Search Results

This blog post is a collaboration of the entire Ostara team. Part two to our “Navigating Your Fundraising Season Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak” series. Click here to view our first post. We are navigating uncharted waters. Many of you are making difficult choices, working exhausting, long days and facing futures of uncertainty. But you are not alone. The nonprofit sector is a resilient collective of individuals and organizations dedicated to the promise of possibility and potential. We stand with you in this vision and are committed to working alongside you to weather this storm and shape a new world that works for all of us.As we look to that future, the nonprofit sector must be included in COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts. Please take a moment to add your voice to Washington Nonprofits’ joint letter to Washington State elected officials demanding the inclusion of nonprofits in these efforts. As we process constantly evolving information, we are rapidly considering how we continue fundraising and plan for uncertainty. If you haven’t yet, now is the time to reach out to the funders who are accountable to you and your communities. Here are three steps to consider when approaching institutional funders for emergency unrestricted funding. Step 1: Describe the Problem Consider your current situation: calculate the amount of funding needed and the potential impact to your program if it is not received so that you can clearly communicate this to the funder. How has your service delivery been impacted by COVID-19? Explain why your work in the community, bringing people together in this way is valuable and needed. If you have an annual event that will be canceled or postponed, how much does this event typically raise? How will your revenue generation or community-building efforts be impacted by the loss of this revenue? What impact will this have on the communities serve? Your staff? Is there an increased need for your services given the rapid economic downturn? Be honest about the scope of the need, maintain a clear and direct tone and center the safety and well-being of your community at this time. Step 2: Describe the Solution Outline steps you are taking to adapt to the current situation in order to continue providing essential services to your community or in some cases, address the increased demand for services. Share any immediate results you are noticing from making these changes. Make sure your funders know you are exhausting every strategy to address your financial situation at this time above and beyond this ask – a targeted appeal to your donors, applying for public assistance like small business relief available through the recently approved CARES Act, a virtual event, making budget modifications, etc. Demonstrate that the board and leadership of your organization are in conversation and making decisions together. Provide details about how you will continue to make informed decisions based on credible sources that ensure your community stays safe and informed. It can feel like there are no good answers right now – be vulnerable and honest about what you are experiencing. It is important, arguably now more than ever, that funders hear and deeply understand the truth of their grantees’ circumstances and the immediate and downstream impacts this will have on our communities. Do your best to maintain a forward-looking tone – remind the funder that healthy communities are interdependent, and we must work together now to mitigate the impact of this crisis on our long-term collective well-being. Even if you are not an organization providing basic needs support to our communities right now, if your mission was important prior to COVID-19, it still is. Restate the importance of your work and mission — now and into the future. Step 3: Make Your Ask If this is a long-time funder, your relationship is the foundation for making an emergency appeal. Share context about your relationship and the impact their funding has made over time. Remind them that their investments have led you to this point, and your organization’s sustainability and impact are contingent on continued investment right now. If the funder is a new funder, communicate your shared vision for the community and their role in urgently investing in your work at this critical time. For example, with schools closed, education organizations have shifted their programming dramatically and rapidly. “We have an immediate need for extra costs to pivot how we implement programming overnight. These include new costs for technology, distance learning, and distributing supplies to students from families all over the county experiencing financial hardship. Our long-time partners are more important than ever as we work to sustain our core mission: the nurturing and success of our youth. We are asking for a one-time emergency contribution of $20,000 to ensure we remain a hub of quality care and learning in this community now and in the years to come.” Organizations providing basic needs support may be operating with fewer resources than normal while navigating an increased demand for services. “As COVID-19 takes its initial financial toll, we have assessed that the current rate of need in our community will require an additional $20,000 by June – $5,000 monthly – to ensure our neighbors maintain stable housing and avoid homelessness. A grant of $20,000 will enable us to continue this elevated response to the impact of the economic downturn on so many lives. Never before has the need for this funding felt more urgent, nor has the financial distress been so widely distributed across people struggling to keep their homes, health, and dignity intact. As historic inequities become ever more acute in the wake of COVID-19, your support at this time has the potential to uplift the trajectories of thousands of neighbors in our community.” The bottom line is – reach out, be vulnerable, be bold and be transparent. You alone are not accountable for the well-being of your community; our funders are accountable as well. We must make the same ask of them that we have made of each other – to stand with us in solidarity. For more tips on writing a special appeal, check out our last blog post linked here. We are here for you and we will walk with you as you navigate this situation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to discuss how to shift your fundraising event plans, how to respond to funder inquiries about programs and services, how to manage remote work for your teams, or to navigate fears with donors or volunteers. We’re here to connect.

