Blog

The Case for Evidence-Based Methods

The need for the program has been established. The organization is credible and the budget is concrete. Now we lay out the methods section. Why are we doing our work this way? Well, that’s how we’ve always done it, it’s our traditional approach.

Opening the Doors to Family Foundations

Family foundations—relatively small, usually without paid staff and often supporting only local causes—comprise the largest section of the private foundation world. Though their grants are seldom large, support from family foundations can be extremely rewarding:

Some Advice about Credibility

One of the most important elements in a persuasive proposal is the “qualifications and credentials” of the organization and its people who will actually carry out the work. It’s also one of the easiest to get wrong, or just wrong enough to derail the application. These are some of the mistakes nonprofits have made and some ways to avoid them.

7 steps to warding off the (mission) creep

The scenario may go like this: A funding source issues an announcement soliciting grant proposals. The focus of the funding source may be only marginally related to the organization's mission. Despite this, the lure of money becomes irresistible.

A Half-Century of the Five Percent Rule

In the philanthropic Dark Ages (before 1969) there was no rule that said foundations had to make any grants with their money. Congress more or less closed that loophole with the Tax Reform Act of ’69. There were complications and ambiguities, but in 1976 the “five percent payout requirement” was set in stone. It’s been the default standard for grant-making foundations ever since.

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