Live chat discussions are scheduled at Eastern Time.

Foundation Center president Bradford Smith and nonprofit consultant Pamela Grow answer your questions on how to approach foundations that do not accept unsolicited proposals. This event will be a live, text-based, online chat taking place here at GrantSpace.

Does this excerpt from Mr. Smith's recent blog post at PhilanTopic, Don't Call Us, We'll Call You, sound familar?

You're working at a great nonprofit, you've got a wonderful idea that's going to change the world, and all you need is a grant to get you started. Guess what? The majority of America's foundations don't want you to send in a proposal.

Nearly half of the grantmaker profiles in Foundation Directory Online state, "Applications not accepted", i.e., these funders do not take unsolicited proposals. Explore some reasons why foundations choose not to accept applications and learn what you can do to get onto these foundations' radar screens and ultimately, onto their "preselected" list of grantees.

Join our live Q&A and tap the expertise of our featured guests and share your expertise. We devote most of the hour to your questions and comments!

Guest experts:

Bradford K. Smith is president of the Foundation Center. Before joining the Foundation Center in 2008, Brad was president of the Oak Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland, a major family foundation with programs and grant activities in 41 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. He recently wrote "'Don't Call Us, We'll Call You'", a PhilanTopic article about why some foundations do not accept uninvited applications. Read his full bio.

Pamela Grow is an author, coach, copywriter, nonprofit marketing consultant, and political junkie, who has successfully approached and gotten funding from foundations that do not take applications. Pamela shares her knowledge at her web site and Twitter feed. Pamela’s greatest satisfaction lies in teaching the small community-based nonprofits how to, in her words, “market like the big boys” with limited time and resources. Read her full bio.

How It Works
This live, text-based online chat will happen entirely at GrantSpace. The chat window will become live on the day of the chat, and you can submit questions and comments, interact with presenters, and follow the conversation as it happens. Don't miss it!

If you plan to Tweet during the event, please use the hashtag #GrantSpaceChat.