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In any given year, grantmaking foundations in the United States award BILLIONS of dollars to nonprofit organizations. 

If you want to increase your chances of receiving some of those funds, consider thinking of foundations as individual donor prospects.

By Jim Mellor and Brian Keel

Recently the CEO of a major charity told us: “People here are dancing in the street! They can’t believe how much funding is now available to us.”  With the passage of the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan”, YMCAs, health and human service agencies, private schools, faith-based organizations, camps, and other nonprofits have access to unprecedented funds. In addition, there were other federal stimulus plans passed in 2020 and programs like 21^st Century Grants, Head Start and others continue to be open for business.

In sailing you are always scanning the horizon looking for the ripples on the water – because that is where the wind is. That is how you set your course.  

These times are calling for aspirational thinking. With dramatic changes in our collective landscape, people are craving direction and leadership more than ever. In many cases, nonprofit boards and CEOs are needing to reinvent strategies, practices, and the very direction of their organizations.

Happy New Year! As you settle back in after the holidays, let me suggest you take a few moments to consider the “three Rs” before getting sucked into the hustle and bustle of a new year.

I’m not great at resolutions. I have great intentions, just lousy follow through. After all my years I have learned that the higher I set my sights, the less opportunity I have to succeed. So I keep expectations low and generally feel better about how things turn out. I may not be a better or healthier person, but I won’t have failed so often in my goals.

‘Thank you for getting us to the starting line and for the confidence that we are going to have a successful campaign.”

A volunteer was reflecting on the long, complex and (at times) frustrating process his organization had undertaken to determine how best to respond to community issues and opportunities.