This blog post is a collaboration of the entire Ostara team. The COVID-19 virus has been top of mind for many Washingtonians and nonprofit leaders these past few weeks. With the continued spread of the virus in Washington State, we know that nonprofit leaders are struggling to figure out how to respond. Your organization may have questions surrounding the impact this may have on your upcoming events, programming, and fundraising. Should we cancel or postpone our annual event? How might this affect our ability to deliver services in the next 3-6 months? What other ways can we engage donors and build community? Leading Your Team Through Stressful Times We often find ourselves filled with worry during stressful times, and look to our leaders for their support. If you are one of these leaders, here are a few tips you might find helpful: Stay informed and connected. Pay close attention to city and county public health regulations and make decisions accordingly. Think about maximizing the telecommuting options for your staff and consider moving in-person meetings to over the phone or a videoconference platform such as Zoom or Google Hangouts. (Public Health Seattle-King County COVIS-19 webpage & Public Health Insider blog) It’s all about your tone. As a leader, you are responsible for creating an environment that prioritizes safety, minimizes stress, and enables your team to stay motivated. Be aware of how your tone might affect your team. Rather than fueling fear or making reactive decisions, focus on protecting your community and the people who are at a higher risk. Speak out on behalf of others, even if it may feel uncomfortable. Asian communities and businesses across the country are experiencing a decrease in customers because of stigmatization due to the COVID-19 outbreak. News outlets are contributing to anti-Asian discrimination with their careless choice of stock images perpetuating harmful narratives. With the growing concern of xenophobia, it’s important to speak to your team about implicit bias and think about how your organization is telling the story of COVID-19. Are you inadvertently perpetuating harmful narratives? To help combat implicit bias please share these resources with your team: King County’s community statement and their anti-stigma resources (complete with downloadable posters and social media kit). And please continue to support Asian-owned businesses in your community. Asian-Americans aren’t the only community experiencing discrimination right now. Be mindful of the ableism and ageism that might be taking place around you. If there are any medically vulnerable people in your life or at your workplace, offer to help them with a small errand and ask what other ways you could help. Help others stay healthy by washing your hands often and thoroughly, and think about what impact you might have on others before you post comparisons of the virus to the flu. Make decisions together. Work with the board and leadership of your organization and start having conversations on how to proceed with the questions you might have. Start by going through the facts of the situation together and discuss the pros and cons of each decision. Making decisions together will help strengthen your choice and help your team feel confident. Restate the importance of your work and mission. During stressful situations like this, don’t forget to remind yourself and your team of the reasons why they are doing the things they do. Navigating Your Fundraising Events If you are concerned about event attendance, engagement, and community safety, consider postponing your event or moving it online. Talk with your team and get clarity on the logistics of your existing events. Can you move the date? If so, what fees might you face and can you recoup those costs? One way to move your event online is to host a live stream. Instead of canceling their event altogether, ArtCorps will now be hosting an NPR inspired “Tiny Desk” live stream that will include their planned performances. Intersections Festival is another organization that decided to move their giving party online. Rather than gathering in-person over the weekend, donors had the opportunity to send their donations via a check in the mail or online with Venmo or PayPal. Other organizations are starting to move their workshops to online webinars and using social media as a way to stay engaged with their audience. There is another strategy, albeit a bold one; simply do not have the event, now or in the future. Not all organizations are made the same, and therefore we cannot think that the same thing for one organization will work for another. What if we took the strategic approach of creating multiple unique engagement experiences for our constituents? What if we worked each week, using 1:1 meetings or small group settings to create deeper and more authentic relationships? Holding small gatherings at a board member’s home, or opening the doors of your office for an open house, gives donors the opportunity to meet the people that push their favorite organizations’ mission forward. You can attempt to make your fundraising goal within a couple of hours, or spread it out over the two thousand and eighty hours across a year. For more information on how to navigate your fundraising events amid the COVID-19 outbreak, sign-up for this upcoming webinar hosted by Ariel Glassman and Talia Silveri Wright and see our most recent webinar in collaboration with Washington Nonprofits linked here. Engaging Your Donors We know this situation affects service delivery as well as fundraising overall. Should your organization be facing a loss in funding due to event cancellation or a lack of earned revenue, there is opportunity to thoughtfully request responsive funding from both individuals and institutions. Here are a few thoughts that can inform a strategy for approaching your public, private, and corporate institutional funders: Calculate the amount of funding needed. Before you reach out to anyone for emergency funding, calculate the amount needed and the potential impact on your program if you do not receive it. Be sure to clearly communicate this when you go to write your request or talking points. Look at your existing list of funders. Go through each contact and reflect on whether they fall into the “yes, no, or maybe” category when it comes to possibly receive an emergency grant. This can be based on your relationship, what you know of the funder’s restrictions or the longevity of your existing funding relationship. Articulate the value of the partnership. With your list of funders that you have placed in the “yes” category, create a targeted appeal for each program officer. Be sure to articulate the value of your partnership by sharing the value and the history of the relationship. Consider the best way to communicate your request. Consider who on your team is best positioned to reach out to the funder. Remember that this is an invitation and should be framed as such – strive to leave the door open for future conversations. Make sure that your board and leadership are on the same page about an institutional funding strategy and this request in particular. In terms of individual and major gift strategies, here are a few ideas: Set up a challenge pool. Engage the board and close donors who like to “leverage” their giving to inspire others to give. Re-share your development plan and fundraising goals.  Remind your board and development committee of your original plan and goals. Highlight which funding is potentially at risk and how the board can help mitigate a shortfall. Ask them to help you brainstorm ideas/strategies together if you find it difficult to think of ideas on your own. If you host a fundraising event in the spring, ask board members, event committee members, table captains, and other key volunteers to make strategic requests for support from would-be guests. If they are requests for specific purposes, be sure to include overhead costs in your ask amounts. Be clear and transparent about what you’re asking for, and why you’re asking. Create personalized updates. Share with major donors about what you’re doing to support the community at large during this time. How are you supporting your core audiences? How are you supporting the sector? How are you ensuring the safety of your staff? How can donors play a role in this? Don’t forget to ask how donors are managing stress/anxiety/health during this time. Now is the time to center humanity in our relationship building. Tie the challenges at your organization to the overall issues facing the entire community, and share ways donors can partner with your organization to get us through. If you don’t normally ask for donations during this time of year, don’t ask for it. Leave room/space for other organizations for whom spring is their major fundraising season. Here’s a fun exercise: Fundraising best practices are all grounded in relationships – both sets of these strategies can be helpful to consider for institutional and individual giving. Try flipping the ideas listed above. Apply the institutional ideas to your individual giving approaches and vice versa. Even in extreme times, best practices are responsive to your own context and often come down to people working together, encouraging honesty, kindness, and adaptability. We are here for you and we will walk with you as you navigate this situation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to discuss how to shift your fundraising event plans, how to respond to funder inquiries about programs and services, how to manage remote work for your teams, or to navigate fears with donors or volunteers. We’re here to connect.

