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At this point, your project design is well enough developed that you can show it to people, and they will understand the scope of the project. I suggest you share your project with two types of people: community members and a potential foundation donor.
Mr. Magee is CSDi’s Executive Director and the author of A Field Guide to Community Based Adaptation, Routledge, Oxford, England.
Last week you researched scientific papers to make sure that your project’s programs show evidence of working.
So now, at this point, your project design is well enough developed that you can show it to people, and they will understand the scope of the project.
I suggest you share your project with two types of people: community members and a potential foundation donor.
The first people you should show the design to should be the community members that you did the needs assessment with. It only needs to be a brief meeting with just a few of the people. You will be able to find out from them if the project has developed in the direction that they had hoped for. But also, it’s an opportunity to continue building their buy-in into the project. If they see that you listened to their initial ideas and developed them into a full project, they will feel like you’re working on their behalf.
This buy-in is very important because it will mean that after your nonprofit has finished up with the project, the community members will be motivated to sustain the aspects of the project that will be ongoing. An example of this could be that if your project included installing culverts for flood control, they will need to be kept free of debris.
Now that you have a thumbs-up from the community members, there’s another step to take before you show the project to a foundation donor. And that is to evaluate where you have expertise in the proposed program activities—and where you don’t.
Many, many nonprofits and organizations seek funding for projects where they don’t have expertise in all aspects of the project. This is normal. You simply need to make sure that you can identify who you could partner with to provide the expertise.
So, in Assignment Five you’re going to make a list of project aspects that you don’t have expertise in. And then, identify people and resources that could provide you with the expertise. And now you are ready for a donor presentation.
One reason for arranging a preliminary meeting with a foundation donor is to find out if the project is appropriate for them to partner on. So, before you do any more work on developing the project, a donor meeting will let you find out if you need to make any modifications to be a better fit with the donor. The second reason is that donors see many, many projects, and they might have some very good ideas for your project that could improve it.
Thirdly, if this project isn’t in their area of interest, can they recommend another foundation donor who might fund the kinds of projects that you have designed. And finally, most donors would be pleasantly surprised if someone came to them with a preliminary concept, asked their advice, and then returned a month later to make a formal presentation.
If it’s impractical for you to meet with a donor, try meeting with a superior in your organization to get their perspective. Or, better yet, someone who routinely works with donors—like someone who writes grants at a local university or at your community’s City Hall.
Good luck! And as usual, I look forward to seeing your good work.
Last week you researched scientific papers to make sure that your project’s programs show evidence of working.
So now, at this point, your project design is well enough developed that you can show it to people, and they will understand the scope of the project.
I suggest you share your project with two types of people: community members and a potential foundation donor.
The first people you should show the design to should be the community members that you did the needs assessment with. It only needs to be a brief meeting with just a few of the people. You will be able to find out from them if the project has developed in the direction that they had hoped for. But also, it’s an opportunity to continue building their buy-in into the project. If they see that you listened to their initial ideas and developed them into a full project, they will feel like you’re working on their behalf.
This buy-in is very important because it will mean that after your nonprofit has finished up with the project, the community members will be motivated to sustain the aspects of the project that will be ongoing. An example of this could be that if your project included installing culverts for flood control, they will need to be kept free of debris.
Now that you have a thumbs-up from the community members, there’s another step to take before you show the project to a foundation donor. And that is to evaluate where you have expertise in the proposed program activities—and where you don’t.
Many, many nonprofits and organizations seek funding for projects where they don’t have expertise in all aspects of the project. This is normal. You simply need to make sure that you can identify who you could partner with to provide the expertise.
So, in Assignment Five you’re going to make a list of project aspects that you don’t have expertise in. And then, identify people and resources that could provide you with the expertise. And now you are ready for a donor presentation.
One reason for arranging a preliminary meeting with a foundation donor is to find out if the project is appropriate for them to partner on. So, before you do any more work on developing the project, a donor meeting will let you find out if you need to make any modifications to be a better fit with the donor. The second reason is that donors see many, many projects, and they might have some very good ideas for your project that could improve it.
Thirdly, if this project isn’t in their area of interest, can they recommend another foundation donor who might fund the kinds of projects that you have designed. And finally, most donors would be pleasantly surprised if someone came to them with a preliminary concept, asked their advice, and then returned a month later to make a formal presentation.
If it’s impractical for you to meet with a donor, try meeting with a superior in your organization to get their perspective. Or, better yet, someone who routinely works with donors—like someone who writes grants at a local university or at your community’s City Hall.
Good luck! And as usual, I look forward to seeing your good work.
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