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...our apologies for sending this out a day late. Our editor was home sick yesterday with the stomach flu (don't worry, as of now, there is NO WAY you can catch a REAL virus electronically ;>). We will resume regular Thursday publication of Rich Tips next week - the topic: Volunteer Management! PLEASE help us HELP YOU! Fill out our quick and easy online survey to help us enhance Rich Tips AND to receive a free subscription to our future online grant deadline calendars. The results of the survey will help us tailor our grants deadline calendars (and our future Rich Tips editions) to the needs of our readership. None of the information you provide will be sold or distributed. Protecting your privacy is extremely important to us. Click here to access the survey. Rich Tips is a free electronic newsletter published by Richard Male & Associates (RMA), a nonprofit consulting firm. Please send any suggestions or comments to nicolle@richardmale.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week's tips: Planning Your Special Event Almost any organization seeking to raise dollars from individual donors sooner or later realizes that it needs to have one or two special events every year. There are dozens of different types of special events, ranging from walks, runs, dinners, annual meetings, parties, etc. The key is to be very clear as to what goals you want to attain from your special events. When planning a special event, it's important to strategically CHOOSE an event that matches your goals and is appropriate for your type of organization. If you're lacking volunteers, DON'T select an event, such as a walk or run, that requires extensive volunteers. If you don't have a lot of front-end capital, don't hire an entertainer or keynote speaker that's going to cost $6,000 (unless you can get it underwritten first). If you want to attract "high level" donors, make sure you have an event that they'll get excited about and that fits into their vision of the nonprofit. Sometimes TIMING of an event is important, so if you're working with homeless women, an event around Mother's Day might hit the spot. Here are our top 10 tips for special event planning: 1. Have clearly defined goals. If you're looking for visibility make sure you have an event with movement and action such as an outdoor event or something to which the media would be attracted. If you want to bring in potential new donors, have an event that is accessible and relatively inexpensive. If you're attracting large donors, keep the event rather intimate and unique. Some events are designed for visibility, others for credibility, others to have fun, and others to make money. Your goals must be clear. 2. Organize a special events committee. It's critical to involve as many volunteers as possible to work on the special events committee. Make sure you first select the committee chair and involve them in selecting the rest of the committee — the more credibility the chair brings, the better. 3. Try to select a draw or celebrity that will attract people to attend. Consider inviting the mayor (as long as he/she is popular), famous authors who are in town already for a book signing, or a professional athlete that is an inspirational person. Some organizations have annual dinners where they honor a leader in the community that will be a draw to get all of their friends and business associates to attend the dinner. 4. Carefully develop a budget for the event that accurately reflects all of the costs and expected revenue. Try to get a large number of the costs donated such as food, venue, special "favors," wine, etc. 5. Cover as much of the front-end costs with corporate sponsorships as possible. During the past five years, philanthropic dollars have either decreased or remained essentially flat, but corporate sponsorship dollars dramatically increased. Make a list of businesses and corporations that might underwrite some of the costs of your event and approach them at least four-six months ahead of the event. Make sure you offer the company benefits in terms of visibility in the event's marketing materials and at the event. Write a nice thank-you letter to the company after the event. 6. Plan ahead. Usually, you should allow at least six months to plan an event with over 100 people. Develop a calendar with tasks listed and then look at the timelines for delivering on the tasks. 7. If you're having an event with large numbers of people ( say 300+) you might consider hiring a special event coordinator. A special event coordinator will handle all of the hundreds of details involved with a huge special event, leaving time for the leadership and the special events committee to focus on the strategic directions of the special event including recruiting volunteers and obtaining corporate sponsorships. 8. Recruit as many volunteers as possible. The more volunteers you have involved in the planning and execution of the event the more likely you will end up with a successful special event. Use your special event to engage new volunteers and deepen the understanding and commitment of existing volunteers. 