Episode 53: What Funders Consider Fundable

Funders don't Fund Events, Camps, Workshops. One time engagements don’t create change. Events are for visibility and are best aligned with marketing dollars. They sponsor them. Grants are for Projects/Programs that are administered over time. Funders want to see a change. If long term sustainability is your goal, you have to understand how Funders think so that you powerfully position your organization for opportunities.

LINKS:
YouTube Nonprofit Program
Google for Nonprofits
NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT: Watts-Willowbrook Music Academy

Podcast Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):

Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learned to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding, impact, and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident Philanthrepreneur Amber Wynn. 

Speaker 2 (00:26):

Good morning fam. It's your girl back once again on air sharing with you some of my insider's secrets if I have to say so myself, some really good nuggets. Today is no exception. Today I'm going to share with you What Funders Consider Fundable. And that may sound odd to you, but one of the first things that I do when I talk to a prospective client is to really try and understand what their outcomes are because as I said to you a million times, a funder's purpose is not to fund your organization. It's for them to meet their funding goals. And so my goal with helping you build out your infrastructure is to make it such that it is attractive to a funder. And a funder just doesn't fund anything. And typically what nonprofits will start out with is an event or a one-time something, and that's not fundable. There are things out there that just aren't fundable and people can't understand. I can't get a grant for it, I can't get because it's an event and there's a certain type of criteria for programs. And so today that's what we're going to talk about. I'm going to break it down; What Funders Consider Fundable. So, we're going to pause really quick for a sponsor break and we come back. We're going to jump right in. 

Speaker 3 (02:03):

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Speaker 2 (02:44):

Welcome back! You're On Air with Amber Wynn, and today we are talking about What Funders Consider Fundable. What does that mean? There are some ideas out there that just aren't fundable. It could be something that you're passionate about. It could be something that even brings a benefit to the community, but it is not fundable. So if you're struggling and you haven't been able to figure out the secret sauce, this episode may be for you. I'll just go ahead and bottom line it and say the secret is in the return on their investment. So funders don't fund events. They don't fund camps. They don't fund singular workshops. There is no long-term benefit. Those things are sponsorable, meaning they will sponsor it. There's two different types of funds. One is a grant and the purpose of a grant is to see some intrinsic change. There's going to be some change in your community. 

Speaker 2 (03:53):

You're going to actually deal with the problem and not the symptom. But then there's other things like the events and the camps and the workshops, those things, they don't bring about change. So what the funder is looking for is visibility. That's going to be marketing money. So it's important that you understand the difference because if you have an annual toy drive, a funder is not going to fund that because you're giving out toys that's not solving a problem long term, that's bringing a solution to a missing. So yes, there are kids out there in shelters and who are from low income communities who don't have toys, and so you're bringing joy, but that's not grant worthy. Now, if you had programs where you taught the kids skills or reading literacy or job skills or something, and then at the end, so you work with them for six weeks or eight weeks or 12 weeks, and at the end it just happened to culminate in Christmas and then you did a toy drive, that's different, because you spend a significant amount of time with them. 

Speaker 2 (05:10):

So them, you know what their issues are, there's an opportunity for you to change, make a long-lasting change. But if a person shows up, picks up a gift and walks away, then that's all that is. So a grant will not cover that. However, if you're giving out toys to 500 people, then perhaps maybe Coca-Cola would like to have those 500 people lay eyes on their logo to know that they're in the community and boom, you have sponsorship. So it's just important that you understand what the difference is. I have quite a few people who are like, oh, I have a basketball camp. The basketball camp is either going to be for a weekend or for a week, and they're like, oh, no, we help improve their skills over that week, yeah, but are they lasting? You know, you may get some tips and now you know how to do that formation when you're, I don't know, dunking or whatever, but it's not long lasting. 

Speaker 2 (06:09):

And so again, a camp basketball, football, soccer, that is very good for a corporate sponsorship. You can say we have over 200 families come out. We're in the community, people see us, we're there every year. That is a sponsorship opportunity. That is a marketing opportunity. Again, if you're working with schools prior to the camp and then it culminates with the camp, that's different. But if it's just a short period of time and there's no intrinsic change either with an attitude, a behavior or skill, and I mean long term, then that's not going to be grant worthy. It's important that you understand that funders are looking to justify their investment and to say, oh yeah, we gave you a hundred thousand dollars and these kids, you spent eight hours with these kids. That's not a return on their investment, right?. You got to do some long-term connecting with your clients. 

Speaker 2 (07:13):

So when we talk about funders and what's fundable, you've got to look at the funder's goal. You've got to do your research and you've got to go on their website and they'll tell you, do you have an event you want sponsored? And there's usually a portal and they'll tell you, okay, what's the date? What are you looking for? Like for an airline? Are you looking for a donation for your auction? Are you looking for a donation to service incentives? They do that, but you've got to be clear about what they do. Before you ask, I'll have someone come and say, oh, we're hosting a gala and I want to get so-and-so to sponsor. I'm like, well, so-and-so doesn’t sponsor, they do grants. What you want to do is find an organization or a company that sponsors. Now typically with corporations, they'll have both, right? They'll have that marketing side where if you want them to sponsor your gala or if you want them to sponsor an event, they have that side. 

