Getting Ready for Free Money
by The need of not-for-profit organizations for funding, and the many facets of the organization that need to be organized to be ready for such funding.
You say you need money to start doing your projects. Do you have a project plan or a business Plan? For more than 10 years now I have volunteered my time helping NFP organizations get their project moving and I still here the same thing over and over again: “We can’t start the project without funds!”
Of course I always ask the same question to that question: “Are you ready for this free money that will come along?”
Guess what? I haven’t encountered an organization yet who categorically answered yes to this question. Absolutely none! At least not the ones I am helping (It’s probably the reason I’m helping them). Every one of them wants the money but none is actually prepared to receive it if it drops on their lap on the same instant.
The question now is: “How do you prepare for or get ready for funding?”
Beneficiaries
NFP organizations must be able to recognize who benefits from what they do. It can be bit strange to some NFPs but some of the most professionally managed NFP organizations actually refer to their beneficiaries as “Clients”. You may be in an organization wherein there are no direct beneficiaries. Ecological and environmental oriented NFPs for example have programs with goals not immediately discernible and with impacts going beyond the immediate generation.
Do you have a clear profile and criteria of who is and who will be your beneficiary? If someone walks up to you and ask for assistance, will you be able to say to this person if you can or cannot help him? Will you be able to explain to him why you are or are not helping him? How are you going to do that?
Will the public know who you are by the kind of beneficiaries you have? Does the public even understand what is a beneficiary in as far as your programs or projects are concerned?
Define your beneficiary according to psycho-social profiles, socio-economic clusters, demographics, geography, age group, sex, civil status, education, profession, occupation, physical attributes (or absence of certain characteristics), religion, culture, medical condition, political subdivision, degree of certain conditions, and other combination of characteristics or attributes.
There will be a great temptation to help everyone and admittedly to the frustration of most volunteers, you can only do so much. Defining your beneficiary or client keeps time, resources, projects, programs and volunteers focus.
With a clear definition of who you serve, you deliver your services to those you can help the most. Your organization will be providing nothing fancy but also nothing less than the best you can offer.
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