9. Remember to collect email addresses of everyone that attends your events. This is the cheapest — and many times — the most effective way to keep in touch with and organize your potential and existing donors. One technique that has worked is to get a few door prizes and raffle items and ask people to give you their email addresses when signing in to win these prizes, then follow-up within a week of the event with an email thank-you. 10. Evaluate the event within two weeks after the event. Get the special event committee together for a party at a leader's living room and evaluate and critique the event. Make sure a staff member takes notes for the next special event. ------------------------------------------------------------- New Grant Opportunities The Arcus Foundation The Arcus Foundation seeks to contribute to a pluralistic society that For detailed information go to: http://www.arcusfoundation.org/ Fujifilm The goal of the Fujifilm Corporate Giving Program is to enhance the For detailed information go to: http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/AboutGiving.jsp The American Honda Foundation The American Honda Foundation supports projects in the areas of youth For detailed information go to: http://corporate.honda.com/america/philanthropy.aspx?id=ahf The Social Justice Fund of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia The Social Justice Fund of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia For detailed information go to: http://www.osfphila.org/sp/justice_peace/csr_sjgfund.html The Patagonia Environmental Grant Program The Patagonia Environmental Grant Program supports the environmental For detailed information go to: http://www.patagonia.com/enviro/enviro_grants.shtml Ralph and Eileen Swett Foundation The mission of the Ralph and Eileen Swett Foundation is to make a For detailed information go to: http://www.swettfoundation.org/ The National Forest Foundation (NFF) The National Forest Foundation (NFF) engages America in community-based
and national programs that promote the health and public enjoyment of
the 192-million-acre National Forest System, and administers private For detailed information go to: http://www.natlforests.org/consp_05_cap.html The United Methodist Church's Call to Prayer and Self-Denial Fund The United Methodist Church's Call to Prayer and Self-Denial Fund For detailed information go to: http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wdnews.cfm?articleid=2885 2005 Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP) Lead-Safe for Kids' Sake grant program The United States Conference of Mayors ( http://usmayors.org/ ) and DuPont ( http://www1.dupont.com/NASApp/dupontglobal/corp/index.jsp ) have announced the 2005 Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP) Lead-Safe for Kids' Sake grant program. For the most outstanding lead-safe strategy of 2005, CUSP will award one city the $175,000 Award of Excellence. In addition, two cities will each receive $100,000 Awards of Distinction for lead-safe best practices. The program's sponsors are especially interested in recognizing innovative and replicable lead-safe strategies and practices that leverage the winning resources. For detailed information go to: http://usmayors.org/uscm/home.asp NYFA - Building Up Infrastructure Levels for Dance (BUILD) A program of the New York Foundation for the Arts, Building Up Infrastructure Levels for Dance (BUILD) sustains New York City dance companies with small- and mid-sized budgets by offering choreographers and their dancers an opportunity to access the financial support necessary to build and maintain infrastructure and longevity. Category I ($10,000 grants) applicants must have a three-year-average budget between $16,000 and $80,000 per annum, and have performed work at least twice during the past three years. Category II ($20,000 grants) applicants must have a three-year-average budget between $81,000 and $160,000 per annum, and have produced at least three seasons of choreography with one season produced by a presenter other than the company itself. BUILD supports, but is not limited to, requests for administrative costs; consultant fees; press and/or booking agent fees; company promotional materials; studio or space rental; and computers/equipment. For detailed information go to: http://www.nyfa.org/level2.asp?id=78&fid=2 Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has announced the launch of a second LEAPS (Linked Efforts to Accelerate Parkinson's Solutions) funding effort to support ambitious research projects that will translate into new treatments or otherwise have a tangible impact on Parkinson's disease research. LEAPS are multi-year, multi-million-dollar grants awarded to "all-star" research teams focused on answering a major research question that could result in a major, practical step forward in the understanding and treatment of Parkinson's disease. Grants will be awarded based on the potential impact and scientific merit of the chosen research question, the probability of success in developing new treatments or otherwise accelerating progress in Parkinson's science, leadership, and team track record, as well as other criteria. The foundation expects to invest $10 million in the 2005 LEAPS program and will allow applicants to request funding for projects lasting up to four years. The foundation expects to award multiple grants; however, awards will be dependent on the scientific merit of the proposals received. For detailed information go to: http://www.michaeljfox.org/research/fundingopps.php?id=13
