When cultivating relationships with stakeholders, both nonprofits and foundations need to make certain that their digital presence conveys a sense of trustworthiness, authenticity and clarity of purpose, because most research is conducted online.  Additionally, for effective storytelling, irrespective of channel, organizations need to highlight the problems they are working to solve, their solutions to address them, and the impact they have made.

Did you know?

1. The U.S. is home to 140,000 foundations, yet in our increasingly digital world, only approximately 10% of them have websites.
2. There are 1.5 million nonprofits registered in the U.S. and many of them struggle to differentiate themselves to attract the second largest source of funding in the U.S. -- $75.86 billion in foundation giving.

Traditionally, foundations chose to maintain an air of mystery about their grantmaking priorities, selection criteria, and even the organizations they supported.  However, in today’s increasingly digital and connected world, foundations have an opportunity to streamline their grantmaking processes, share their stories of impact to inspire others and attract potential collaborators, and highlight their grantees to draw other prospective funders and supporters.

Nonprofits looking to engage with foundations, meanwhile, need to do so with an understanding of how to discover who will be most interested in funding their work; how to approach and develop relationships with them; and what it takes to differentiate their organization from the 1.5 million nonprofits registered in the U.S.

While individual giving represents the largest source of U.S. charitable giving, it is more challenging to cultivate relationships for larger donations. In addition, in 2018 individual giving slipped to an all-time low, comprising 68% of nonprofits' private contributions. Therefore, nonprofits looking for larger sources of funding that could potentially include other forms of valuable support (e.g., training and access to networks) should consider the second largest source – foundations – which are more efficient to identify and cultivate.

In researching funding prospects, foundations can access tools such as Guidestar (also useful for nonprofits) or Recipient Profiles in Foundation Directory Online (FDO). In creating a digital presence, foundations can begin with Foundation Websites created by Candid.

Beyond creating a compelling digital presence, nonprofits need to be able to utilize resources available to them online, such as Foundation Directory Online (FDO) and GrantSpace, to learn about the foundations that would potentially be interested in funding them and how to engage with them online, to potentially enter into their respective grantmaking processes.

In this half-day workshop, nonprofits and foundations can learn the essentials of positioning themselves for greater visibility and credibility in the eyes of their stakeholders.

This workshop is for:

1. Nonprofit leaders of fundraising, marketing or communications.
2. Leaders of external relations, grantmaking, or communications in foundations and other grantmaking organizations.
3. Mid-career changers interested in learning about digital engagement in the social sector.

During this workshop, participants will conduct a SWOT analysis of their respective organization’s digital presence, which serves as the starting point of any digital strategy.

By the end of this workshop, participants will:

1. understand the key elements of effective digital storytelling.
2. know which resources they can access to research and engage with stakeholders.
3. have the tools to analyze their respective organization’s digital presence.
4. have access to resources to create a digital strategy, effectively use social media platforms for storytelling and metrics to analyze their organization’s digital presence.

Instructor:

Elizabeth Ngonzi, International Philanthropy Expert / Faculty Member at Heyman Program for Fundraising and Philanthropy at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University

Twitter / Instagram: @LizNgonzi