Resource Development: Ideas and Suggestions

Alas, these hard times have created a nonprofit environment where there are fewer nonprofit grants available than ever and there is intense competition for funding. Donors have become more skeptical and require great care and cultivating in order to get their support. Pursuing dollars is an expensive activity that many nonprofits have great difficulty with.

Nonprofits should not “put all their eggs in one basket.” Organizations that depend on one funding resource like a grant or single donor are looking for trouble.

Smart nonprofits practice Revenue Diversification to stabilize their programming and cash flow. According to Rick Crane of the CAEAR Foundation, here are the primary income categories available to nonprofits. Think in terms of contributed and earned income:

Contributed Income

Institutional Fundraising

• Foundations
• Corporations
• Churches, Civic Groups

Individual Fundraising

• Direct mail/phone
• Membership
• Donations/Gifts/Endowments
• Planned Gifts (bequests)

In kind Goods and Services

Earned Income

Related Income

• Government contracts & grants
• Fee for service (3rd party reimbursement and client fees)
• Service subcontracts
• Interest, investment income

Unrelated Income

• Rental income (equipment, property)
• Social enterprise/business
  

So how do you make sure your organization is looking at every resource option available?
Mellon Bank (prior to merging with the Bank of New York) put out an extremely useful resource development guide for existing nonprofits called "Discover Total Resources: A Guide for Nonprofits." It is a few years old but still a popular award winning work. Grab it before it disappears from the net...