Want to gain support from grant makers -- think program efficiency

Green equals growth and
sometimes you have to prune back.  Really.

I ran across this article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the title just jumped out at me.  Follow the link at the end of the article.

In today's tough economic times, private foundation' grant dollars are even more precious to nonprofits.  Doesn't it make sense your organization should to be current with private foundation thinking and expectation?  Of course it does. 

Grant makers, public and private, along with individual donors, want to know how their investment dollars make a difference -- sure.  The question is... how can you position your agency to utilize grant funding in the most efficient manner?  Does that mean partnering and collaboration with another nonprofit with a similar mission?  How about stepping up for an outside evaluation of your programs and specifically, their results?  Understanding your core mission and cutting the programs that aren't working = efficiency -- a good thing.

Demonstrating that your organization is progressive and understands the importance of every dollar and is willing to make necessary changes to offer the most for that buck is impressive to grant makers.

As a nonprofit consultant, one of the services I provide is that outside opinion/evaluation on programs, mission relevance, and efficiency. 

The Philanthropy' article has some good suggestions.  It is an easy read with some excellent tips to starting a new self-examination process. Worth the read!   Here is the article

Cheers,
DCR