As nonprofit professionals, we know that our work depends on strong relationships—relationships with the people we serve, our staff and volunteer colleagues, and our donors. We know that taking the time to recognize and appreciate each other builds an organizational culture where people want to seek services, work, volunteer, and give. Yet, the crushing pace and urgency of our work in organizations means that we abandon what we know is important to survive the day of addressing urgent whack-a-mole issues. This is not unlike the good intentions in our romantic relationships. We know we should take the time to really listen and deeply know each other. This sounds great until work, family, health conditions, or—let’s be honest—social media sucks every scrap of good intention from our being. Luckily for couples—and nonprofits—in the Northwest and beyond, we can draw on the wisdom of Seattle-based Drs. John and Julie Gottman, international experts in relationships and founders of the Gottman Institute. One of the core elements of their Sound Relationship House Theory developed for couples is “Turn Towards Instead of Away.” The Gottmans say the small moments of everyday life are the building blocks of relationships. Even if we can’t carve out huge swaths of time in our schedule to focus on our key relationships, we can do it in the middle of our chaos. So, how do we connect with the core people who power our mission—despite the craziness of everyday life in our organizations?  In the spirit of Valentine’s Day and channeling the Gottmans, here are four ways you can weave together relationship-building and the small moments of your organization’s life—with little additional time and financial investment. Four Moments to Turn Towards Your Clients, Volunteers, Donors, and Staff Small, but Mighty Decisions: We often reserve seeking feedback for the big chapters in an organization’s life (leadership transition, strategic planning, campaigns, etc.). While you don’t need to ask everyone about every minor decision (like the brand of bottled water available in the break room), you can identify small, but mighty decisions that will empower the people closest to you. Examples include inviting clients to pick the paint color that will make them feel most comfortable in the reception area or sending a survey to donors about their communication preferences. Every day, but Extraordinary Experiences: Don’t have time to plan a separate stewardship event? Invite donors to observe the everyday life of your organization with a behind-the-scenes tour (sit in the orchestra pit during rehearsal or observe deliveries in the food bank warehouse). The daily grind that you find to be ordinary can be extraordinary for others to glimpse. Is your mission one that is “hard to access” (geographically distant or sensitive work)? No problem. You can capture raw cellphone footage on a site visit or gather objects that tell powerful stories (like client artwork or letters) to share with donors wherever you can meet them. Bite-Size Volunteer Tasks: While some people find it hard to commit to significant, ongoing volunteer commitments, it’s hard to say no to a short-term, simple task. Do your vans need a wash or thank you letters need to be signed by a live human? You can develop a running list of bite-size volunteer tasks that volunteers and donors could accomplish in an afternoon. Their sense of completion and accomplishment may prompt them to ask for more. Celebrate the Little Things: Build moments of celebration and appreciation into every meeting or organization gathering for staff, clients, volunteers, and donors. It only takes a moment to recognize the small and big ways specific people have contributed time, energy, expertise, or money. This makes everyone feel seen and appreciated. In all these ordinary, but meaningful moments, you are deepening your relationships and building more widespread ownership of the organization. The goal is that any additional time these moments occupy on your calendar, it’s an investment in drawing more people into your organization to further your mission. At the end of the day, if the people who power your mission are happy and take responsibility alongside you, your load will lighten. Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about building key stakeholder relationships. We’re here to connect.

Fundraisers often describe their career as accidental; a desire to impact the community is often the clear motivation for the career – rather than the draw to fundraising itself. I find that many people with fundraising responsibilities fear fundraising or feel they don’t know how to do it.When I partner with organizations on development assessments (in-depth evaluations of your organization’s challenges and opportunities in fundraising), I hear similar views, fears, and uncertainties about fundraising data. Fundraisers don’t often feel they have the skills in database management or data analysis, or they just plain don’t enjoy these responsibilities.Whether you like it or not, organizations need fundraising data more than ever to succeed in engaging donors and accomplishing their missions. As I look into my crystal ball for the 2020s, I see fundraising taking center stage in nonprofit strategy, with fundraising data as a crucial driver of innovation and success.There are two key norms that you can incorporate into your organization’s culture to elevate data as part of your fundraising strategy this year. Norm #1: There is no such thing as “data people.” Barriers: Data work often falls to administrative or junior staff. These “data people” are tasked with entering data into your database or pulling reports with little to no guidance. In nonprofits, we don’t often have overarching strategies for data, so “data people” do their best to complete seemingly random tasks, using common sense and organizational skills but without the benefit of a bigger picture. When your “data person” leaves, the rest of the department or organization panics because no one else knows how to operate the database or reports. One of two things typically happens from here: either someone is tasked with reinventing the wheel in whatever way makes sense to them, or data collection atrophies for a period of time, to the detriment of your fundraising planning and strategy. Remedies: Articulate your fundraising data strategy. Take the time to discuss and document the ways data supports or drives your fundraising strategy using questions like the following: What are our organizational and fund development goals, and how can our fundraising data help measure our progress toward these goals? What information does the organization need to collect, monitor, and report? Who are our audiences for fundraising data? How often and in what format do we communicate our fundraising data to these audiences? Define everyone’s role in data strategy for every job description that touches fundraising. This helps to underscore a bigger attitude that data is everyone’s job. Even if you have progressed beyond data entry in your role as Development Director or Executive Director, you still need to own critical pieces of the overall data strategy for the organization. Build ownership of fundraising data at all levels. I know this will be an unpopular opinion: everyone who owns a piece of your organization’s fundraising should know how