending instrument known as the program-related investment (PRI).Here is some basic information about the kinds of activities that they support.

Answers to Some Frequently Asked Questions About PRIs.pdf
Athletes, Agents, and Image

CLASSIC ARTICLE - For superstar athletes, charitable foundations are about more than good works. They're also good business.

Athletes Agents and Image.pdf
Benchmarking

CLASSIC ARTICLE - For several decades, big business has used a management tool known as "benchmarking" to measure performance, motivate employees, and build profits.

Benchmarking.pdf
Building Grassroots Capacity

CLASSIC ARTICLE - What are the best capacity-building techniques for grassroots groups?

Building Grassroots Capacity.pdf
Business Planning for Social Enterprises

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Unlike for-profit ventures, social enterprises need a business plan that addresses both financial goals and social goals. Sutia Kim Alter describes the process of creating such a plan.

Business Planning for Social Enterprises.pdf
Charity for Profit

CLASSIC ARTICLE - In some big cities, the quickest way to make friends in high places is to make sizable contributions to elite institutions.

Charity for Profit.pdf
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Choosing the Right Event

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Many groups spend inordinate amounts of time and money producing special events, only to discover that the benefits fall far short of the effort.

Choosing the Right Event.pdf
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Collateral Matters

CLASSIC ARTICLE - For many in the nonprofit sector, borrowing carries with it an undeserved stigma-it's seen as a sign of poor management.

Collateral Matters.pdf
Connecting a Far-flung Board

CLASSIC ARTICLE - If the members of an organization's board are geographically dispersed, they may have trouble working together cohesively.

Connecting a Far-flung Board.pdf
Consortia, Coalitions and Communication

CLASSIC ARTICLE - As the nonprofit sector expands worldwide, grantmakers are combining resources, building regional networks, and promoting new forms of electronic communication among their grantees.

Consortia Coalitions and Communication.pdf
Contracts v. Grants

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Grants and contracts are sometimes confused, creating misconceptions about the obligations they entail. Veteran grants manager Henry Flood explains the difference, both legally and practically.

Contracts v Grants.pdf
Contributions and Premiums

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The IRS recently revised the regulations regarding goods and services that a charity may offer in exchange for contributions.

Contributions and Premiums.pdf
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Dealing With the Press

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Good publicity is a key to gaining support for your cause, bolstering membership, even raising more money.

Dealing with the Press.pdf
Determining Executive Compensation

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Figuring out what to pay an organization's top executive is one of the biggest challenges facing any board of directors.

Determining Executive Compensation.pdf
Direct-Mail Fundraising: Testing the Trends

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Nonprofit fundraisers have discovered a slew of new direct-response technologies, but tried-and-true techniques like direct mail still bring in the most money. Fundraising consultants Fran Jacobowitz and Kay P.

Direct Mail Fundraising.pdf
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Dos and Don'ts of Grant Proposals for Tech Funding

CLASSIC ARTICLE - As the needs of nonprofits for technology increase, so do the numbers of grant proposals for tech-related projects and equipment.

Dos and Donts Of Grant Proposals For Tech Funding.pdf
E-Advocacy: Lobbying on the Internet

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The IRS continues to weigh specific rules governing Internet advocacy by nonprofits.

E Advocacy.pdf
Employee Evaluation

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Because of the frequently intangible nature of nonprofit work, job performance can be difficult to appraise.

Employee Evaluation.pdf
Enlightened Investment or Excessive Intrusion?

Venture philanthropy is a hot topic in philanthropic circles. Is it the future of grantmaking or a passing fad? Is it born of genuine commitment to social change or the arrogance of wealthy young elites?

Enlightened Investment or Excessive Intrusion.pdf
Famous Last Words of Failed Social Entrepreneurs

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Jed Letterman's Top Ten List of Famous Last Words of Failed Social Entrepreneurs.

Famous Last Words of Failed Social Entrepreneurs.pdf
Federal Grantmaking: The Long View of History

CLASSIC ARTICLE - In creating his new Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, George W. Bush continued the practice of using federal grantmaking as an instrument of change.

Federal Grantmaking.pdf
Fundraising Readiness

CLASSIC ARTICLE - To succeed at fundraising, nonprofit organizations should start from a position of strength, not desperation. How strong is your organization?

