Wild Woman Fundraising

I am so excited to present to you my interview with Charlotte Beauvoisin, who writes Diary of a Muzungu, a UK citizen working in Uganda. Her blog has been featured on Lonely Planet since 2009. For several years, she worked as a volunteer with the Ugandan Conservation Foundation, and now works in a tourism company [...]

What if we could teach people via continuing education what we would recommend that they do anyway? What if we could combine our brainpower and help people use all of our experience, skills, and knowledge to become the rockstar fundraising dream team that they needed to help get their cause the most money possible for their cause, and build relationships with donors that would sustain them for years?

Now, if you’re like me, you have grants heaped on your plate along with 100 other things, like marketing your nonprofit, events, major gifts, house parties, appeals, etc. Oh yeah, and social media too.

All of which could be full time jobs in and of themselves! So sometimes when you go to look for grants it’s hard to remember everything.

Here’s where I get all “Transparency rocks!” And show you one of my board reports. Also, if you want to rebrand your nonprofit, you are going to love the Free Nonprofit Brand Report from Harvard University that I’m including here. You’re welcome.

I recently got an email from a reader asking me how I would fundraise for a think tank in a country that does not have the best history of democracy or political discourse. This is my response. —————————————————————– Thanks for writing! As far as I know, usually American think tanks are funded by a few [...]

And I said, “So, you think that getting a grant is like dialing for dollars huh? That a grant will just plop into your lap and Boom you’ll have a computer lab? I’ll look for you, but here’s something you should know, first.”

grant priorities

Dear Mazarine,

Raising and managing millions annually through grants, but most of it is restricted to specific projects and we do want to increase our unrestricted/general operating funds (doesn’t everyone?) What would you suggest?”

Hi Molly!

First off, I love that you’re helping women get wheels. When I worked in a domestic violence shelter, this is something that would hamper women in getting the services that they needed, whether baby-sitting, counseling, welfare, etc. A car can mean the difference between a job and no job, and between a woman having to return to an abuser or not. Thank you for recognizing this.

Here are 52 ways to fundraise, one for each week of the year! Of these, which ones do you think yield the most money? Which ones, the least? If you have any to add, please leave a comment! 1. Quarterly Appeal letter 2. Grants 3. Your Annual Report 4. Sell Fruit 5. Old-time photograph booth [...]