How Grantmakers Can Help Nonprofits Build Fundraising Muscle

Every foundation wants to see its grantees succeed in raising the resources they need to carry out their work, so when an organization requests money to hire a fundraiser, it’s tempting to jump at the chance to help.     

But, at the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, we’ve found that grants to bring on a development director or a consultant often fall short of the kinds of transformations that both we and our grantees had envisioned. Sure, there were organizations that benefited and saw some positive changes, but most were disheartened to find that their daunting fundraising challenges stubbornly persisted.      

Foundations can play an important part in helping grantees recognize that smart fundraising is about more than having the right person in the development-director job or the right consultant at your side.

This article was first published in the April 7th, 2013 edition of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Continue reading the full piece here.