to do basic functions related to fundraising data (input data, search for data, pull data). It’s not the best use of time for an executive director to do these tasks, but they should understand how the system works so they can make realistic decisions about the organization’s data strategy, as well as support critical onboarding and expectation setting. You can also build ownership of data by documenting data-related policies and procedures, and leading ongoing training about your fundraising data strategy and systems for staff and key volunteers. Norm #2: Data is not perfect; look for the story behind your fundraising numbers. Barriers:Some organizations believe that analyzing fundraising data alone will lead to magical answers about how they should operate in the future. Unfortunately, data alone is not useful without greater context. The details behind the numbers matter more than the numbers themselves; they reflect the relationships you hold with your donors.For example, if you look at your total fundraising revenue from the past few years and notice a downward trend, you might conclude that you need to shift your fundraising strategies. Yet, if you consider that you lost a few key staff and your events were hit hard by a local factory closure (your major event sponsor), you realize there’s more to the story. Conversely, if last year’s fundraising revenue shows a 50 percent increase over the previous year, it may reflect a one-time bequest, federal grant, or other source that cannot be repeated in subsequent years. Data analysis plays directly into your ability to set and achieve goals, and to prioritize retention and cross-departmental collaboration.If you or your board evaluates fundraising success simply by comparing the contributed revenue budget lines year-over-year, you are not alone. However, this is a missed opportunity to understand the true factors that go into fundraising and relationship building. A more nuanced look at fundraising data can bring to light important questions and reflections to help with planning for the future. Remedies: Share fundraising data points only with context. For Board, executive leadership, or funder reports, take the time to share written or verbal context that explains the numbers. Whenever possible, share data points alongside revenue that highlight fundraising activity such as the number of donor cultivation meetings or the number of first-time donors. Prioritize conversation and reflection. Discuss the data among your team so that everyone involved in data entry and analysis understands the role they play as well as the roles of others involved in the process. Do you have more questions about fundraising data? Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear from you! Connect with us here.

The new year often invokes enthusiasm for a fresh start and renewed commitment to personal and professional improvement. Whether a strategic plan or development plan, there is great opportunity for your organization to plot their course for the coming year.During my decades working with organizations ranging from big universities to small grassroots organizations, I have encountered many that operate without a strategic plan and/or resource development plan. They make it up as they go.Often, these organizations feel using their scarce time or resources to plan is a luxury they cannot afford. I’ve always felt that an organization cannot afford not to invest in planning. Think of your fiscal year like a journey. The organization with a strategic plan and development plan starts their expedition with a clear map that details the ultimate destination (strategic plan) and the specific path of how to get there (resource development plan). It tells them where to avoid the quicksand and desert. They make efficient use of their provisions because they don’t have to waste time and resources finding the best path.On the flipside, the organization without a strategic plan or development plan sets out into the wilderness without a sense of their ultimate destination or their path. They burn resources trying different ways forward, but ultimately find themselves lost midway through the journey. They discard the grand visions in favor of surviving the year.You might be thinking “Of course in a perfect world we would have a both, but that’s not realistic all at once for my organization.”So, how do you decide where to start? Here are some of the frequently asked questions among our clients about strategic plans and/or development plans. Strategic and Development Plans FAQs Question: What’s the difference between a strategic plan and a development plan? Answer: A strategic plan defines what success means for your organization and the best ways to advance the mission. It outlines the organization’s intended impact in the community based on an assessment of operational and programmatic resources and external opportunities.   A development plan operationalizes the philanthropic resources (time, talent, and treasure) needed to accomplish the objectives in a strategic plan. Practically, it articulates measurable goals (Ex: Expand our donor base), development objectives (Ex: Cultivate 20 new major donors), and development strategies (Ex: Implement face-to-face solicitations). Question: How often should our organization undertake a strategic planning or development planning process?  Answer: A deep strategic planning process may take place every three or so years, but strategic plans are most relevant when they are refreshed at least annually to reflect the shifting internal and external environments. Development plans work best when they are aligned with the same time period as the strategic plan, with more detailed annual plans based on last year’s results and this year’s goals. Question: How do strategic plans and development plans work together? Answer: It’s easiest to answer this question by thinking about the absence of one or the other. Without a strategic plan, a development plan lays out tactics without a bigger vision or understanding of whether the strategies are based in the reality of what an organization needs or can accomplish. Without a development plan, a strategic plan is the big picture for the organization without clear actions for how it can be accomplished by philanthropy. Question: Who creates strategic plans and development plans?  Answer: A strategic plan works best when it’s a partnership between Board and key staff. Anyone who owns key pieces of implementing the plan should have a voice in the process. A development plan is often authored by staff, but you can build ownership of the plan by inviting feedback from Board members and volunteer committees. Question: If we don’t have either, should we start with a strategic plan or a development plan?  Answer: Start with a strategic plan so you have a better idea of the scale of philanthropy you need. It will also help you to lay out a philanthropic case for support rooted in the strategic vision, which is the crux of your development plan. That being said, a development plan keeps you focused so that staff and Board commit to realistic goals and strategies for the year ahead. For sanity’s sake, don’t go too long without a development plan! Do you have more questions about strategic or development plans? Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear from you! Connect with us here.

