After attending a National Christian Foundation banquet one year, I was encouraged by the words of one of the board members. He said, “We are all philanthropists. If you have $10 and give $1.00 to ten causes, you are a philanthropist.” Far too often our attitude about our finances paralyzes our giving and limits our potential to make a difference in the needs of this world. Individually, we will never address all the needs within our communities or around the world, but together, we have an incredible potential to impact and improve many social issues.
Not only does this truth apply to our individual giving strategies, it should also impact the way nonprofits approach grant seeking. Foundations are eager to fund projects where communities have collaborated to identify and meet the needs of their constituents. In Texas, one such collaborative effort gained recognition from the Foundation Center when five well-respected child-serving agencies and the Texas Department of Child Protective Services formed the Adoption Coalition. Their mission was to find adoptive families for children “languishing in the foster care system … especially hard-to-place teens, sibling groups, and minority children” (FoundationCenter.org). Combining efforts through this coalition, the number of annual adoptions increased from 370 to well over 700!
In 2011, the Adoption Coalition received an award of $162,500 from the Foundation Center for their innovative and effective collaborative efforts.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commissions us to spread His truth and reveal His love. Living intentionally means we become His hands and feet throughout the world. St. Teresa of Avila once said:
Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet
but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the
world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing
good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.
Development is a ministry and it is about relationship building—with donors, foundations, and within your communities. It is about partnership … teamwork … collaboration.
Consider this challenge—before approaching another foundation for funding, look around your community and see what other nonprofits are doing. Are you serving the same constituents? Could you partner in a project and seek funding to amplify outcomes? Are there proven programs or projects across the United States that are doing the work you seek to do within your community? Is their program duplicable? Call them and seek direction in how you can serve the needs of your community through their proven methods.
These are troubling times—are they not? I truly wish I were brave enough and articulate enough to walk into the groups of protesters and eloquently share collaboration in a way that would make all the difference in the world! Sadly—it seems we ALL want the same thing—partnership, alliance, teamwork, cooperation, and relationship. However, before we can achieve this, we must have understanding.
It may seem like a small thing, but before you submit another grant application, please take the time to really know and understand the foundation or donor you are seeking funding from. Remember, they too are passionate about resolving the disparities that are hurting the men, women, and children in our communities and they depend on you being the hands and feet to meet those needs—through their funding.
Just for fun, write a letter to a foundation and simply thank them for the work they do. Let them know you appreciate their challenge of disbursing funds within the guidelines set out by their Board of Directors. Just … honor them.
Thanks for dropping by,
Kathy