I recently accompanied a client to a meeting with a fund manager at a national bank. The fund manager oversees several family foundations and community trusts based in Tarrant County, some of which had funded our client’s organization in the past. We wanted to meet so that the new Development Director could introduce herself, share recent updates, and get feedback on the grant process. Over coffee, the fund manager encouraged her to apply to any trusts in her portfolio that seemed like a good fit for the organization’s mission and programs. Her strategy when reviewing applications was to review each application on behalf of the trust itself, not the bank. So, receiving multiple applications during the same grant cycle from the same organization was not discouraged. In fact, it was welcomed.
It was interesting guidance, particularly since it was the exact opposite of what our client had recently been told by another bank. That fund manager had advised that their team did not have any desire to review multiple applications to different trusts from the same organization. Their advice, simply, was to “pick one and go big.” In other words, select the trust that seemed to align most closely with the mission and write for a single, large grant.
After the meeting, I was left thinking, “Well then, what is the formula? What advice can I give to clients if decision makers are using such different approaches to reviewing and funding applications?” I shared this thought with our Founder, Lerii Smith, who quickly replied, “Remember though, what is the most basic, critical principle of fundraising? It still applies.” The answer – building relationships.
It is easy to remember that relationship building is critical when cultivating individual donors. However, it is clearly just as important when seeking funding from entities like foundations and trusts! What a good reminder that in these days of online applications, portals, donor research directories, and other technological advances, building relationships with people is still vitally important. (We tend to offer this same advice when our clients are seeking corporate support, too.)
Often, something as simple as a coffee meeting with someone within our philanthropic community can make all the difference in your fundraising success. What personal touchpoints have you added to your donor relations strategy?