Fundraising in lean times: Are grants the answer?

Times are tight and nonprofits are searching for answers, says Tori O'Neal-McElrath, Principal of O'Neal Consulting Services and author of Winning Grants, Step by Step, 3rd Edition. Organizations desperately need to address budgets that are simply insufficient to meet current demands, never mind the increases to come as a result of our current economic climate. 

"We all know the reality: more and more people in communities all across our country are losing their jobs ... their homes ... their basic lifeline services," she said. In search of a fix, many nonprofits will turn to foundations and corporate giving programs for grants -- both funders with whom they already have relationships, as well as those they don't. 

Meanwhile, one national corporate funder told O'Neal-McElrath her company's grantmaking funding was literally cut in half.  A regional private foundation representative told her that even some of her foundation's most tried-and-true nonprofit partners will likely see a reduction in their grant amount -- and a few will not be funded this year at all.

So the response to the question at hand is a resounding no: grants are not the answer to the financial pains so many of our nonprofits are experiencing. Click here to read O'Neal-McElrath's full article on fundraising in lean times.