I want to thank all of the small businesses out there who are willing to take risks, work hard, make sacrifices, and do what so many other people are not willing to do.

I have been self-employed most of my life. When I did work for someone else I worked in small business in management positions.

I started working when I was 11 years old delivering PennySavers (weekly Newspaper) in NY. When I was 12 I added a Daily News route (daily, morning delivery) and then a Daily News (daily, afternoon delivery) route a few months later.

By the time I was 14 I was working as a dishwasher in a restaurant and when I was 15 I started FT work doing HVAC work having already dropped out of school.

When I was 18 I helped start an indoor amusement park and was the senior facility manager. At this point I went and got my G.E.D.

When I was 22 I started a cleaning and window cleaning business while I was going to college for my Associates Degree.

After college I ran several nonprofit agencies and the Program Director and then the Executive Director before starting my own Consulting Company in February of 2000 when I was 29 years old. This business now has several staff members and has served clients all over the United States and in about 20 foreign countries. I have a 2nd business investing in real estate as a partnership with my brother. I am responsible for raising my paycheck as well as those of my staff. I am responsible for my own retirement, my own health benefits, and any other benefits. FULL POST

Why are some nonprofit organizations having an easier time raising money than others?In this Movie Mondays video, Mark Hurtubise talks about what donors are looking for before investing their philanthropic dollars in a nonprofit organization. Mark is the President & CEO of the Inland NW Community Foundation, so not only does his organization look for certain things before investing in an organization, he also represents donors and what they want to see in an organization before making any donations.

VIDEO: What donors are looking for in your nonprofit

Some of the key insights from the video include:

“No longer can the vocabulary be around, we need. Because everybody needs.”

The question is…

• “Do you have a strategic plan?”
• “Do you board members donate? If they don’t donate why would we?”
• “Are there measured outcomes?”

It has become so competitive, that organizations that have the strategic plan, that have measured outcomes, and that show the board is involved will have a much better chance of securing a donation. Donors today see themselves as investors and they are investing NOT in improving your organization but in improving people’s lives. FULL POST

The Giving Pledge is a non-binding agreement initiated by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage the 1,000 billionaires to give generously at some point in their life or after death. So, what does The Giving Pledge mean to the nonprofit world and to your particular nonprofit specifically?

In a word, nothing.

The pledge, according to its website, "is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy."

To date, 57 billionaires in the U.S. have signed the pledge and agreed to give 50 percent or more of their wealth to charity. The pledge states that the donation can happen while the individual is alive or after the death of the donor and is not in any way a legal contract. It is really more of a friendly agreement.

I know I sound terribly cynical. I am not saying that the pledge is a bad idea, that billionaires should not decide to give, or that people should not sign the pledge. I am saying that it really will not have any great impact on giving in general and will have an even lesser impact on your particular charity.

The Giving Pledge impact on giving FULL POST

Most foundations are small and are run with little or no paid staff. They are often created by philanthropic individuals or families who have little experience in formalized philanthropy. Often, this lack of experience leads to a disorganized approach when the foundation begins to accept funding requests from charities. A helpful way to have an organized and more strategic approach is to issue a formal Request For Proposals (RFP) that applicants then respond to by providing specific and detailed information. In this way the foundation is more likely to receive the same information from each charity and can evaluate these applicants fairly. The template below can be helpful in understanding what to include in the RFP and how the RFP can be structured for maximum efficiency.

Foundation RFP Template

Background information about the foundation and the foundation's mission

The name of the foundation, founder, address and contact information, mission, and year founded, etc.

Goals of the foundation's funding program

What are the goals of this particular grant program? Is this particular RFP focused on specific types of projects or is it a more open application process? Is there a specific problem or concern that the foundation is addressing? Are grantees expected to participate in a foundation sponsored assessment or evaluation? FULL POST

Here-4-You Grant Consulting would like to announce the availability of federal government grant programs that may be applicable to your organization.

In 2010, we secured 5 out of 6 (86% success rate) federal grants submitted to the Drug-Free Communities Support Program and the DFC Mentoring Program awarding over $600,000 for each grant. Over the years we have secured this grant 12 out of the 14 times we applied.

Here-4-You Grant Consulting can help you understand this different programs, evaluate if it is appropriate for your organization, and apply to secure these funds for your coalition. 

However, because of the stringent requirements and demanding nature of this application, we will only accept FIVE clients for the 2011 grant cycle.

Contact us today at 540-635-3518 to see how we can help!