Fundraising Readiness.pdf
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Getting and Managing a Construction Grant

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The federal government may not be as generous with construction funding as it once was, but many departments still award these grants for various purposes.

Getting and Managing a Construction Grant.pdf
Getting Credit for What You Do

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Many nonprofits have an unfounded fear of borrowing money, but the ability to borrow can help deal with unpredictable income steams, growing service demands, or outdated equipment.

Getting Credit for What You Do.pdf
Getting Major Gifts

CLASSIC ARTICLE - For most organizations, the vast majority of contributions they receive will be small, but the majority of their income will come from a few big donations.

Getting Major Gifts.pdf
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Getting the Goods: How to Acquire Donations for a Charity Auction

CLASSIC ARTICLE - How do the organizers of a charity auction go about collecting the things that bidders want?

Getting the Goods.pdf
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Global Dimensions of Nonprofit Law

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The legal treatment of charitable organizations in different countries presents a daunting challenge to international funders.

Global Dimensions of Nonprofit Law.pdf
Grantmaker Affinity Groups

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The Council on Foundations now recognizes 37 separate affinity groups, voluntary associations of grantmakers interested in specific issues and population groups.

Grantmaker Affinity Groups.pdf
Hard Data/Soft Data

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The best grant proposals don't just make assertions. They back up claims with facts. Both statistical information and anecdotal evidence lend substance to a proposal. Norton J.

Hard Data.pdf
Hiring People You Don't Like

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Most managers hire people who make them feel comfortable. According to management expert Robert I.

Hiring People You Dont Like.pdf
How to Conduct a Focus Group

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Politicians and marketers use focus groups to structure campaigns. Nonprofits can use them too--to connect with the communities they serve.

How to Conduct a Focus Group.pdf
How to Conduct a Salary Survey

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Salary surveys are a window on the job market. They show what other employers are paying their personnel, and indicate whether your own wage levels are competitive.

How to Conduct a Salary Survey.pdf
How to Make Cash Flow Projections

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Over the course of a fiscal year, many nonprofits find themselves tilting back and forth between cash deficits and cash surpluses. Accurate cash flow projection enables management to plan for either situation.

How to Make Cash Flow Projections.pdf
How to Write a Mission Statement

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Every group has a mission, but how do you distill that mission down to a single, concise paragraph? Communications expert Janel M. Radtke has some answers.

How to Write a Mission Statement.pdf
International Grantmaking Patterns and Priorities

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The explosive growth of non-governmental organizations overseas has opened up vast new opportunities for grantmakers.

International Grantmaking Patterns and Priorities.pdf
Jabberwocky Junkies

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Why are RFPs, grant proposals, and other forms of communication among philanthropic organizations littered with jargon?

Jabberwocky Junkies.pdf
Keeping Your Board Above Board

CLASSIC ARTICLE - In the wake of recent corporate scandals, Congress has imposed strict new standards for the governing boards of public companies.

Keeping Your Board Above Board.pdf
Learning to Read Financial Statements

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Balance sheets and income statements may be a mystery to the uninitiated, but board members have a duty to know what they mean. Steven Berger tells what to look for and how to make sense of the numbers.

Learning to Read Financial Statements.pdf
Legal Structures for Business Ventures

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Should a nonprofit corporation form a subsidiary when it starts a business venture? Not necessarily. Creating a subsidiary can protect the parent corporation from liability and might attract new revenue.

Legal Structures for Business Ventures.pdf
Letting Go

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Few tasks are more daunting than firing someone. Because payroll is the biggest expense for most service organizations, however, cuts in staffing are often the only way to reduce costs and ensure survival.

Letting Go.pdf
Looking for Mr. Goodboard (and Ms. Goodboard and Dr. Goodboard...)

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Recruiting good board members is a persistent challenge for community-based organizations. Grantsmanship Center trainer Judy Gooch suggests a dozen places to start looking for prospective members.

Looking for Mr Goodboard.pdf
Making Waves

CLASSIC ARTICLE - No one has exerted a more profound influence on the shape of international philanthropy than billionaire financier George Soros. Soon his vast network of activist foundations will be operating in 40 countries.

