One of my favorite celebrations that I have is when a client succeeds in getting funding with a new funder. The hardest grants to get are your very first grants ever. The second hardest grants to get are your first grants with new funders. It is hard to get your foot in the door. But, once you have your foot in the door, then you can grow your funding year-over-year with them.
My top tips for getting your foot in the door with a new funder are:
- Make sure they know who else funds you without you appearing like a name-dropper.
- Build a relationship with the funder. If they will let you meet with them, then go meet with them. If they don’t take meetings, then add them to your cultivation campaign.
- Focus on the large impact that your program has, and match it to the impact the funder wants to make.
Recently, this approach helped one of my clients gain $450,000 in new funding to grow their work to improve outcomes in education for kids. Millionaire Grant Lady LLC identified the best foundations that were a fit for them. The client met with the foundations that would take meetings. We raised the client’s profile in applications by listing other funders of the organization. Our applications also focused on the impact of the organization and the foundation together.
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