Should You Tell Foundations Where You’re Planning to Apply?
Here’s an interesting question that came in by email, about foundations that want to know where else you’re applying. Someone whose organization underwent training with me writes:
“We just had a meeting with (a foundation) today to talk about a proposal that we had submitted in November. I think the meeting went well overall. They said they have to figure out who they will be funding and where to dedicate their resources for the most impact. They wanted us to follow up with them with a list of foundations we have applied to for funding and are awaiting to hear back from or grants that we have recently received. I wanted to check in with you to get a sense of why foundations ask this. In other words, we will certainly include foundations that we are waiting to hear back from, but should we also include ones we plan to apply to in the next couple months? Any thoughts you have on this would be really helpful. On the good news front, we did just receive word that we are getting $25,000 from (another foundation)! ”
Here’s my answer:
The list of foundations should include ones you plan to apply to, with your planned dates to apply; the reason they’re asking is basically to see if you’ve done your research. They can’t really judge if you’re doing a good job with the people you serve, but they know to whom you should apply and they want to see if you know that as well. As to wanting to see who has already funded you, it’s also kind of a popularity thing: they want to know if the other kids like you, too! It’s like when you’re dating and suddenly other guys come out of nowhere to see if you’re available, because you’re more desirable if someone else likes you. In the same way, foundations don’t want to be alone in funding you, so they want to see what else you’re pursuing. It’s all a good thing. The funding from (another foundation) makes it more likely you’ll get other funding, not less (everyone wants to hang out with the popular kid), so good for you!
So that’s my answer. As you can see, I answer questions I get through email. If you have a question about fundraising, please write me, Katherine Wertheim, CFRE, at katherine@werth-it.com and perhaps I’ll post it on this blog.