Federal Grant Opportunities (if any of the following grants sound appealing, please contact Mourene Tesler to learn more about the application procedure - mourene@richardmale.com) ------------------------------- Public Awareness in Underserved Communities Closing Date: April 14, 2005 Amount: Up to 10 awards will be given ranging from $25,000-75,000. Larger awards will go to urban areas demonstrating high levels of need. Eligible Applicants: non-profit organizations, including faith- and community-based organizations, and public agencies Agency/Department: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs SUMMARY: The purpose of the cooperative agreement is to support the planning and development of victimization-focused public awareness campaigns designed to reach populations in the local community who are typically underserved due to recent immigrant status or limited English proficiency. Victim service organizations will work in partnership with ethnic media (radio, print, television) as well as faith- and/or community-based organizations to produce linguistically and culturally appropriate public awareness campaigns on one or more victimization issues. OVC invites applications from non-profit organizations, including faith- and community-based organizations, and public agencies that can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the victimization issue or issues to be highlighted in the public awareness campaign as well as experience in the provision of victim services and advocacy. A private non-profit organization does not need to have 501(c)3 status to apply for grant funding under this solicitation. The project should focus on disseminating information on victims' rights and services, not on crime prevention efforts. Listed in: For detailed information go to: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/guidelinesinfo.htm ---------- Workforce Investment Act--Small Grassroots Organizations Connecting With the One-Stop Delivery System Closing Date: April 28, 2005 Amount: $1,000,000 Eligible Applicants: For purposes of this announcement, eligible grassroots organizations must be non-profit organizations which: Have social services as a major part of their mission; Are headquartered in the local community to which they provide these services; (a) Have a social services budget of $350,000 or less, or (b) Have 6 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. Agency/Department: DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announces the availability of $1,000,000 to award grants to eligible ``grassroots'' organizations with the ability to connect to the local One-Stop delivery system. Listed in: Federal Register: March 25, 2005 Volume 70, Number 57 Page 15353-15367 For detailed information go to: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-5907.htm
Other Announcements The Art of Asking: How to Clinch the Major Gift ``````````````````````````````````` Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training for those working in poverty and homelessness, presented by the HealthBridge Alliance. This innovative and interactive experience trains caregivers in skills to cope with the personal stresses of their work to reduce burnout and turnover. April 19-21 at the Foss Conference Center in the foothills of Jefferson County. The normal cost of the training is $340, but we are offering this training for the special low-rate of only $35 per person. Please contact Dace West at (720) 934-1066 or daceschlue@aol.com for more information. ``````````````````````````````````` Mobilizing Resources for Your Organization: Strategies to Succeed in the Current Economic Climate, May 24-26 in beautiful Missoula, Montana. IF YOU THINK your organization is forever doomed to dependency on public dollars, join us for this one-day seminar to separate the myth from the reality of fund-raising. There IS money your organization is eligible for and there are 'smart' ways to find, secure, and administer it. Richard Male will be joined by a panel of diverse funders who will tell you what gets their attention and what puts them off when approached for money. MOVING TOWARD LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SUCCESS is a challenge for any nonprofit organization in today's economic climate. Small, relatively unknown organizations such as many CILs and SILCs, face even greater hurdles. Fortunately, there are tremendous opportunities to leverage public and private resources, including funding for advocacy, if you know where to look and how to proceed. This seminar will give you the tools to do just that through a step-by-step approach to planning, implementing, and succeeding in resource development. LEARN HOW TO • Capitalize on current funding trends among private foundations, corporations, government, religious funders, philanthropic trusts, and individuals • Identify fundraising approaches compatible with your organization and local situation • Establish relationships with funders before asking for money • Ask for money in ways that make it clear who you are and what you would use the funding for • Stay true to the mission and philosophy while fostering growth ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Free Internet Services to Nonprofits! Grassroots.org is a nonprofit organization working to change the world ```````````````````````````````````````````
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