Need to secure general operating support? Here's how.
If you’re in the nonprofit world, you know the importance of developing trust with funders. And as we continue reeling from the pandemic’s impact, many organizations are as emboldened as they are exhausted, having not only shifted how they deliver services to communities, but what services they deliver.
Particularly impacted are local mid-sized nonprofits, facing skyrocketing demand, revenue reductions, staff furloughs, and critical fundraising events rendered impossible.
One response to this new reality is the call for donors to increase their granting of unrestricted gifts, or general operating support (GOS) grants to nonprofits. If funders can loosen their control over how organizations spend money, nonprofit leaders argue, they can deliver critical services like food, healthcare, housing support, and more to those most in need more efficiently.
But this will take intent on the part of funders: to trust grantees to do their job, a job that is critical to the well-being of so many.
Multiyear GOS grants only make up a small share of all nonprofit operating budgets. Only 41 percent of grantees surveyed in 2020 by The Center for Effective Philanthropy, or CEP, reported receiving multiyear GOS before the pandemic. This is particularly concerning when you consider that in 2019, 92 percent of nonprofit leaders surveyed by CEP said it was very or extremely important for major donors to provide them unrestricted funds.
As communicators committed to helping nonprofit organizations compassionately deliver relief and support to kids and their families, we want to help make receiving the general operating support you need a reality. And if transparency encourages trust, communicating your circumstances to funders honestly and holistically might make all the difference.
So, here are two major keys for showing your impact (and your needs!) to funders, year-round.
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Ditch that Lengthy Annual Report for a Shorter Report, Along with Quarterly or Bi-annual Updates
We’ve included tips for a shorter report here! And if this is non-negotiable for your funders, make a practice of documenting and narrating your progress every few months internally. For example, perhaps you could draft sections of your more lengthy annual report throughout the year after milestone moments.
This way, you eliminate the stress of recounting a year’s worth of highs and lows after a full year and can capture and articulate the details and excitement of every story with ease.
Don’t wait until December to try and remember who won the raffle in March!
Share on Socials, Newsletters and Blogs Often and Honestly
Avoid having to conduct an annual end-of-the-year treasure hunt across your organization for examples of funding in action—from new partnerships and events to annual program highlights —by showing your impact year-round! (We’ve all received those “if anyone has photos from X event, please send them to me!” emails.)
And remember: every newsletter, blog, tweet, and Facebook post is an opportunity to communicate not only your successes, but challenges as well. Put differently, use social media to illuminate the stakes of your work: who suffers from budget shortfalls, who is responsible for helping folks get by, and who benefits when funders trust you.
For example, say your therapy clinic needs major investments in technology to reach clients remotely. Write a blog post detailing the gap between your desire to deliver resources and your capacity to do so, and then share it far and wide.
Pro tip: storytelling helps build strong relationships with your most important audiences.
The challenges of your organization often reflect the needs of your community, so allow your story and the story of your clients to be told as one.
Nobody believes in the importance of your work like you do, and with a few smart strategies, your commitment can be beautifully expressed with big time results.
P.S. Stay tuned! We’re opening signups for our next webinar, Communications in a Post-COVID World: How to Advocate Strategically for Your Nonprofit and Your Mission, soon!
