Meet-the-Donor Meetings
CharityChannel.com  Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Sarah S. Brophy

Every meet-the-donor panel I’ve been to has a breakfast bar, the one with the pastries, gorgeous fresh fruit, bagels and cream cheese…and I can’t eat any of it. Chances are, if I want to shake hands with one of the foundation presenters, my fingers will be sticky; or Paul Grogan of the Boston Foundation will walk by as I’m chasing the pineapple around my plate. This is a working meeting, I’m here to find out what these foundations like and don’t like, whom they give to and how they do it. Breakfast has to wait.

The two types of meet-the-donor presentations I go to most often are funder panels hosted by grantmakers associations, and individual presentations by state or federal agencies at conferences or in their catchement areas. They announce upcoming presentations in their email updates or newsletters, web-site listings, and non-profit association newsletters like that from The Foundation Center.

The presentations are free. They’re usually held at the foundation office, a hotel or office board room on public transportation routes, or at sites distributed geographically that, not-surprisingly, have earned funding from the agency at one time. Usually the presentations focus on the coming round of application deadlines, but they can be the more general kind with “here’s what we do and what we want to fund.” There’s always question time, and a chance to speak to the funders after.

Here are some obvious benefits of these meetings:

• getting a second hard-copy of the guidelines to mark up, plus any other promotional materials they have
• seeing evidence of funded projects or publications
• getting ideas on cool ways to do reach audiences for format programs
• meeting potential collaborators
• spreading the word about your organization
• and, of course, meeting the funders.

Don’t be a passive listener; ask your questions confidently; identify yourself and your organization – a little salesmanship, with style, wouldn’t go amiss. You want them to remember you after you leave, and be able to call you up in their minds (positively and completely) during a phone conversation or application review.

This is the time to bring up questions like “what are your expectations of a successful collaboration?” – the answers may range from inviting a speaker from another organization, to a partnership in program development and delivery, to an exchange of constituency responsibility. I try to ask at least one intelligent, helpful, honest question so I become known to the funders and get my questions answered without monopolizing anyone’s time.

I chat with them afterwards only if I have a specific project to discuss. Then I introduce myself, give them my card, and say that I’ll call to set up a time to talk with them about a project I’m now pretty confident will match their interests and their mission. I don’t want to hold the funder hostage, but I do want to imprint him or her with my name, face and organization.

If I don’t introduce myself that day, but decide to make contact within six or so months, I do let them know that I attended their presentation in January in Boston and learned a good deal about their interests and expectations. They really do appreciate our willingness to come out and learn about the process. They get better programs and applications as a result, and you have a better chance of success.

The best part of these meetings is when they tell you what a fundable project or organization MUST have in its proposal and what mistakes others make. What you’re really looking for is what’s NOT in the guidelines, but is on the minds of the staff. Those nuances of a coming change in emphasis, of a preference for a new style of program, of an interest in new evaluation formats, are important to hear about and consider for your application.

I always learn something new: that the Rhode Island Council on the Humanities for its current initiative expects collaboration with a scholar active in academia, not just an independent researcher or that the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) doesn’t get nearly as many applications to the National Leadership Grants category as to the Museums for America (guess where I’ll focus my efforts?).

I’m a meeting junkie, and it’s not just because of the pastries. I go even when I’m not planning an application. Sometimes I leave the meeting planning one or more; sometimes I just update the file with notes and handouts. It’s all grist for the mill.

And the pastry tastes just as good on the way out.

Copyright © 2010 bMuse, Sarah S. Brophy