Speaker 2 (08:14):

But then they also have a foundation where if you have a program where you're meeting with your community regularly over time, over a quarter, over six months, over a year, they have that side. It's important that you read the guidelines to find out what it is that a funder is interested in. Are they interested in writing you a grant to support a project, an ongoing project or an ongoing program, or are they interested in sponsoring, right? Either way, it's important that you understand because if you spend a lot of time writing a grant to get someone to fund an event, it's a high likelihood that it's going to be rejected because funders aren't interested in funding events or one time, oh, we're doing a workshop on etiquette, we're doing a work and it's just one workshop. And I say to them, yeah, I can't get you a grant for that. 

Speaker 2 (09:15):

And they're like, why? Our mothers work hard and they need to be pampered. They do. But what you want to do is you want to go to L'Oreal or you want to go to Massage Envy and ask them to sponsor that. That's the type of money that would fund this one time event. So just wanted to get clear with you guys, help you to understand that all things aren't for everybody and that's great, as long as you know. If you know that Pepsi is interested in sponsoring your Walkathon or your Runathon, you're not going to get a grant for that. Then you don't waste your time submitting for a grant when all of that sponsorship opportunity is right in front of you and you know what to look for and where to go. My goal is to make sure that you understand what is and what isn't and what isn't in terms of what's fundable. 

Speaker 2 (10:10):

Is an event, a one-off? You want grants to be aligned with long-term programs. That's it. That's all I got to say on that. And here's the thing, sometimes it's a challenge trying to understand what a program is. No worries, I got you. In the link I am going to, I mean in the bio, I'm going to put a link to a toolkit I have. It's called Programs Funders Love to Fund, where I walk you through the criteria for what makes up a program, like I lay it out. If you think it's an event, I show you how to turn that event into a long-term program. So in the bio, make sure you click on the link and get access to my toolkit, Programs Funders Love to Fund. And now we're going to pause, but when we come back, I have a question for Ask Amber, so I'll see you in a second. 

Speaker 4 (11:14):

Nonprofits are building a better future for everyone. Whether your organization focuses on bringing clean and safe drinking water to everyone on the planet or caring for people in your local community. Nonprofits like yours are making a difference every single day. But nonprofits also face a unique set of challenges, how to manage volunteers and operations on a limited budget, how to raise awareness about your organization and mission through storytelling and how to drive more engagement from donors to fundraise for your nonprofit. We believe that every nonprofit should be able to focus more energy on making an impact. Our mission at Google for Nonprofits is to equip nonprofits with the best of Google tools at no charge in more than 60 countries around the world. Your nonprofit can collaborate and communicate more effectively with smart, secure business apps from Google Workspace with Gmail, your nonprofit employees and volunteers can send email from your nonprofit's Custom domain teams can stay connected from different locations by using Google Meet and Chat, and you can access and collaborate on documents from anywhere.

Speaker 4 (12:42):

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Speaker 2 (13:47):

Welcome back. You're On Air with Amber. Hey! And today we are talking about what funders consider funder fundable, and it all comes down to a return on investment. This is the time of the episode where you get to ask me your pressing questions, Ask Amber. And you can leave your questions for me anywhere. You can email me at amber@amberwynn.net. You can hit me up on my social media. I have Facebook, Instagram, I have Twitter, I have LinkedIn. This question comes from Janice in San Francisco and she hit me up on LinkedIn. And her question is, what is the difference between collaboration and partnership? I am completing a grant and I don't understand the difference. Great question because there is a difference. So in a collaboration, each partner operates independently and they have complete control over their individual resources. So if I am collaborating with another organization, they have complete control over their resources. 

Speaker 2 (14:58):

We're just coming together because there's some type of missing gap in whatever it is we're delivering. So I may be working with young girls and I'm talking to them about entrepreneurship, whereas the other organization is talking to them about personal self care. They're independent, they have their own resources, but we've come together to fill that gap. That's a collaboration. So pretty much we're like equals, right? Whereas a partnership, there's a structure that's developed to oversee and manage the engagement. A partnership would be if I'm delivering a program, and then let's just say Microsoft is writing me a check. So on the flyer it would say, Amber Wynn in partnership with Microsoft, is presenting this program because they are giving me resources to deliver a program. So we're working together, but they are funding the actual project. So I say to my nonprofits when they're promoting their programs and events, make sure you acknowledge your donor by saying in partnership with, because it's a partnership, it's not a collaboration. 

