With the Trump administration’s freezing of billions of dollars in federal funding to nonprofits and economic uncertainty increasing, at no time since the pandemic have more charities urgently needed the type of security that unrestricted grants provide.
Finding these opportunities requires a longer-term strategy than targeting project grants because you need to develop trust with your funder. Once you’ve earned that faith, an unrestricted grant is both a safety net and a vote of confidence in your work — and during turbulent times, both are sorely needed.
General operating support gives nonprofit leaders “the flexibility to keep their lights on and keep their programs running, and they get to decide what that looks like,” says Sophy Yem, senior program officer for philanthropy at the Surdna Foundation.
The Chronicle spoke with Yem and two other experts to learn how grant seekers can meet program officers and best position themselves to secure flexible funding. Here are their top tips.
Attend the Right Events
At the Surdna Foundation, general operating grants made up 78 percent of its $47 million in grant making over the last fiscal year, says Yem. However, like many grant makers, Surdna doesn’t accept unsolicited proposals. When that’s the case with a potential funder, you’ll have to work at boosting your group’s profile in your mission area if you want to be invited to apply, she says.
Funder briefings and convenings of grantees are typically private, but if one of your grant makers is hosting or attending a conference, find out what other foundations will be there, Yem advises. Then ask the program officer how you can apply to be a speaker during a panel or session there: “It’s how you get visibility with other funders.”
Foundations that attend cause-specific conferences will do so only if they are prepared to give to groups working on that issue, so regularly review what networking events are scheduled in your field or geographic area, advises Tonia Brown-Kinzel, grant-compliance manager at the Grant Plant, a consulting group that helps nonprofits secure and manage grants.
She recommends looking at the websites of state-based foundation associations and nonprofit training organizations for events open to the public or grant seekers. Use those opportunities to connect with program officers, says Brown-Kinzel.
Then be prepared to talk up your organization’s successes. “It’s not only important to be there at those events but to establish yourself as a thought leader. You can’t be a wallflower,” she says. “It’s not bragging, it’s advocating. It’s important you’re putting your story out there.”
Thaw Out Your Cold Calls
When you don’t have the resources to attend or speak at every conference, cold outreach can still be successful, says Anne Musial, chief development officer at The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom that covers issues related to gender, politics, and policy. “Just try to defrost as much as possible,” says Musial, who reports that general operating grants made up 47 percent of her group’s total revenue last year.
When you’ve identified a foundation that makes general operating grants, search its website or LinkedIn profile to find the program officers who focus on your mission area, and reach out to them. “Funders are happy to have conversations and want to know what’s going on in the field,” she says. “Follow up with brief emails of little highlights to keep your organization top-of-mind when the next funding cycle comes around.”
Expect at least six months and up to a year of relationship-building before you might be invited to apply for an unrestricted grant.
Second, you should ask your board members to introduce you to private or corporate foundations where they have connections, which makes a funder more likely to take your call.
Finally, Musial views peer organizations as resources, not competition. When she meets other fundraisers in journalism who have been successful in getting unrestricted support, she’ll ask for a 30-minute Zoom call to share what’s working. Sometimes that leads to referrals to the program officers they’ve been working with, she says.
Build Rapport With Program Officers
Once you’ve connected with a program officer, nurture that connection over time to build trust with the funder. Brown-Kinzel says to expect at least six months and up to a year of relationship-building before you might be invited to apply for an unrestricted grant.
She shares media hits about the organization’s work — whether organic news coverage, paid media, or social media — to stay connected with program officers and keep them up to date.
Groups that work hard to draw attention to their track record of success in their mission area are best positioned to get on a foundation’s short list. Program officers are checking that your group has the ability to do meaningful work on an issue the funder cares about, she says: “You can have a charismatic leader, but if you don’t have the capacity to use a million dollars, then they need to know you will know what to do with it.”
Also, because not every grant maker has a staff of program officers, Brown-Kinzel stays in touch with people who have the right connections to invite her to apply: “Make friends with wealth managers and advisers to donor-advised funds. Network with them, let them know what you’re doing, and they may in turn start that conversation.”