This article was written by Olivia Gattuso. She is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from her and from the work she did while part of the Ostara team. Grants Accelerator is a regular blog series about leveraging your grants strategy to enhance organizational sustainability.Grantwriting is often tacked onto the role of an executive director, program director, or development director. Most leaders have the writing skills or content expertise but not always the time to give a proposal their full attention. Grant proposals are checked off the list, but there’s little time to be strategic.According to GrantStation.com, the number one reason people give for not applying for a grant is they don’t have the time. When grants are not the primary focus of your position, it’s easier to push proposal writing down the list in favor of more urgent tasks. Too often, this means deadlines are forgotten and opportunities lost. For example, when Ostara started our work with University Heights Center (UHeights) two years ago, the Executive Director wore a multitude of hats, including grantwriter and primary fundraiser. There wasn’t enough time in a day to do it all (even if sleep was eliminated!). Ostara partnered with the organization to identify opportunities, track deadlines, provide strategy and insights, and write and submit proposals and reports. We focused first on grants for a major remediation project for their 117-year-old building. Because Ostara managed the grantwriting details, UHeights staff had the time and space to focus on stewarding funder relationships. This year, we saw the funder relationships that UHeights built for this project translate into other grant opportunities to support additional capital projects and programs. Our partnership helped increase the resources UHeights needed to expand their staff (including the hire of a Director of Advancement), and build out internal programs like the UHeights Theatre Alliance and Artist Collective. With a solid case for support, increased staff capacity, and a more robust track record in fundraising, UHeights has now decided to take on their own grantwriting in 2020, thanks to the runway we built together. This is a story about collaboration and progress that many of our clients experience, including the end result of a self-sustaining grantwriting program! “Ostara supported UHeights during a  transitionary period of growth. Initially, we thought we signed up for grantwriting, but we received so much more in the way of capacity building and strategic consulting. After 18 months of partnering with Ostara’s team, we hired our first Advancement Director, and after six months of overlap, we are ready to fold grantwriting into our internal staff.“ — MAUREEN EWING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Limited staff capacity is not the only indicator you are ready to partner with an outside grantwriter. Here are six more signs it’s time: You’re new to grants: Your staff members don’t have grantwriting skills and/or the organization itself doesn’t have a history of grant funding. You don’t have enough resources for a staff position: Your budget doesn’t support a full-time or part-time staff grantwriter, but you see opportunities that a contract grantwriter could pursue for the organization through a focused scope of work. You are launching a new program or initiative: This is a great time to partner with an outside grant writer, who can help you build the case for support from the ground up and craft a long-term grant strategy. You received a time-limited, large grant: This is fantastic news, but you can’t rest on your laurels. It’s wise to build a plan for developing future funding sources so the organization doesn’t fall off a funding cliff when the grant is complete. An outside grantwriter can be a strategic member of your fundraising team as  you work to find ways to avoid that fate. You’re applying to a new type of grant: Sometimes staff are skilled grantwriters, but a grant opportunity presents that is outside of their skillset. This often is the case with large public grants, which vary significantly from most private grants in process and content. If organizations don’t plan to make public grants a regular grant strategy, they often save money by paying an outside expert for the efficiency of experience. You’re losing more than you’re winning: If your decline notices are piling up in your inbox, it could be a good time to get a fresh take on your case for support and prospects. An outside grantwriter brings an understanding of the full sector and available grant opportunities. We often have the inside track on what specific funders really want. For some organizations, an infusion of grantwriting expertise for a short period of time is a pathway to a long-term solution, like a staff grantwriter. For other organizations, the partnership with an outside grantwriter is a long-term piece of their fundraising strategy. Either way, outside grantwriters can help organizations build a sustainable grants strategy that helps secure the resources to strengthen your programs and deepen your community impact. Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about grantwriting. We’re here to connect.

This article was written by JeeYoung Dobbs. She is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from her and from the work she did while part of the Ostara team. If you have ever undertaken a campaign, you know there are many points along the way where you feel like you’re in a maze or escape room and you’re at a dead end. The top prospect you thought was the linchpin to confirming the goal decided not to give. Your relationships beyond your top prospects were not as warm as you had anticipated. Volunteer leaders lost momentum midway towards the goal. The Executive Director unexpectedly departed from the organization early in the campaign. In my experience with campaigns, the main difference between successful and failed efforts is that a group of dedicated staff, volunteers, or donors kept pushing against the wall when others thought all was lost. They were able to find that secret tunnel that others had overlooked leading to the goal.If you’re staring at that dead end now, how do you keep pushing forward to unlock the secret tunnel? Here are a few tips from the team at Ostara to help you feel your way through the campaign darkness. Make Campaign Leader Roles More Manageable:  Campaigns are long—often several years or more in the making. Even the most dedicated campaign volunteer can lose interest or burn out over the course of the campaign. If you have a campaign committee that is losing momentum, it could be a good time to launch more focused task forces to work on specific phases of the campaign or donor constituencies. Volunteers can feel successful with more time-limited, shorter commitments and choose to re-up their involvement in other task forces. This feels better than petering out of a large committee a few years into a campaign. Identify a Challenge Gift: It can help to focus a campaign with urgent, time-sensitive opportunities like a challenge gift. This can spur donors to make a giving decision if they know their funds will help unlock even more dollars for the campaign. This strategy can be especially effective if the challenge gift also helps the campaign to reach a significant milestone like groundbreaking. Modify Campaign Timeline or Project Scope: Sometimes donors are hesitant to give if they feel a timeline or project is unachievable. Maybe organizational leadership or the community has changed since the campaign was originally conceived. Revisiting the project scope or timeline, in consultation with the community, to see if there are better ways to reach the campaign vision can reinvigorate giving—and build ownership. Launch a Peer-to-Peer Campaign: While we know online campaigns like GoFundMe or Give Lively don’t often result in the large gifts, they are good at building momentum and buzz through number of gifts, especially near the end of a campaign. Sometimes, this renewed energy from online fundraising efforts can inspire significant “topping off” gifts from previous or new significant campaign donors. There are many more ways to get unstuck in a campaign effort. Most of all, keep celebrating the successes—big and small—and appreciating what everyone is contributing—big and small—to the effort. Sometimes, for Board, staff, and volunteers hearing “Nice work. We appreciate you,” is the push they need to keep going forward towards the vision. Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about campaigns. We’re here to connect.

