Category: Grants

Awards

Preparing to Win Larger Grant Awards

By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA, and Sheldon Bart The “voice” of the New York Yankees, broadcaster John Sterling, is famous for saying, “You can’t predict baseball.” You can’t predict grants either. Grant opportunities pop up like bubbles and burst like bubbles as funders reappraise their priorities or circulate new RFPs. Even though you can’t predict funding opportunities, you can be alert for them and pounce. Turning $5,000 Into $200,000 Advent Health, a faith-based nonprofit health care system operating across nine states, had previously sponsored the Orlando, Florida, nonprofit Pathlight HOME’s Culinary Training Program with a $5,000 grant. Suddenly, in the

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Private Grants Are They for You(1)

Private Grants: Are They for You?

Six steps to making a grants assessment. By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA and Sheldon Bart Here’s a tale of two real nonprofits. Let’s call the first one Amazing Youth, and the second The Real Deal Healthcare. Amazing Youth operates a transitional shelter for homeless youth limited by law to a modest number of residents, fewer than 10. The Real Deal Healthcare operates a community health center serving thousands of low-income patients. Both are LAPA clients. What they have in common is that for many years both neglected private grant revenue. Eventually, each one came to understand the value of outsourcing

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Securing Donor-Advised Funds

How To Secure More Gifts From Donor-Advised Funds

By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA We must ensure that all charitable donations are made available for charitable use, rather than languishing indefinitely in donor-advised funds (DAFs). After all, donors who contribute to DAFs receive an immediate tax benefit. But nonprofits have no idea when they’ll ever see a dime. DAFs have come under fire for the fact that they are not legally required to spend the money that they receive and can hold it for as long as they want. Plus, the fiduciary managers have an incentive to keep the money in the DAF. Granted, many donor-advised fundholders are both

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LAPA

How to Win a Government Grant

By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA, and Perry W. Kaplan Federal and state agencies provide significant support to nonprofits each year through government grants. But the process for applying for government grants is far from easy. In fact, it’s quite complicated. Competition for government support is intense — and the application process is fraught with complexity. Winning a government grant requires nonprofits to carefully align the main pieces of their grant proposals. Here are seven tips for effectively competing for — and winning — a government grant. Match the Funder’s Priorities More than ever, getting funded requires that you propose projects

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Recent Trends On Desk Studies & Grant Assessments

At LAPA Fundraising we conduct many desk studies each year to help nonprofits assess the value of their fundraising program, and how to grow it. Some call the desk study an assessment. Nonetheless, the desk study is a seminal moment of high level planning, usually taking 90 days, and can be an opportune time to take a step back and see where your program priorities align with segments of foundation funders.

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Bill and Melinda Gates Delivers New COVID-19 Funding

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed an additional $250 million to support the research, development, and equitable delivery of lifesaving tools in the global effort against COVID-19. Marking the end of a year focused on the scientific breakthroughs needed to end the pandemic, the foundation calls for global commitments to making these innovations available in 2021 to everyone who needs them.

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Can a USA Family Foundation Make Grants Outside the U.S.?

We at LAPA Fundraising are often asked, “Can we (a USA Family Foundation) make grants outside the U.S.? Family foundations can safely grant to non-501(c)(3) organizations outside the U.S. as long as they follow one of two special sets of procedures: expenditure responsibility or equivalency determination.

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Assessing Impact with General Operating Support Grants Debunking the Myths

Assessing Impact with General Operating Support Grants: Debunking the Myths

For several decades now, it’s been a common refrain from funders that choose not to provide general operating support (GOS) grants: we can’t make those grants because it’s too difficult to measure and assess their impact. In CEP’s 2006 report, In Search of Impact, the majority of foundation CEOs said program grants are more effective at assessing grantee results than GOS grants. Further, half of foundation leaders in that report preferred providing program grants, most commonly because they believed it was easier to assess their outcomes.

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What’s Going On With Private Foundations?

All foundations have been impacted by the ups and downs of the stock market and the relief support that nonprofits urgently needed (and still need) because of CV-19. Federal law requires private foundations to spend a portion of their endowments, typically at least 5%, on charitable endeavors each year. Many of the largest private foundations keep close to that 5% floor.

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