You're organizing a fundraising event for your community. How can you adapt it to meet their evolving needs?

As an Outreach Coordinator/ Grant writer, I am constantly researching programs in the community to partner with. Due to the nature of our non-profit, we train and develop the technical aspects of video and sound production," what we need is a story to tell." So, when we apply for a documentary grant, we also connect with an expert in that field. These synergistic relationships must develop between companies, not just with my company but for non-profits across the board. The reason I am presenting this information is to provide context to a need, a need for organizations to network, educate and develop. These alliances will only benefit the community we serve.

I believe in accessing the level of the organization's perceived qualitative worth in the community at large before undertaking any attempt to garner financial support. If the organization is misundetstood or disliked in the community they are in, the first step is education so that the community is supportive. Only then can you hope to achieve a successful fundraising campaign. Grant writing is obviously a different process entirely. Fundraising is a far more public process and relies more on interpersonal relationships and trust in the goals and purpose of the organization where grants rely more on meeting certain standards preordained in the application process. Of course, once the perceived worth is taken care if, engaging is next.

In our local community, we face challenges not due to a lack of resources, but because of knowledge gaps, limited transportation to and from resources, and language barriers. The are all symptoms of a complex and robust society and that is okay, " these symptoms can be alleviated by resource education." It's a good problem to have and a solution easily executed. When people ask for resources, they usually lack specificity and end up getting a resource that doesn't resolve their current need.

It is absolutely imperative to be flexible in the planning. I attempt to find events and venues that are either indoors or have the ability to provide indoor or at least "covered" outdoor areas in case of inclimate weather. Rain dates are also useful sometimes, but are more cumbersome as people tend to put one date on their calendar and then build their social calendar around that. When that happens, you've list those people on a rain date that might otherwise have attended the event.

Grants for non-profits take time to turn over, sometimes even years. So don't just apply for big ones that may take years for review and referral attempt to win smaller grants that may have a faster turn out rate and like a diversified stock portfolio, each company should have a diverse group of grants they are looking for.

J'avais généralisé, dans l'association où j'étais alors salariée, l'organisation chaque année de deux à trois journées de solidarité entreprise. Le principe est de faire se rencontrer deux univers qui ne se c?toient pas d'ordinaire : le secteur marchand et le secteur associatif. Les entreprises proposent à leurs équipes un temps de rencontre et de partage, généralement d'une journée, sur un projet à impact. Cela permettait à nos bénéficiaires, des femmes en situation de handicap porteuses de différentes singularités, de profiter soit d'une sortie culturelle soit d'un temps de répit avec des soins esthétiques. Ce don de temps était fort apprécié de toutes.