20 emergency funding sources for nonprofits

From the consulting staff at Fieldstone Alliance

The financial impact of the recession on nonprofits may not be immediate, but it will come, and most likely before mid-year 2009. It's critical for all of us to plan how we will respond.

Toward that end, consultants Tom Triplett and Alexis Cress developed a list of 20 emergency funding ideas (click the link to view the list of ideas, opportunities and first steps). These are revenue sources that can be accessed quickly — usually within 30 days. Not all of these sources are available to all nonprofits, and some of them carry great risk. Nonetheless, we hope you find the list useful and thought-provoking.

We urge you to combine ideas for a comprehensive response. Funding sources like to know that they're not the only avenue you're pursuing. For example, you may want to put together a quick-hit fundraising initiative with a re-pricing of your services.

Finally, the 20 ideas relate to increasing the revenue side of your financing equation. Equally important is reducing expenses, which we will cover in a future Tools issue. In the meantime, we refer you to our Coping with Cutbacks book by Emil Angelica and Vincent Hyman.