This article was written by JeeYoung Dobbs. She is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from her and from the work she did while part of the Ostara team. If you have ever undertaken a campaign, you know there are many points along the way where you feel like you’re in a maze or escape room and you’re at a dead end. The top prospect you thought was the linchpin to confirming the goal decided not to give. Your relationships beyond your top prospects were not as warm as you had anticipated. Volunteer leaders lost momentum midway towards the goal. The Executive Director unexpectedly departed from the organization early in the campaign. In my experience with campaigns, the main difference between successful and failed efforts is that a group of dedicated staff, volunteers, or donors kept pushing against the wall when others thought all was lost. They were able to find that secret tunnel that others had overlooked leading to the goal. If you’re staring at that dead end now, how do you keep pushing forward to unlock the secret tunnel? Here are a few tips from the team at Ostara to help you feel your way through the campaign darkness. Make Campaign Leader Roles More Manageable:  Campaigns are long—often several years or more in the making. Even the most dedicated campaign volunteer can lose interest or burn out over the course of the campaign. If you have a campaign committee that is losing momentum, it could be a good time to launch more focused task forces to work on specific phases of the campaign or donor constituencies. Volunteers can feel successful with more time-limited, shorter commitments and choose to re-up their involvement in other task forces. This feels better than petering out of a large committee a few years into a campaign. Identify a Challenge Gift: It can help to focus a campaign with urgent, time-sensitive opportunities like a challenge gift. This can spur donors to make a giving decision if they know their funds will help unlock even more dollars for the campaign. This strategy can be especially effective if the challenge gift also helps the campaign to reach a significant milestone like groundbreaking. Modify Campaign Timeline or Project Scope: Sometimes donors are hesitant to give if they feel a timeline or project is unachievable. Maybe organizational leadership or the community has changed since the campaign was originally conceived. Revisiting the project scope or timeline, in consultation with the community, to see if there are better ways to reach the campaign vision can reinvigorate giving—and build ownership. Launch a Peer-to-Peer Campaign: While we know online campaigns like GoFundMe or Give Lively don’t often result in the large gifts, they are good at building momentum and buzz through number of gifts, especially near the end of a campaign. Sometimes, this renewed energy from online fundraising efforts can inspire significant “topping off” gifts from previous or new significant campaign donors. There are many more ways to get unstuck in a campaign effort. Most of all, keep celebrating the successes—big and small—and appreciating what everyone is contributing—big and small—to the effort. Sometimes, for Board, staff, and volunteers hearing “Nice work. We appreciate you,” is the push they need to keep going forward towards the vision. Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about campaigns. We’re here to connect.

When we gather with colleagues, clients, friends, and our community, we often tell and re-tell the origin story of The Ostara Group. Rebecca Zanatta and I connected during our time in the Leadership Tomorrow program. As we reflected on the issues that were shaping the Puget Sound region, we were inspired to put our newly honed leadership skills to use. We formed a collective of consultants dedicated to building fundraising skills, organizational capacity, and effective leadership among the nonprofit sector. The longer version of that story includes the highs and lows and the important lessons we learned along the way from you—our community of nonprofit colleagues. The year was 2009 and our region and country were grappling with the painful aftermath of the Great Recession. Washington State’s unemployment rate was hovering above 10 percent. National charitable giving had dropped two years in a row for the first time since tracking began. Yet, along with you and the Northwest nonprofit community, we persisted. The Puget Sound region was one of the few areas that vaulted out of the recession into a historic economic boom. During the past decade, Seattle added more than 100,000 people in 84 square miles. Tech giants rose and so did the cost of living and housing instability. In the middle of our region’s deepening economic and social inequality, we have walked alongside our nonprofit clients as they drove incredible transformation in our communities. Our team recently reflected on what we have learned in the past decade of serving nonprofits. Here’s our top ten lessons list. Hopefully, you will find some wisdom in here to share with your own organization, no matter where you are in your organizational journey. There is no one solution or approach that works best for all nonprofits.  Each organization and the people who power it are unique and need different things. By adapting solutions to your unique strengths and opportunities, nonprofits can achieve innovative and lasting outcomes. Every crisis presents an opportunity. There is always an opportunity to uncover that may lift your organization out of harm’s way and lead to a transformation. If you lose a leader, whether it’s development staff, executive director, or Board member, it’s a good time to reevaluate where you are and where you need to be. New leaders can help uncover previously unconsidered pathways to success. Funders can make lasting change by collaborating with nonprofits. In the past decade, funders have made great strides in reflecting the voices of community organizations in their funding approaches. They can continue to seek out organizations closest to the work and limit reporting requirements. Nonprofits are witnessing the most urgent challenges and solutions in our community and have more to share with funders in the next decade. Organizations are ecosystems. To become a thriving fundraising organization, functions