Speaker 2 (16:12):

A collaboration is when you guys bring the same amount of energy resources, whereas a partnership, and that's what you want. You want partners, right? A partnership is when you're receiving resources from another organization. Great question. Great question. And if you have a question from me, reach out to me on one of my socials and let me know what question you have. Now is the time of the episode where I get to do what I love the most, which is bringing attention, visibility, and acknowledgement to the hardest working people on this continent, which are the nonprofit leaders. Today we will be putting a spotlight on Watts Willowbrook Conservatory. I don't know if you guys know it, but I am from Watts , whoo whoo representing. The Watts Willowbrook Conservatory is a music workshop program designed to transform the lives and minds of youth and underserved communities through music training and personal development. Let's take a look at Watts Willowbrook Conservatory. 

Speaker 5 (17:17):

Tonight we are heading to Watts to tell you about a community program that is enriching young lives, maestro. Ah, concerto in A minor. By the time their classes are complete, these kids in the Watts Willowbrook Conservatory and Youth Orchestra will have it nailed. The classes are free and aimed at building character, self-esteem and discipline. They're open to the public and instruments are provided at a subsidized rate, which is music to parents' ears. 

Speaker 6 (17:50):

Our community doesn't have very many choices for children. It doesn't have very many positive things going on, and it is just imperative that the kids have something to do and something that parents can afford. 

Speaker 5 (18:03):

This program was established in 2010 in partnership with Zappa, which in part helps students get music scholarships. These twice a week lessons are clearly making a difference. 

Speaker 7 (18:14):

People say that when you're playing music, you discover new parts of your brain. Also, you can make new friends. 

Speaker 8 (18:20):

I can play pretty well. I like to think so. Anyways, yeah, it's a great program. 

Speaker 9 (18:27):

I started off with the violin, but as soon as I saw my teacher, Ms. Krejci with the cello, I knew I had to have it. 

Speaker 10 (18:36):

Well, they say it takes a village to raise a child. We're part of that village. We're just one hut. But we do support the overall goal of raising beautiful, successful, healthy children. 

Speaker 5 (18:48):

All right, this session goes through March 15th. At the end individual class recitals for family and friends. 

Speaker 2 (18:56):

Watts Willowbrook Conservatory. If you are interested in supporting them, then you can reach out (626) 793-8706. Or you can email them at sapaprograms@gmail.com. Thank you Watts Willowbrook Conservatory for all that you do in the community. All right, so as we wind down, I would like for you to take a minute with me. This is Mindset Minute, and today I'm going to focus on you taking your responsibility seriously. Don't be offended when I say that because I know, you're in the community, you're doing the work, you're changing lives. When I say take your responsibility seriously, I'm saying recognize that what you've chosen to take on requires a different type of mindset, right?. There's so many people who start nonprofits for the wrong reason and then get in and realize, snap, this is a lot of work. But what they don't do is they don't shift to do the work that it takes to make a successful nonprofit. 

Speaker 2 (20:12):

And I'm saying, take your responsibility seriously, because what you do has meaning, because what you do can change lives. And if you are struggling or if you're not running your organization according to the IRS, then it's kind of futile because one, you're going to always struggle. If you don't do what you need to do, meaning, if you don't build your infrastructure, if you don't align your organization with the IRS and follow guidelines, then you're going to stay in struggle mode. And you are responsible for your community. You are responsible for changing lives. So I need you to take it seriously, meaning ,make that shift. Make that shift so where you are doing what you need to do, right? And don't half step, right? Give it your best. And when you give it your best, then you're going to see some results. I say that from a personal experience with nonprofits. 

Speaker 2 (21:12):

I'm from Watts, California, and what would happen is these organizations would come in, we'd get excited, we'd get experience, we'd get exposure, and then they'd leave. And then we're just left feeling like, what happened? We really loved that. We really enjoyed that. And it's because these individuals did not take their responsibility seriously. And so there was this spotty, I don't know, this spotty service to the organization, and sometimes we felt like they shouldn't have even come because now they got us all excited and now it's just gone away. So I am talking from personal experience, not just as a nonprofit consultant, but having been on the receiving end. Do your very best to do your very best. If you have realized that what you've been doing is just making stuff up as you go, and that's why it's been this struggle. Now that you know better, do better, because when you do better than you can really make the impact in your community that I believe you started your nonprofit to do. 

Speaker 2 (22:19):

All right, that's it for this episode, What Funders Consider Fundable. I hope you really take into consideration what I've shared with you in this episode because I also believe that it's going to help you be more efficient and more effective. You know what a Funder's looking to support, whether it's a sponsorship or it's a grant, and it's just going to make your life a whole lot easier. If you've enjoyed this show or any show you've watched, be sure to subscribe, be sure to share, like. We love those things. The algorithm loves those things. And I'm here to be of service to my community. So the more people who get to hear this information, then I hope, the more lives I get to contribute to. So thank you for listening, and we'll see you next week. 

Speaker 1 (23:09):

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.net/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.