Making Waves.pdf
Managing Grants Data—The Need for System Integration

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Grants managers often find themselves struggling with two or more unintegrated software systems. Tiffy Barnett has experienced the problem first-hand, and she suggests some ways to address it.

Managing Grants Data.pdf
Managing Risks in Hiring and Firing

CLASSIC ARTICLE - No organization can insulate itself completely from employment-related risks. But written policies and a carefully drafted manual can go a long way toward minimizing those risks.

Managing Risks in Hiring and Firing.pdf
Managing the Grant
Everyone is elated! All the planning and research paid off and your organization has been awarded its first grant. Whether it’s a $500,000 grant from the US government or a $10,000 grant from a private foundation, now’s the time to lay essential groundwork to ensure grant funds will be spent and accounted for as required and that program obligations will be met. Welcome to the world of grants management.
Moving Right

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Right-wing pundits routinely complain about the left-leaning bias of major foundations, but a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy argues that conservative funders have been much mor

Moving Right.pdf
New Software Solutions— How Open Source Can Help

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Because of high prices and restrictive licenses, your organization may not be able to purchase all the software it requires.

New Software Solutions.pdf
No Mercy from the Margin Police

CLASSIC ARTICLE - When an Oregon-based agency's federal grant application was rejected solely because of a formatting glitch, the incident sparked raillery and outrage.

No Mercy from the Margin Police.pdf
Nonprofit Mergers: Is Your Organization Ready for the Road?

CLASSIC ARTICLE - In order to improve their finances,  services, or pursuit of mission, nonprofits may be tempted to merge with other, similar organizations. But the road to merger can be difficult-even dangerous.

Nonprofit Mergers- Ready.pdf
Nonprofit Mergers: Laying the Groundwork with Volunteers and Staff

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Both volunteer board members and paid employees typically feel a strong emotional attachment to the nonprofits they serve, leading them to see merger as more of a threat than an opportunity.

Nonprofit Mergers- Groundwork.pdf
One Program Officer's Candid Tips for Grantseekers

CLASSIC ARTICLE - As a program officer with the Kellogg Foundation, Dr. Joel Orosz dispensed frank advice along with grants.

One Program Officer's Candid Tips for Grantseekers.pdf
Planning a Capital Campaign for Grassroots Groups

CLASSIC ARTICLE - One of the most effective ways to raise big money is with a capital campaign. But community-based groups often lack the resources and the know-how to undertake such an ambitious enterprise.

Planning a Capital Campaign for Grassroots Groups.pdf
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Planning for Growth

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Most organizations assume that getting bigger means getting better. But if it isn't closely managed, organizational growth can actually end up diluting a nonprofit's effectiveness.

Planning for Growth.pdf
Preparing to Launch an Enterprise

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Starting an earned-income venture takes more than a good idea. It also takes careful planning. Rolfe Larson shows how to assess venture ideas and how to decide which ones are worth pursuing.

Preparing to Launch an Enterprise.pdf
Private Money for Government Agencies

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Faced with shrinking revenues, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has taken the lead in tapping private funding sources for public causes.

Private Money for Government Agencies.pdf
RAGS- Linking Local Funders

CLASSIC ARTICLE - They go by the humble acronym RAG (the one in Washington, D.C. goes by the doubly humble "WashRAG"), but regional associations of grantmakers can be a valuable resource for local nonprofits.

RAGS Linking Local Funders.pdf
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Rating and Screening Prospects

CLASSIC ARTICLE - New technologies are combining with tried-and-true techniques to improve the work of development staffs.

Rating and Screening Prospects.pdf
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Resolving Board Conflicts

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Board conflicts can present some of the most formidable challenges that a nonprofit manager must face.

Resolving Board Conflicts.pdf
Responding to a Funder's Advice

CLASSIC ARTICLES - Your agency submits a grant proposal to a longtime funder and the program officer responds with high praise. There's just one hitch-she also wants you to redefine your mission. What's a board to do?

Responding to a Funders Advice.pdf
Salary Management for Nonprofits

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Many nonprofit groups assume that because their cause is noble, their employees should be willing to work for little money.

