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| Re: Need advice on insurance and resource base req'ment
Posted by Tony Poderis   on 5/7/2009, 9:06 am, in reply to "Need advice on insurance and resource base req'ment"
VIP Poster
Mav: My response to your query No. 2. (“Re. resource base: How do new NGOs deal with this? Don't we all start out without a resource base?”), is no, you should not start out with a new NGO (or any non-profit) without at least knowing where the money is, or is going to be, as your base of support.
You can understand any prospect’s reluctance to give you money if you literally have little, or no, idea from where other funding will come. They need reasonable assurance that you will stay in business. You must give that initial, pacesetting donor confidence in that they are making an investment in your organization for the future.
However, without any base of previous and current donors, nonetheless, you still have a good chance to win support by providing convincing prospect research results, and any initial positive or tentative support receptions from prospects.
In a way, it’s similar to what a new for-profit, entrepreneurial, endeavor must show as “market research” to potential capital investors. You need to do some convincing.
New and forming organizations are fraught with perceived fund-raising negatives. How does a new organization know it is needed now? Has it done a market analysis? Is there a compelling reason for the organization to exist and for specific people to support it? The answer to those questions can be found by asking one question, and it is a question every organization new or old must ask at the onset of every fund-raising campaign. It needs to be asked about the organization in general and the specific purpose the campaign is supporting.
Who cares enough about our organization now (or could care) to give us money---and why would they?
If an organization’s mission statement is truly in sync with what the organization is doing, it provides a way to help identify who cares about it and why. Or put another way, it explains who benefits from the existence of the organization.
For nearly all charitable organizations there are two primary beneficiary groups:
(A) people who directly avail themselves of its services.
(B) a much larger grouping of people and sources who and which, while they do not avail themselves of its services, nevertheless indirectly benefit because of what the organization does for the community or beyond---meeting the personal cares and concerns of individual donors, or the missions and guidelines of granting agencies.
The slogging process of developing a base of support always begins with a review of those two groups---led by the board of trustees. Having a base of potential support, will, in many cases prompt and encourage some donors to step up and take a chance. Otherwise, they will balk/refuse when they are not shown that others are committed to the organization.
Best fund-raising wishes,
Tony
Tony Poderis
http://www.raise-funds.com
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