Foundation Relations - The Importance of Making a Phone Call Before Submitting a Grant Proposal

Several years ago, I was seeking a grant to support the creation of a revolving loan fund so that a homeless shelter would have funds available when an appropriate building came on the market. This was at a time when the housing market was really hot (unlike today) and the shelter wanted to have funds readily available for a down payment for an appropriate property when it came on the market. After doing much research, I found a local foundation that seemed to give grants for this kind of work. No one on the board had any contacts at this foundation that would make a phone call easier. My first thought was simply to submit a proposal because their application was quite simple.
Fortunately, I remembered that relationships are key to all fundraising and that any proposal would have a better chance if the foundation had some knowledge of our shelter before they received the proposal. I also knew that preparation for the call would determine its success. I had done my homework and knew what type of projects they funded, what their general funding range was, that they accepted unsolicited proposals, when their deadlines were, and what application form they required.
Since the explicit purpose for the call would be to let them know about our shelter and see if my idea for a proposal made sense to them, I prepared a one minute summary of what we were looking for. If they agreed it was a good idea, I would confirm that I understood the application process and the deadline and also ask if I could call again if any questions or concerns arose as I was preparing the proposal. Then I would thank them for their time. By speaking clearly and succinctly and being polite, I could give the foundation an implicit message that I am a credible person working for a meaningful nonprofit that they may enjoy doing business with.
After practicing what I was going to say out loud, I took a deep breath, made the call, and was prepared when the program officer herself picked up the phone. She responded that she had just a couple of minutes to talk and so I started my one minute presentation. As soon as I said "revolving loan fund", she interrupted brusquely and said that the foundation no longer gives those grants. That could have been the end of the conversation, but for the fact that I had an alternative request in mind. The shelter had recently purchased a house for homeless teens. Because of the monthly mortgage payments, we were unable to fund a staff person to provide much needed services for the homeless teens. If we could pay down all or some of the mortgage, we could fill this position.
When I proposed this idea (in less than a minute), the program officer said that the foundation had helped nonprofits reduce mortgage debt in the past and that they would be willing to consider a proposal for that purpose. Since she had clearly said she only had a few minutes, I thanked her for the time and told her we would submit that proposal.
I hung up the phone and spent a moment being grateful for having made this call. Without doing it, I would have wasted time writing a proposal that would have ended up in the wastebasket. Now I could spend time preparing the application they wanted and apply for something that they might actually fund. In addition, I had taken the first step in developing a relationship with the program officer. I had learned that she would take phone calls, that she only wanted calls that were direct and to the point, and that she responded well when I expressed myself clearly and succinctly and I respected her time.
This information served me well in future calls with her and other foundation officers. Some are like this person and want only brief calls. Others are much more talkative, want more information, and often require more time on the phone. By doing homework in advance, listening well, and responding to the different personal styles of the funders, I have been able to turn cold calls into warm relationships that often have resulted in funded proposals.
By the way, three months after that first phone call, the shelter received a check in the mail for $100,000 (the full amount requested in the proposal).
Author Bio:
ane B. Ford, M.Ed. is a speaker, author, teacher, coach and consultant who guides individuals and nonprofits on the road to prosperity. She has worked with small to mid-sized nonprofits for three decades in the roles of executive director, trainer, fundraiser and management consultant. You can learn more about Jane at http://TheJoyPath.com and http://GetGrantsNow.net.
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