Salary Management for Nonprofits.pdf
Selecting Fundraising Software

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Fundraising software performs a multitude of functions. And there are dozens of software packages to choose from. How do you pick the right one for your organization?

Selecting Fundraising Software.pdf
Selling Memberships

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Membership campaigns aren't just a good way to build your donor base.

Selling Memberships.pdf
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Shared Spaces

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Faced with rising rents, more and more nonprofits are scrambling for affordable office space. Multi-tenant nonprofit centers promise greater cost efficiencies and new opportunities for collaboration.

Shared Spaces.pdf
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Social Entrepreneurship: Mobilizing Resources for Success

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Unlike for-profit business owners, social entrepreneurs cannot measure the success of their efforts in financial terms alone.

Social Entrepreneurship.pdf
Some Thoughts on "Grantwriting"

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Norton J. Kiritz explains why “grantwriting” is a misnomer – and why the basis of good grant proposal writing is good planning.

Some Thoughts on Grantwriting.pdf
Strategic Budget Cutting

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Reducing your agency's budget is never simple. If you have little in the way of unjustified spending to eliminate, there are no easy targets.

Strategic Budget Cutting.pdf
Technology Planning for the Development Office

CLASSIC ARTICLE - With new technology, nonprofits are able to connect with their constituents much more effectively.

Technology Planning for the Development Office.pdf
The Challenges of Becoming a Social Purpose Enterprise

CLASSIC ARTICLE - The principles of "social entrepreneurism" have had a transforming effect on New Economy philanthropists. For the social service agencies that embrace those principles, the effects may be even more profound.

The Challenges of Becoming a Social Purpose Enterprise.pdf
The Future of Relationship Fundraising

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Few concepts have captured the imagination of development officers more completely than "relationship fundraising." But Ken Burnett, who wrote the book on the subject, calls it "just a currently fashionable piece

The Future of Relationship Fundraising.pdf
The Major Gift "Ask"

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Can small groups realistically expect to get big gifts? Grassroots fundraising expert Andy Robinson argues that contributions of $500 to $5,000 are well within reach- if you know how to ask for them.

The Major Gift Ask.pdf
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The Necessary Art of Making Amends

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Every fundraising professional knows how to write a thank-you note, but even seasoned veterans botch letters of apology.

The Necessary Art of Making Amends.pdf
Tips for Submitting E-Grant Applications

CLASSIC ARTICLE - More and more grantmakers are making it possible (and in some cases, mandatory) for proposals to be submitted electronically.

Tips for Submitting E grant applications.pdf
Understanding Indirect Costs

Learn to identify indirect costs in your organization, calculate an acceptable indirect-cost rate, and account for these when creating grant proposals.

Understanding Indirect Costs.pdf
Understanding Research Proposals

CLASSIC ARTICLE - While there are important differences between grant proposals for research and grant proposals for programs, there are also many parallels. Grantsmanship Center trainer Charles R.

Understanding Research Proposals.pdf
Using Statistics to Find the Dollars

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Statistics expert Peter B. Wylie explains how an understanding of "variables" can help you discover predictors of giving, using information that's already stored in your donor database.

Using Statistics to Find the Dollars.pdf
Weighing Options, Confronting Obstacles

CLASSIC ARTICLE - What role should the board play in planning and implementing an enterprise? Here's a list of issues to consider and roadblocks to avoid.

Weighing Options.pdf
What is a Grant Proposal?
Most staff members in nonprofit organizations define a grant proposal as a request for money. But that definition is only superficially correct. To achieve the best results for their constituents and move more surely toward their missions, nonprofits need to think of grants in a different way.
When Grantmakers Come Calling

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Grantees often view site visits with dread, but the vast majority of grantmakers have fairly benevolent motives for wanting to observe your work.

When Grantmakers Come Calling.pdf
Where Proposals Fail

CLASSIC ARTICLE - A Foundation Executive's Basic List of What to Do and Not Do When Requesting Funding. by Bill Somerville

Where Proposals Fail.pdf
Writing Proposals for Capacity Building

CLASSIC ARTICLE - Grant applications that focus on an organization's internal needs pose special challenges. Grantsmanship Center trainer Susan Chandler offers pointers for writing these proposals more effectively.

Writing Proposals for Capacity Building.pdf