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Fundraising Tech With Gary Grant: Empowering Small Organizations

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by Gary B. Grant

     There has always been an abundance of small nonprofit organizations. In fact, many larger organizations started at someone’s kitchen table. I worked at the National Alzheimer’s Association, for example, and despite being a $150 million/year organization when I was there, our origin story was always remembered. Both the national organization and its regional chapters typically started when some bold individuals created a small circle of tireless advocates to meet in homes and organize localized awareness and fundraising events to support families dealing with Alzheimer’s and fund research toward a cure. 

     Occasionally, as in that organization’s case, they would grow to open an office, get some computers, and hire a staff person or two. Eventually, the staff would become specialized, including hiring experienced fundraisers. They could eventually expand fundraising to a wider region.

     The internet has not changed that pathway to growth, but what it is doing, I would argue, is creating more opportunities for small organizations to sustain themselves, even while remaining small. And part of this dynamic is the ability to break out of geographical limitations for constituent development. Today, one person can create and sustain an organization that unites people with a common cause or issue anywhere in the world.

     For example, I have worked with Monica Ochola, project development manager for Hope for the Destitute, a nonprofit organization in Africa that provides educational support for orphaned children and shelter for needy widows. Monica leads this organization while pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership and administration at Bowling Green State University.

     Through her website, https://www.hftdestitute.org/, she showers potential donors with images of the children her organization serves and the school where this takes place. Skimming through it, you can’t help but feel as if you are at the Kibos Hope Academy in Kisumu, Kenya, complete with a Google map to let you feel a sense of place. This intimate relationship creates an opportunity to engage donors from around the world. In fact, her advisory board consists of a president, a secretary, and a treasurer who all reside in Indiana, and donors are attracted from anywhere to engage and become sustaining donors or fund a current project. She meets with her board and with her organization almost exclusively remotely.

     In days past, one might hope for a letter and a picture from a sponsored child after giving “a few cents a day” to a large organization. We all knew there would be substantial and necessary administrative costs for such an operation. And for many, the benefits of such a larger structure may be worth it.

     But today we are increasingly developing the power of that small group to offer an alternative and more direct way to support a cause. Monica hopes that when the internet becomes more reliable in Kisumu, she will be able to do even more to find and engage her donors from anywhere in the world and to give them an experience that makes them feel closer to the impacts they have.

     In 2019, there were 11.6 million women-owned businesses generating $1.7 trillion in sales.

(See https://www.nawbo.org/resources/women-business-owner-statistics). Many of these businesses were out of individuals' homes and had no employees.

     I believe we will see a similar trend in nonprofit organizations in which one person or a small group lead a cause with scaled, but geographically broad, support.

     What should an individual seeking to create a sustainable organization do to thrive?

Find mentors.

     Small organizations will lack the specialized expertise that their larger counterparts have. But there are people very willing to help. Find someone, even if you have to comb through LinkedIn, who understands major gifts, events fundraising, foundation relations, annual giving, crowdfunding, and so forth. Form a team of individuals that can give you useful input on your work plan. Don’t take their suggestions at face value, but use their input to put together a good work plan for fundraising that’s right to you.

     You might even find opportunities to create an affiliate relationship with a larger organization. Without sacrificing your freedom, a partnership could give you access to more expensive and advanced giving platforms, grant searching tools, and research databases in exchange for sponsorship recognition as a partner and perhaps a minimal additional seat cost.

Use the internet for professional development.

     Monica, mentioned above, first met me when she was a development intern in a program organized by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Through this 8-week program, she was able to get a broad view of fundraising and to deep dive on the topic of major gifts. Whether through CASE or on your own, you may find opportunities to intern or shadow a development professional to build your understanding of successful fundraising programs.

     Conferences, which can be expensive when you include the costs of travel and hotels, are increasingly available in webinars. And, of course, there is an abundance of sample documents you can find easily by searching Google or accessing the libraries of professional development organizations like CASE, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, or publications like the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

     Here are a few tools I use daily that can help small organizations feel larger, and I would love to expand this list with your favorites.

Gary Grant has a BA from the University of Chicago and a JD from Illinois Tech's Chicago-Kent College of Law. He currently serves as Senior VP for Development for Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech). Founded at the dawn of the Space Race in 1958, Florida Tech is the only independent, technological university in the Southeast. In this role, he oversees all fundraising and leadership engagement for the University. Gary has authored several books on the use of the internet in nonprofits and fundraising.

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