In Season 3, Episode 11, I want to introduce you to Foundation Center! Foundation Center offers free and inexpensive resources for nonprofits looking for funding opportunities, help developing infrastructure, and opportunities to grow their network. In this episode, we chat with Alexis Flannagan, the Community Outreach Manager of Foundation Center South, about all the resources offered by this great agency.
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HERE IS THIS WEEK'S CHECKLIST:
☑️ Find the Foundation Center office or FIN most convenient to you!
If you live in New York City, Atlanta, Washington D.C., San Francisco, or Cleveland, there’s a Foundation Center office near you. If you live outside of these cities, there are over 400 FINs nationwide, and there is probably one near you. Listen to the full podcast episode to hear Alexis describe the free resources offered at Foundation Center offices and FINs for nonprofit organizations.
☑️ Before you write another grant, research the grantor.
Foundation Center’s Foundation Directory Online resource is a database of foundations which offer grants to nonprofit organizations. You can see what each foundation covers with grant monies, which organizations have been selected for those grants in the past, and even some of the grant applications which were approved. This gives you an idea of the grants you are most likely to be approved to receive so you can save time. Listen to the full podcast episode for more grant research tips.
☑️ Find sample documents on Foundation Center’s website.
If you need inspiration for your next grant application, want to see an approved 501c3 application, or have another nonprofit document you need help writing, check out the Foundation Center’s Sample Documents page. You can see other organizations’ real documents for free to help provide you with structure and content ideas.
☑️ If you’re just starting a nonprofit, check out Foundation Center’s free guiding resources.
Foundation Center can help walk you through the entire process of starting a nonprofit. They’ll also help you decide whether a nonprofit is the right direction--maybe you would be better served working as a consultant, starting a social enterprise, or doing something else in the social sector. Listen to the full podcast episode to hear Alexis describe their startup resources in detail.
☑️ Check out the Collaboration Hub.
Collaboration is great in theory, but it can be difficult to actually execute a strategic, successful collaboration project. You can read about successful collaborations in the Collaboration Hub to see what mechanisms can help begin and carry out a collaboration project.
☑️ Check out Nonprofit Jenni’s top 5 favorite free resources for nonprofits (in no particular order).
And if you need more help...
☑️ Email me and tell me what's going on at your nonprofit.
What are your current goals? What issues are you facing? Give me some background information, and we'll go from there! I never charge for an initial consultation, and I'll be honest if I can't help you. I'll also be happy to connect you with the other resources in my network who may be able to provide better advice or services for your situation.