and people can’t be isolated. The more nonprofits connect all corners of your organization so everyone knows what everyone else is doing, there will be greater ability and desire to contribute to the greater mission beyond single roles or departments. Everyone is a leader, leading all the time. Strong organizations foster opportunities for everyone to lead in their own way, regardless of their title, age, and experience. When nonprofits work together, everyone succeeds. Don’t be afraid to talk to your peer organizations to learn what they’re doing. Nonprofits can choose to work together towards a greater good, instead of competing or acting with a scarcity mindset. When the University District Food Bank wanted to add job training in their new facility, they collaborated with Street Bean Coffee to include a café and coffee shop. This created an opportunity for collaborative donor investment, a new opportunity for people served by the food bank, and a pathway to work for those participating in Street Bean’s barista training. It’s necessary to serve communities with an intersectional and comprehensive approach. Whether it’s a community services hub based at a food bank or job training pathway paired with housing, the emerging visions of organizations are underscoring that people and their needs are complex. Siloed and singular services will continue to disappear. The size of an organization doesn’t always correlate with functionality. We have seen big organizations with deep dysfunction and small organizations that are highly efficient, and vice versa. No matter the size, functional organizations have workplans and budgets that are collaborative and based in the reality of need and prospect pools, people who can speak consistently about the mission, and Board and staff make decisions together. Nonprofits that invite the communities they serve into leadership, create greater impact. Communities hold the tremendous leadership, creativity, and resilience needed to develop innovative approaches and solutions. Nonprofits that recognize this benefit from greater mission alignment, less overlap or wasted effort, and increased community ownership of the work. Humor is necessary. The work of the nonprofit sector is emotionally-taxing, but humor is an antidote.  Find joy and laughter together as a team to sustain and nourish your colleagues and the communities you serve. You’re doing the important, meaningful work every day that adds up to years and decades of impact in our region and beyond. We’re humbled to be your partner. When we celebrate 20 years of Ostara in 2029, we hope that the lessons from our community in the next decade point to a thriving region for everyone. We won’t be resting on our laurels—let’s get back to work! But before you do, I hope you’ll join us for Ostara’s 10th Anniversary Party. On October 10th, we’re inviting all our current and past clients, staff, community members, and partners to take a break from the hard work of nonprofit leadership, meet others in our field, and celebrate our work together with food, beer, music, and cupcakes. See all the details and RSVP on Eventbrite or Facebook; we can’t wait to see you there!

When I’m not collaborating with nonprofits, I’m traveling the world. I have visited 46 countries (and counting). Beyond the interesting food, good people, and amazing cultures, my favorite thing about traveling is the opportunity to change my perspective. On a recent trip to Guatemala, I spent two full days on the wrong time zone (my watch and phone didn’t sync) and was two hours late for everything, but people were flexible and patient. This experience expanded my philosophy on time beyond our hyper-punctual American culture. I have worked on behalf of quite a few nonprofits over the years (over 75 nonprofits and counting), and, like my travel experiences, I’m finding that my perspective about major gifts is evolving with every nonprofit I partner with on fundraising strategy. During my days as a Major Gifts Officer, I spent time building relationships based on lists that were prioritized by their connection to the organization, interest in the mission, and—of course—capacity to make a “major” gift. I often started at the top of the list and looked for those who had a good mix of those factors (linkage, interest, and ability). Many organizations have traditionally defined major gift prospects by dollars. Some take a percentage of their total database (i.e. the top one percent of all annual gifts over the past five years), a specific dollar amount (all donors giving $1,000 or more), or the capacity ratings from a wealth screening. While these numbers are good indicators of what a donor can give, they don’t capture someone’s passion for the mission. These simple definitions can lead organizations to chase after phantom donors who gave a gift once or attended one event, but who show little-to-no current interest in the organization. Dollars are an important element of fundraising, but relationships are more complex than that. I have worked with organizations that have inspired me to rely less on simply dollars to define their major donors. Instead, I’m expanding my definition of major gifts to more substantially reflect engagement. Here are some of the elements of engagement and relationships that I encourage you to elevate in your organization’s major gifts formula (alongside the numbers): Volunteering and committee involvement (current and past) for your organization or other organizations In-kind donations (time and talent) Consistency in giving (how many consecutive annual gifts of any size has the donor made to the organization?) Recent event attendance Current and past board involvement You can start expanding your major donor prospect list by adding fields to your database for the above categories. Some organizations will assign numerical ratings to these categories to make sorting and prioritizing lists easier. For example, you could take each year they have served as a volunteer and assign one point. These categories will help you to uncover the supporters among you who are deeply passionate about your mission. You may just find that some of your most significant potential donors have been with you all along. Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about major giving. We’re here to connect.

