Grant funds usually pay for expenses related to new programs, program expansions and capital. Generally, they do not provide funds to raise money from individuals. However, grant donors are interested in matching their funds and program sustainability. Individual donors remain a good source of both. You can draft your requests to include some of the costs of supporting your individual fundraising if:
- These expenses are not prohibited by the instructions
- The initial program needs additional or continuation funds
- The portion of the budget is a small relative to the overall request
- You broaden the request from “how we will do this program” to include “how we will continue it and increase our community connections”
- You weave the related expenses into your narrative to help the donor understand the relationship between the proposed program and individual fundraising. For details, see the chart below.
| Narrative Section | Along With Other Requested Information Include |
| History/Background | Your funding history, trends, recent efforts to grow individual donors and successes, even if small |
| Goals | One goal related to individual fundraising to match or sustain the proposed program |
| Need | How others raise funds for this or similar programs from individuals |
| Project Description | Specific information on your fundraising efforts related to this program. Include steps, results, rationale for the results and expenses and income projections |
| Outcomes/Output | An output and outcome related to individual fundraising i.e., dollars raised, increased size of mailing list, number of individuals volunteering |
| Budget | Expenses as discussed in the narrative. As a general rule, restrict these to 10-15 percent or less of the request |
| Timeline | Include individual fundraising activities |
For more answers, check out this Nonprofit CEO Library.
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