Asking for grants to cover a nonprofit's HQ overhead costs is a tough sell in today's economic environment. Organizations accustomed to receiving grants to underwrite overhead now find themselves competing against organizations that have found other ways to address those expenses.
The use of innovative new technologies has enabled these organizations to fund their overhead by using nontraditional, online revenue-generation strategies. Grant makers can't be faulted for favoring organizations that promise to allocate 100% of award money directly to their mission objectives.
That said, you still need to keep the lights on so your talented staff can run your programs, and your fundraisers can continue to bring in that much-needed revenue. So the question remains - in today's increasingly stiff competition for grant money, how can your organization self-fund its overhead so as to compete more effectively?
Well, if some organizations are doing it, organizations of all sizes can - they just have to get creative.
One way you can be more competitive is by implementing non-traditional online revenue generation mechanisms. Peer-to-peer fundraising, online auctions, and an online store are all innovative options that can generate the incremental income needed to cover your overhead. By exploiting these new approaches, you can create an operational model that’s attractive to grant makers.
With these new, technology-enabled fundraising tools, you can convince your grantors that all of the grant money your nonprofit receives can be dedicated to on-the-ground projects.
It's a constant battle for nonprofit organizations to keep the lights on - it's part of what has defined the industry. But nonprofits are realizing that corporations, government entities, foundations - even individual donors - want to know that the majority, if not all, of their contributions are going directly into the programs that need them. That’s why utilizing creative online tools to fund day-to-day expenses increases your chances of producing a winning proposal.
Investing in revenue-generating technology to cover overhead costs is the first step to winning grant money to fund your important project.
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2 comments
Paul
October 20th 2016
Great post! Thank you!
Peter
October 20th 2016
Grant money is definitely crucial for a lot of nonprofits. There is no doubt that technology can help to keep the costs down.