July 30, 2020
Well, so in addition to New York, Minnesotans must quarantine and show Covid-19 test results to get into Connecticut and New Jersey. So don’t expect an invitation to visit Newman’s Own Foundation (CT) or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (NJ). As a Midwestern boy with traditional Midwestern biases, it’s funny to think of NJ people keeping MN people out of their state. Just a cultural bias.
Funds and People
Another great person,
Lori Berg, a Program Officer at the
Saint Paul Minnesota Community
Foundation
will be retiring this month. A real loss, especially to organizations working on physical and mental health. AP staff consensus: We wish you well and wonder if you're open to a little part-time consulting work.
And you do remember
August 4
is the deadline for St Paul, Bigelow and Mardag foundations, right?
Otto Bremer Trust
has announced its
2020-2021 deadlines -- Sep 22, 2020, Jan 7, 2021, Mar 31, 2021 and Jun 30, 2021.
But watch this space for changes.
Critical Information
Watch For It!
VIRTUAL EVENTS: WHAT TO KNOW. Our colleague Elaine Weber Nelson is preparing another of her
great shorty online PowerPoint presentations. This one and past PPTs will be on our
website.
DO YOU NEED CONTACT INFORMATION? -- AP’s MN Plus database of 1500 Minnesota-relevant funders is still on sale – ½ price for one year.
$250 for a full year of the largest
database of Minnesota funders
. Selling hotter than leaf blowers in Portland, MN Plus includes detailed profiles of Minnesota resident funders and non-resident funders who annually award grants in MN (Ford, JPMorgan, Clif Bar).
Tender Loving Care and Great Advice in 30 Minute Increments
Our staff and consultants continue to provide 30-minute telephone chats with fundraisers, volunteers, staff and other folks who are wondering what to do next.
Last week we received our first request from a funding staff. We all need a little listening time with people who know the business and respect your group. Send Gail Morrison (
gail@accessphilanthropy.com) to arrange a time. Worried about the sales pitch? That’s not a deal for us.
The World Inside Philanthropy
Latanya Mapp-Frett, president of the
Global Fund for Women
talked last week about how the pandemic is deeply affecting domestic and international funding for women of color. She talked about a problem that most new/unconnected organizations have with funders who don’t know them and who don’t like talking to unfamiliar applicants:
Funders, especially progressive funders who only accept requests from their friends and people they know, are at risk of
1) discouraging new leaders who have new ideas & 2) playing the same game many funders played years ago – only funding those folks who they trust to do exactly what the funder insists they should do. Both are dangerous practices – especially for those who want change.
Last week we spoke with a leader of a small family foundation which has a long-term commitment to a many specific grantees. Nevertheless, he said his trustees do three things to keep the fires going:
- They make sure that at least two proposals on the trustees’ docket are from new applicants.
- They hire part-time staff prior to a giving cycle to read proposals from non-returning applicants.
- The set aside a small percentage of funds from each cycle to fund new people and new ideas.
Thank god for progressive funders (and all funders) who want to support great ideas, services and leaders. But
thank god even more for funders who want to support tomorrow’s leaders and ideas.
Thanks to Latanya Mapp-Frett for saying publicly what many grantseekers have been saying for years.
Two New COVID-19 Relief Funders
(Thanks to GrantStation)
- Literary Arts Emergency Fund -- is providing one-time emergency relief grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to nonprofit literary organizations and publishers throughout the U.S. The determination of grant amounts will include financial need and projected loss due to COVID-19; diversity, equity, and inclusion in regards to an organization's staff and board, poets and writers contracted, and audiences served; budget size; and an organization's ability to continue offering programming. The application deadline is August 7, 2020.
- “Start Ups that Change the World” Sorenson Impact Foundation is inviting proposals for solutions that can contribute to a more equitable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis. The Foundation is specifically targeting solutions that enable recovery through developing and growing businesses as well as the communities they're in to equitably rebuild coming out of the current social, health, and economic crisis. The focus areas include 1) Equitable Access to Wealth Creation Through Entrepreneurship, 2) Democratized Access to Capital and Community Investment, and 3) Workforce Development. Solutions must be primarily focused on underserved and underrepresented communities in the United States. Application deadline is August 30, 2020. Both grant and PRI requests are welcome.
If We Were Together This Week
(I’m getting tired of NOT being together), we might be celebrating the birthday of Ann Calvello (August 1, 1929) who was the original flamboyant, brightly dressed, foul-mouthed, tattooed villainess of roller derby. If you can’t be together, raise a (unbreakable) glass in honor of our heroes --
badass women and non-binaries of history.
Know someone who needs Fluff-Free Fundraising? Send a note to:
