Category

Nonprofit

Aug 04
0

4 Types of Awarding Strategies Grant Seekers Should Know

By | Grant Management, Nonprofit | No Comments
grant application and Welter Consulting logo

Grant seekers are always on the lookout for effective awarding strategies that can enhance their chances of securing funding for their projects. In this blog post, we will explore four key types of awarding strategies that grant seekers should know. By understanding these strategies, you can tailor your grant applications to align with the preferences and priorities of funders, increasing your chances of success.

Be Competitive

One commonly used awarding strategy is the competitive approach. Under this strategy, grant seekers submit applications that are evaluated and compared against one another. Funding is then awarded to the most deserving and promising projects, based on predetermined evaluation criteria. To succeed in this strategy, grant seekers should focus on clearly articulating their project’s unique value, demonstrating its impact, and showcasing their organization’s capacity to effectively implement the proposed initiative.

Establish Formulas

Formula awarding strategies allocate funding based on predetermined formulas, or formulas that take into account specific criteria such as population size, poverty rates, or other relevant factors. This approach provides a more predictable and consistent funding framework. Grant seekers should familiarize themselves with the formula used by the funding agency and ensure their project aligns with the criteria outlined to maximize their chances of receiving funding.

Discretion

Discretionary awarding strategies grant decision-making authority to the funder or a designated committee. In this approach, grant seekers must focus on building relationships and effectively communicating the value and importance of their project directly to the decision-makers. Understanding the funder’s priorities and tailoring your proposal to align with their goals is crucial in this strategy.

Collaboration

Collaborative awarding strategies involve partnerships between grant seekers and funders to jointly develop and implement projects. In this approach, grant seekers must actively engage with potential funders, establish shared goals, and demonstrate their capacity to collaborate effectively. Building strong relationships and presenting a compelling case for partnership are key to success in this strategy.

As a grant seeker, it is essential to be aware of the different awarding strategies employed by funders. By understanding and aligning your grant applications with these strategies, you can increase your chances of securing funding for your projects. Whether it’s the competitive approach, formula-based funding, discretionary decision-making, or collaborative partnerships, tailoring your proposals to match the funder’s preferences and priorities is key. Remember to thoroughly research each funder’s guidelines and requirements, communicate your project’s value effectively, and build strong relationships with decision-makers. By doing so, you can navigate the grant-seeking process more strategically and increase your chances of securing the resources needed to bring your projects to life.

If you’re looking for further guidance and assistance in the grant-seeking process, consider reaching out to Welter Consulting. Our team of experts specializes in providing software and services tailored to the unique needs of nonprofit organizations. Contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.

Jul 03
0

No Margin, No Mission: The Need for Nonprofit Financial Sustainability

By | Nonprofit | No Comments
watering can, plants, stacked coins, and Welter Consulting logo

There once was a nonprofit where someone had taped a sign on the marketing department doorway: no margin, no mission.

The sign came about because the marketing department was treated like an afterthought in the educational nonprofit. The marketing team, however, recognized the importance of their work toward providing a sustainable, long-term income to the nonprofit so that it could continue to fulfill its mission of equality in education.

Many nonprofits shy away from marketing, somehow feeling it is out of sync with their mission to serve others. However, without an adequate cash flow and recurring revenue, nonprofits with a powerful mission may struggle to survive. Just like a for-profit business, a nonprofit must raise awareness for its work and “customers” for its products or services. Marketing and related activities are important to nonprofits to generate a sustainable, recurring revenue stream and shore up cash reserves for periods when other forms of income are less dependable (or dry up completely).

Getting Comfortable with Marketing

Are you uncomfortable with marketing? Often, people mistakenly believe that marketing equals heavy-hitting sales tactics or repeating annoying advertisements.

Marketing is the art and science of helping companies connect with buyers for their products or services. In the case of nonprofits, marketing accomplishes three goals:

  1. It helps nonprofits raise funds to support their operations and activities.
  2. It raises awareness of the organization’s mission.
  3. It connects nonprofits to the groups they serve.

The purpose of marketing for nonprofits is to help the organization raise awareness, generate income, and build sustainable net assets to ensure its ability to continue providing services. Think of marketing as the fuel that ensures your organization can go far—without it, growth will stall.

Where to Begin Marketing?

To newcomers, marketing might seem like a huge topic—where should you begin?

Sometimes organizations skip straight ahead to promotion, which consists of the activities used to share information to the public. Examples include social media, paid advertising, flyers, invitations, direct mail, emails, etc.

Before starting promotional activities, it is helpful to spend time with branding. Branding includes things like logos, color palette, and other elements. But, most importantly, it emphasizes messaging. You should spend a considerable amount of time developing messages for each target market or group with whom you interact. Many organizations develop a messaging strategy that includes overall messages and then separate but related messages for donors, clients or patrons, staff, etc.

Growing an Organization: Plant and Water Sustainable Seeds

Often nonprofits are givers—they give of themselves but rarely invest in themselves. Successful organizations, on the other hand, invest in their organizations to ensure growth. These investments are like seeds planted in a field that require watering and tending to germinate, take root, and flourish. Organizations with a growth mindset also plant seeds and tend them. The seeds they plant are like marketing, and the marketing efforts germinate into revenue streams. This revenue source can then be reinvested in the organization, especially in its people, to build a strong, sustainable foundation. And, over time, as the organization grows, it may need to step outside of its comfort zone and take risks on innovative programs or initiatives to build sustainable momentum.

Marketing is indeed important, not antithetical, to nonprofits. It’s time that organizations re-think their relationship to marketing. It is the best and surest way to nurture and sustain long-term growth.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

Jun 30
0

The Top Nonprofit Trends for 2023

By | Nonprofit | No Comments
calendar with the year 2023, blocks which spell trends, Welter Consulting logo

Are you looking to jazz up your volunteerism? Spice up your marketing? Or simply looking for new ways to energize donors and supporters?

If you answered “Yes!” to any of these, then these top nonprofit trends for 2023 fit the bill. Ranging from trends in volunteerism to technology, this list encompasses useful things any nonprofit, big or small, can fit into their activities. Choose the nonprofit trends that fit into your overall mission, vision, and plans for 2023, and get ready to grow.

Three Nonprofit Trends to Try in 2023

  1. Volunteer Management Trends

Managing volunteers can be challenging. It can be difficult to find enough people willing to donate their time. Work, family engagements, and other obligations often keep people from volunteering the hours that a nonprofit needs.

However, one of the trends in volunteer management is the notion of hybrid volunteerism. This trend is like hybrid work: some of it is online, while another portion is in person. In a hybrid volunteer model, nonprofits add virtual options to their events and other activities. People who may not be able to attend in person often find they can attend online.

In the post-pandemic world, people expect virtual options for about everything. And why not? Offering a lower-cost virtual ticket to an event or fundraiser is a terrific way to expand the opportunity, raise additional funds, and build a sustainable, long-term fundraising event.

Another development in the world of volunteering is micro volunteerism. As the name implies, it encourages people to volunteer in small, ad hoc ways. Many people who cannot otherwise contribute can make a small yet meaningful contribution to an organization through micro volunteerism. Think about online opportunities such as sharing on social media, asking people to sign up for matching programs or other incentives, and similar activities.

Lastly, do you have a mobile volunteerism initiative planned? Like hybrid volunteerism and micro volunteerism, a combination of technology and the internet has made mobile volunteerism an important trend for 2023. Think text messages (sent to the recipient with their permission, of course!), apps, or other information that can be portable on a mobile phone.

  1. Fundraising Trends

While the bake sale or rummage sale is not out of the question, nonprofit fundraising trends have grown increasingly more sophisticated with the passage of time. Among the 2023 nonprofit trends are fundraising trends. These include:

  • Personalizing donor experiences: providing donors with personalized content to thank them and engage them in your nonprofit’s mission.
  • Online fundraising activities: the internet has broadened everyone’s ability to fundraise. What was once limited to local activities can now be shared globally with the goal of raising more funds.
  • Membership programs: if it makes sense to do so, a monthly giving program can translate into a membership with benefits for members that make it worth their while to participate.
  • Monthly giving plans: a regularly occurring gift can provide a steady recurring source of revenue.
  • Immediate needs: another trend shaping up for 2023 is digital fundraising to impart a sense of urgency, listing the nonprofit’s immediate needs.
  1. Nonprofit Technology Trends

We have mentioned the internet continuing to have significant impact on volunteerism, fundraising, and program delivery for nonprofits. Other types of technology are also having a major impact on nonprofits and increasing their ability to reach volunteers, donors, and program activity recipients.

Consider your current technology base; do you have what you need to run your organization efficiently? Grant and fundraising software, tracking software, and nonprofit accounting software are all critical components of an efficient nonprofit.

Among nonprofit technology trends, the following are trends that continue to grow in importance as we head into the second half of 2023:

  • Social media: nonprofits use social media for a variety of reasons, but every social media platform provides a fantastic way to interact with the public.
  • Texting: special software exists that can send automated texts for fundraising, events, immediate needs, etc. It is important, however, to always follow permission-based marketing best practices.
  • Videos: video continues to be one of the most popular ways to share content and it continues to grow exponentially. Almost every social media platform now offers some form of video content, so think beyond TikTok or YouTube and connect with your audience wherever they prefer to be online.

Ready for 2023 Nonprofit Trends? Let’s Talk

If you are reading this and you feel like you have fallen behind on keeping up with the trends, never fear – there’s still time. Focus on the basics, build your plan, and then enact it. Even enacting just one new tactic may invigorate your programs and breathe new life into volunteerism, fundraising, or technology.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

Jun 28
0

Closing the Books, Part 2

By | Accounting, Nonprofit | No Comments
person writing in ledger and Welter Consulting logo

In Part 1 of Closing the Books, we shared tips for making month-end close smooth sailing. Now, let’s delve into year-end close.

Year-End Close Considerations

As your fiscal year draws to a close, it’s time to look at:

  1. Receivables and payables
  2. Salary fringe allocations/accruals
  3. Worker’s Comp/Unemployment Insurance
  4. Year-end postage (and other supplies)
  5. Reclassification of temporarily restricted/unrestricted net assets
  6. Reconciling statement of position (balance sheet) and closing/opening accounts

Receivables and Payables

At year-end, it is important to review all receivables and payables to ensure they are attributed to the correct year. If any are “subsequent events,” they need to be adjusted so they reflect the correct fiscal year.

Salary Fringe Allocations/Accruals

Review all entries pertaining to salaries and benefits. Make sure that any benefits, including bonuses, are attributed to the correct fiscal year. Carry over any Paid Time Off (PTO) or other benefits that accrue year-to-year.

Workers Comp and Unemployment Insurance

These expenses should be evenly apportioned among programs. You can do this via journal entries. Workers Compensation insurance may have varying rates; however, workers comp insurance for specific positions may be higher than for others.

Year-End Postage and Other Supplies

Postage and other supplies that are not carried as prepaid expenses or inventory assets should be moved from the expense account to the prepaid inventory account and then reversed in the opening month of the new fiscal year.

Reclassification of Temporarily Restricted/Unrestricted Net Assets

If you have fulfilled the restricted purposes or conditions of any net assets, the balance of the net asset categories must be updated. It’s a good idea to do this monthly or quarterly, or you can do it at the end of the fiscal year via a journal entry.

Reconciling (SOP) Statement of Position (Balance Sheet) and Closing/Opening Accounts

When you receive the auditor’s year-end adjustments, double check that your financial statements match the audit figures. This check helps with several things. First, it ensures that you have entered all the audit entries correctly into your accounting software. It also ensures that all subsequent statements will be correct. This is especially important for SOP account balances; they carry over from year to year. Statement of Account (SOA) ending balances should also match your system so that you can view accurate year-over-year comparisons.

Make Year-End Close Easy

Although taking time from your busy day to complete monthly and year-end closing can be challenging, failing to do so can lead to many problems. Your accounts can quickly get out of sync, showing incorrect assets and liabilities; amounts won’t tally with bank or credit card statements; and you’ll quickly lose sight of the big picture of your organization’s finances.

Using the outline in Part 1 and the next steps detailed here in Part 2 of the various steps needed to close monthly and end of year accounting, you will make this process smooth and easy—and gain an accurate and complete picture of your organization’s finances.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.