Be Clear on Alignment
Before you submit your proposal, be totally clear on what makes your nonprofit a good partner for the foundation and what values the organizations share.
The 19th doesn’t limit itself to foundations that make grants to journalism groups, Musial says. She thinks more broadly about the issues they cover to find areas of alignment outside of the news box: “We report on climate, reproductive health, caregiving, and education, so we reach out to funders who fund in those spaces.” Some program officers reply that they have the budget only for direct services, but others have given them operating grants for covering those issues, she says.
Yem agrees that alignment is the most important aspect of your pitch to nail down. “To get on our radar is to know someone that we know, and to make sure that the work is aligned. If there is no alignment, then I wouldn’t try,” she says.
For example, an arts group applying for a grant from an environmental program without showing that there is any overlap would be an automatic no, she says, as would be a proposal to use a grant for lobbying or other prohibited activities.
If you’re told it’s not the right time in the funding cycle, you can always apply again later, but listen carefully when it’s not a good fit, Yem says: “Accept the first no, and don’t keep going for it.”
Perfect Your Pitch
In your proposal, Brown-Kinzel recommends using reflective language to restate what the foundation identifies as its priorities on its website. “Mirror back their own language to them to show, this is the alignment,” she says.
The ideal proposal will show that you will spend some of an unrestricted grant right away for immediate impact, use some of it for strategic growth, and reserve some of it for a rainy day.
For a general operating grant, you don’t have to talk about goals and objectives in the way you would in a proposal for a program grant, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore outcomes entirely.
Describe what operating support will mean to your group so that the grant maker knows how you plan to grow, she says. “In some way, define what are the overall goals and objectives that are tied to your mission,” Brown-Kinzel says. “What can you achieve on an annual basis that the funder can expect they can be a part of?”
According to her, the ideal proposal will show that you will spend some of an unrestricted grant right away for immediate impact, use some of it for strategic growth, and reserve some of it for a rainy day.
Musial uses storytelling to highlight the successes The 19th has had in the five years since it was founded: “We tell our story of launching in the pandemic with 20 staff and a couple hundred thousand in the bank” to now, with 54 employees across 20 states.
Focusing on the vision of your leadership makes funders feel more comfortable with entrusting you with unrestricted support, she says. “We built this organization from the ground up, and it shows a lot of competence in our leaders.”
Pick the Best Moment
Yem says the Surdna Foundation does not hesitate in giving general operating support right off the bat to a new grantee, but organizations that have previously received project support are already trusted entities. That makes them well suited to ask for an unrestricted grant next. “If a grant comes up for renewal, and it’s aligned, then it can turn into general operating support,” she says.
Brown-Kinzel advises that the beginning of your fiscal year is the best time to apply for a general operating grant because it takes much of the financial pressure off your group to know you can cover your payroll and expenses. “You can spend it on the core functions that keep you up and running. Or it could be applied to a gap that occurs. It’s always good to know where your money is coming from.”
You should also know your funders’ fiscal calendars, Brown-Kinzel says. She finds grant makers are more likely to approve a proposal and give a larger grant at the beginning of their fiscal year, so keep track of those dates and time your proposals accordingly.
Plan for the Future
Finally, the experts say you can best demonstrate that your nonprofit will be a good steward of unrestricted support by being honest and transparent about the organization’s future.
You can acknowledge how important receiving operating support is at this moment while making it clear you have a plan to navigate troubled waters.
During times when your group is facing hardship, Brown-Kinzel says, you can acknowledge how important receiving operating support is at that moment while making it clear you have a plan to navigate troubled waters. For example, if you relied heavily on federal grants that are now frozen, you can frame the situation as a unique event that is not the result of poor planning: “You not only want to demonstrate that you are usually financially stable, but that what you’re doing strongly aligns with the funder’s priorities.”
Musial says that highlighting your sustainability plan is also paramount to building trust. Especially for a multiyear operating grant, Musial says, you want to present a long-term outlook.
Don’t say that you need an operating grant to survive, she warns. “Even if that’s the case, you can say, ‘This will help us keep the lights on and lay the groundwork to make sure we can keep the lights on for the next few years.’”
