The Beveridge Family Foundation seeks to expand its impact through philanthropic giving, impact investing, and initiating improvements in the community. We see continued threats to funding of the nonprofits who most perform the work we consider vital to our society and environment. In 2018 we launched an alternative funding strategy to assist nonprofits in learning about, planning, and implementing additional funding streams beyond traditional development.
We have partnered with the Human Service Forum on a series of workshops led by nationally-recognized consulting leaders in one of seven alternative funding strategies. These day-long workshops are designed to educate attendees and to form cohorts of similarly sized organizations that are at the same stage of planning and implementation of a particular funding strategy. The cohorts would then work with the consultant for three to six months to progress from one stage to the next in the series of learning, planning, initial implementation, and success of a strategy.
Registrations for the workshops and cohorts are managed by the Human Service Forum and there are costs to attend. The workshops are a few hundred dollars, and the cohorts vary from $2,000-$10,000.
Three workshops have been scheduled so far:
Fundraising isn't easy! And, how often do you feel like you continue to do the same things over and over again and expect different results but continue to be disappointed by falling short of the level of funding you ideally want to raise? It's time to stare your tired development plan in the face and consider an alternative approach toward sustainable funding.
- How to Conduct an Organizational Cost Savings Analysis
- 30 Nonprofit Savings Tips from Utilities to Fundraising to Tax Breaks
- Creating a Culture of "Saavy"
Funding for attendees may be solicited from any of the Pioneer Valley funding sources including the Beveridge Family Foundation, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM), and the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation.
One possible source of funding for your organization for the Alternative Funding Strategies Initiative is the Capacity Grant program offered by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM). The intent of this grant program is to provide “support for a nonprofit’s internal improvements in capability, knowledge, or resources that in turn, strengthen its organizational effectiveness to advance the organization’s missionâ€.
All interested organizations need to have a phone conversation scheduled with the CFWM program officer by August 30 to be eligible. The application deadline is September 7, 2018 at 5:00pm.
Organizations with annual operating budgets of under $2 million and based in/serving Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties are eligible to apply. Grant requests can be between $1,000 to $15,000. The grant program will pay for consultant costs, workshop costs but usually not staff time. Projects need to start on or after January 1, 2019 since funding is not retroactive.
While this is a potentially good fit for funding of Alternative Funding Strategies Initiative activities, it is important to know that this is a highly competitive grant program and participation in the Initiative does not give an organization any preference.
To view the CFWM Capacity Building Framework, schedule a phone call with a program officer, and to see more information about the grant program visit: http://communityfoundation.org/grants/capacity/.