I spent a lot of time last year taking the ferry boat back and forth to my engagement as interim development director at Bloedel Reserve, a 150-acre forest garden on Bainbridge Island. In addition to dining on ferry food and watching seagulls fly by, I thought about boats and how they relate to fundraising. Trust me, there’s a connection. In the shipyards of the Northwest, hundreds of boats are being constructed right now. Skilled builders are creating something new that wasn’t there before. They are welding and riveting steel to form the body of a ship and laying wires and pipes to support the internal systems that operate the boat. On its maiden voyage, the boat floats and the systems work together to propel the vessel forward. The boat is now under the command of a captain. While this captain doesn’t know how to build the boat, they are skilled at navigating to the right destination. In an ideal world, this is how fundraising would emerge and grow within an organization. Someone who specializes in building fundraising systems and infrastructure would come first and create what doesn’t exist. They are the Builders. After the builders create strong systems, structures, and fundraising culture, they pass the reins to different specialists. These people take the humming fundraising program and accelerate to the bigger goal: building relationships and connecting people with opportunities to invest in the mission. They are the Navigators. My 31 years in the nonprofit field have taught me that this ideal scenario is the exception, not the rule. Instead, many organizations either build their fundraising systems and culture on the fly or wing fundraising with very little structure. Often, this means Navigator fundraisers are building the structure for fundraising, when their real gifts are building relationships. This mismatch in skillsets leads to burnout and turnover. This is akin to asking boat captains to build their own boats. We need both Builder and Navigator Fundraisers at different points in an organization’s journey. Even if your fundraising program has been around awhile, there may be periods of growth (or stagnation) where a Builder fundraiser is necessary. Builder fundraisers are the unicorns of the fundraising world. They are hard to locate and identify in a hiring pool. A simpler solution is often hiring interim development staff who are specialists in Builder fundraiser skillsets. So, what special roles can Builder fundraisers or interim development staff play in your organization? Mentor: They fundraise through others by teaching fundraising skills and drawing out others’ strengths to create and expand a culture of philanthropy. They know you cannot fundraise alone. Analyst: They listen for and examine any underlying chronic disfunction like turnover or lack of board engagement. Leader: Once they isolate the causes of disfunction or inefficiency, they build support across the organization for lasting change. Designer: They get into the mundane—yet critical—details of fundraising structure. They create any systems, policies, procedures, or plans that are not in place to support fundraising like a database, recognition, annual fundraising plans, gift acceptance policies, etc. Visionary: In partnership with Board and staff leaders, they define opportunities for donors to invest in the mission. They help everyone articulate the tangible difference philanthropy makes for the community. Back to the ferry boat I mentioned in the beginning. My many trips across Puget Sound for the interim development director role at Bloedel Reserve added up to a fundraising boat that is now sailing full speed ahead. Here’s what the Board Chair shared at the end of our time together: “You helped us shape the development director’s role within Bloedel and then fulfilled it in such a way as to get the board and the rest of the staff to understand and accept it…Thanks so much for being a catalyst for change.” Like Bloedel, is it time for your organization to invest in building your fundraising ship so you can efficiently and effectively accelerate to your final destination, your organizational vision? Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about interim development staff. We’re here to connect.

This article was written by JeeYoung Dobbs. She is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from her and from the work she did while part of the Ostara team. One of our campaign clients has been cultivating a relationship with a significant prospect for several years. They had several meetings, submitted proposals, and followed up with additional information to cultivate interest. They received word this spring that their request for nearly $1 million would be funded for their capital project. The donor? Washington State. We find that public funding, especially from state, county, and city sources, continues to anchor funding in many nonprofit capital projects. While interest in supporting capital can abruptly shift among specific individuals, corporations, and foundations, government steadily invests in nonprofit infrastructure (even considering 2017 when our state leaders failed to pass a capital budget). A sampling of our current and past campaign clients confirms this experience. The percentage of their capital campaign budgets that are funded by public sources (federal, state, county, and city) ranged from 23 to 65 percent. Some individual donors appreciate knowing that these projects—which create significant public good—are collaborations between the public and private sectors. Some comment they have greater confidence in the viability of a project if they know their gifts are being leveraged by significant public dollars. Yet, line items in budgets or public grants are not easy to secure. Just like individual, foundation, and corporate funding, securing funding from Uncle Sam is all about relationships, a strong vision, and well-planned project. If you are considering including public funding in your capital campaign budget, channel what you know works with your individual, corporate, and foundation prospects. Here are our three best pieces of advice for securing government funding during a capital campaign: Identify the Top Prospects Explore all the options available to your campaign based on location, project type, and sector: Federal: There is capital funding available at the federal level from places like National Endowment for the Arts. Senator Patty Murray has a comprehensive list of federal grants to peruse.  New Market Tax Credit Benefits could also be a significant source of funding through tax credits if your project will serve historically under-funded communities. Check out the map to see if your project qualifies. State: There are opportunities to include your project as a line item in the state budget, which can be accessed by advocating directly with your representatives. In addition, Washington State has a robust competitive capital grants programs, including Department of Commerce programs like Building for the Arts, Building Communities Fund, and Youth Recreational Facilities and the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board programs like Washington Wildlife Recreation Grants and Youth Recreation Programs. You can find a good list of the state competitive grant programs here. County and City: Most counties like King County, Snohomish County, and cities like Seattle and Spokane align capital funding with their civic or economic goals (affordable housing, arts access, etc.) and list opportunities on their websites. Some smaller municipalities require you to be in touch directly with the county or city council members to learn about year-by-year opportunities. Build Authentic Relationships For budget processes at the state, county, and city levels, allow months or years to develop relationships with your representatives—senators, state legislators, county or city council members, mayors, or department staff. Like you do with other donors, start by mapping who on your Board or staff has existing relationships. If you’re starting from scratch, reach out and request a meeting as a constituent to update them on the project. You could start this process as soon as a campaign planning study—some of our clients include legislators in the interview process. Mobilize your grassroots supporters for letter writing campaigns or visits with representatives. Some organizations hire a lobbyist to advocate directly on behalf of the capital project. For competitive grant processes like Building for the Arts, departments host information sessions that offer you direct access to program staff to ask questions about the process and clarify how to best position your project. Take advantage of these opportunities to connect in person. Make the Request at the Right Time. Pay attention to project timelines and approach at the right time: Some government programs will not fund your project until it is “shovel ready” (project construction can immediately start). Budget line items are often tied to only a portion of the project that will be complete during the budget biennium (two-year budget cycle) because they are reimbursement payments. Many state grant programs operate on the biennium (every two years) so pace your application appropriately for your project’s timeline. Consider forming a government funding taskforce for your campaign that could include Board, staff, and community volunteers. Like other areas of campaign fundraising, funding from Uncle Sam takes time, strategy, and perseverance—don’t do it alone! Let’s keep this conversation going. We want to hear your questions and ideas about government funding in campaigns. We’re here to connect.