News You Can Use

Danger of taking things for "Grant"-ed

As you know, the folks here in the Scottish Rite Charities office are enthusiastic about grants for our Learning Centers. We are always looking for good prospects. We've developed abundant materials to help the Learning Center volunteers apply for grants. Our staff are always happy to work with a local Center that is seeking this support.

Why do we work this way? We are bullish on grants for our Learning Centers. The Learning Centers are attractive to funders because of their success and their cost-effectiveness. Generally grants should augment your funding sources.

A cloud on the horizon has arisen however. The Chronicle of Philanthropy predicts that 2010 will be a down year for foundation giving. The reason for this is the poor stock market over the past 2 years. Their problems reflect the fact that foundations are largely endowments and rely upon a regulated return of their assets. The losses of 2008 and 2009 will affect foundations in 2010 suggests the Chronicle.

What does that mean to us? Well for one, still attempt to aquire grants. The environment might be more challenging this year, but we still have a good story to tell and are quite funding worthy. Even if you don't get funded today, a good proposal may put you toward the hear of the line in 2011, when giving should rebound.

If you are receiving grants already, this is the time to keep a close relationship with your donor/foundation. Make sure you are communicating with the foundation and providing positive feedback. In a time of scarcer funds, the foundation might look at all recipients and prune back those recipients that don't appear to using the funds best.

For more information, read the entire article here.