Successful Drug-Free Community Program and DFC Mentoring Program grantees are awarded up to $125,000 per year for up to 5 years. Over 150 Grants were awarded in 2010!

This is a Federal Grant Program with very specific requirements and expectations. You will only get this one opportunity to get this right and secure over $600,000 in funding for your organization.

If you review my experience you will see that I am not just a successful grant writer. FULL POST

Just recently, I was discussing grant writing services with a potential client.  When I told him how much he would need to invest in the first year he said, “if I had $10,000 I would not need grant funding.”

What a silly thing to say.  That would be like an unemployed person saying, “if I had $10,000 I would not need a job.”

Of course he would still need a job and of course the struggling nonprofit would still need funding even if they had a little money in the bank.

What we are essentially referring to is cash-flow management. It is common sense that when expenses exceed income, an organization is going to find itself in trouble. Due to the nature of nonprofit revenue sources, however, even if income matches expenses, the cash may not arrive in time to pay the bills.

Similarly, I hear many nonprofits say, “we do not need grant funding right now, but when we do we will give you a call.” 

Again, that is just silly!

The Alliance for Nonprofit Management website puts it this way: “a cash shortage can be very disruptive to your ability to carry out your mission. To avoid disruptions of business or to take advantage of temporary cash surpluses, cash flow can and should be projected, monitored, and controlled.” FULL POST

An end of the year survey conducted in October 2010 finds the nonprofit funding drop off experienced in 2008 and 2009 may be leveling. Whereas 51 percent of survey responders experienced decreased funding in 2009, only 37 percent reported a decrease in funding in 2010.

In 2006 and 2007, before the economic downturn, the amount of respondents reporting decline in contributions was below 20 percent. This year, almost the same proportion of respondents reported experiencing an increase (36 percent) as respondents experiencing decrease (37 percent).

This likely means that the worst is over for the nonprofit sector, though only time will tell for sure. The Nonprofit Research Collaborative conducted the survey online between October 19 and November 3, 2010, polling 2,356 public charities and 163 private foundations.

The survey divides respondents into eight subcategories based upon the type of service the organization provides. The eight subcategories are: Arts, Education, Environment/Animals, Health, Human Services, International, Public-Society benefit and Religion.

In four of the eight subcategories, Arts, Education, Environment/Animals and Human Services, the percentage of respondents experiencing increase and the percentage experiencing decrease are nearly equal. FULL POST

Report finds grantseeking still a functioning source of revenue for nonprofits in 2010

In an October 2010 report released by GrantStation and Philantech, researchers find that grantseekers who actively pursue grants, even in the aftermath of the recession, have a high success rate. The conclusion is based on an online survey in which 839 nonprofits responded.

The online survey succeeds research done by Guidestar and The Chronicle of Giving, which found foundation giving likely to decrease or stagnate in 2010. This report confirms the foundation climate, finding that 42 percent of survey respondents received smaller grants in the first six months of 2010 than they did in the first six months of 2009.

In light of the decline in foundation funding, researchers attempt to assess actual nonprofit grantseeking success. From Aug. 7 to Sept. 7, 2010, researchers gathered data from nonprofit organizations focusing on education, arts, culture and humanities, human services, and social services.

The majority of survey respondents are small to midsize organizations and over half have budgets under $1 million. Though most nonprofits do not receive all of their funding from grants, the survey did not ask about non-grant funding sources. FULL POST

Last night the grantees were announced for the Drug-Free Communities Support Program.

Here-4-You Christian Grant Consulting was successful in securing FIVE out of the SIX grants on which we worked. We secured all THREE of the grants that were fully written and developed by Here-4-You Christian Grant Consulting and TWO of the THREE proposals on which we consulted. The clients we consulted with received an easy-to-follow outline for writing the grant, a comprehensive review of the proposal, and scoring of the application using the same scoring system used by the Drug-Free Communities Support Program.

This brings our success rate with the DFC Program to 12 out of 14 or 86%.

We normally do not announce when we are successful at securing grants. We do not want to be boastful and, Lord knows, there are many grants that we are not successful in securing. However, knowing how competitive this year’s DFC funding program was going to be, we are particularly proud of our ongoing success with this federal grant program.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) directs the Drug Free Communities Support Program in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This anti-drug program provides grants of up to $125,000 per year for 5 years ($625,000 total) to community coalitions that mobilize their communities to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug, and inhalant abuse. FULL POST