# Why is it so hard to give away money?



## NotJPMorgan (Jan 30, 2016)

Not sure where this should go – but facility operations seemed the closest.

My family recently expanded their small foundation providing additional funding for the performing arts – focusing on small groups in our region. While I believe we were able to help a number of smaller companies with grants up to 10,000 – in many ways it was a very frustrating process.

I would like to share this saga with ControlBooth in order to (1) – try to give you some hints when you have to write a grant proposal and (2) – see if you folks have any suggestions about how we could have made the process easier and smoother.


We started by sending out a mass mail introducing ourselves to all of the small performing arts groups we could find, telling them about our fund, our goals , and soliciting proposals. Our goal is to either make an organization better by funding a specific project( could be hardware, could be capital improvements, could be to hire in a professional for some aspect of an upcoming production, etc) OR If you were already performing at a high level, we would fund for general operating support.

The experience was "interesting"

The majority of the proposals were badly written. They usually cut and pasted in a whole lot of stuff about their goals and mission, claimed to be a regional theatre because they sell tickets in three counties, contained numerous typos and grammatical errors, and went on and on and on and on without saying anything specific. They were very poor at getting to the point. For most proposals it was quite difficult to understand what they wanted the grant for. 

It was absolutely amazing how many mediocre or unknown companies thought they were performing at a high level and would qualify for general operating support. Over half of the small companies that made a proposal asked for general support. NONE of the small companies ( budgets under 1 million) got general support.

For those companies that had a comprehensive proposal, we typically asked some follow up questions. There were some interesting shake out there as well. One company did not really remember what they had asked for, so the project proposal changed to general support. Another company ( which asked for help in a sound system and hiring a sound engineer ) said “We will decide what to buy if we get a grant”. They did not get funded. One organization wanted to get some video projection equipment because they did not have money for physical scenery and believed that projected scenery would be less expensive. ( They did not get funded either)


The folks with project requests ( whether for extra rehearsal time, or help in purchasing a new light board, sound system enhancements, funding to send some artists to a convention, funds to purchase better costumes and wigs for Amadaeus, installing better sound dreading or air conditioning. ) were clear and concise. They knew what they wanted to do if they got the grant. When pressed for details they had them. They knew what they wanted to do and why.


In the end we made grants totaling about $60,000 to small organizations, and $45,000 in general support to some of the heavy hitters in the area. Now we will wait and see if we get a report of how things went from all of the companies.

So if you have the chance to write a grant for someone. Some things to consider from my side of the table.
1 – We want to give away money. We really do. But we want to make sure you will make good use of it, and that you will use it for the kinds of programs we want to support.
2 - If you would like some money , but don't know what you would do with it - figure that out before you make a proposal. Don't waste both of our times if you aren't "shovel ready".
3 – Read the proposal and what we are looking for. I don’t really care if you are bringing theatre to underserved high schools because that experience will help the students be better students. 
4 – Be very clear what you are asking for. I have to read a lot of grants - make it easy for me to know what you are trying to do. There were some requests that even after a follow up email, I could not tell what they wanted to do with the grant. 
5 - Spell check and proof-read everything. The well written proposals get quicker and better consideration.
6 – If you get a grant – we will ask for a report. Do not fail to write this or the next time we ask for requests ( and there will be a next time) you are unlikely to be considered.
7 – If you give out your email address to anyone – check it every so often. I had a small company that I wanted to support, but I could not get them to submit a request. My emails went unanswered.


Phew – thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Hope it is useful

NotJP


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## Footer (Jan 31, 2016)

Flip your giving on its head. Sponsor artists with projects on the hopper, not large organizations. 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## NotJPMorgan (Feb 1, 2016)

Footer said:


> Flip your giving on its head. Sponsor artists with projects on the hopper, not large organizations.
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk



Not sure I understand your point. I can only give to a 501(c)(3) organization. We want to target small organizations. The majority of our funding last cycle was to smaller organizations ( annual budget under 1M ). Next cycle I will try and remember to ask for annual budget as part of the process. 

Another question is how to find the artists / small organizations with projects in the hopper.

NotJP


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## Footer (Feb 1, 2016)

I've worked pretty much exclusively for non profits for my working life. The small ones usually don't have the money or time to write good grant proposals. The places that can write the good ones have a budget much larger then 1 million. You gave out 100k. That is nothing in this world. Is it worth some board members time to spend a huge amount of time writing a proposal, getting you the financials, and having you breath down their neck to see if you spent that money right? Most grant writers won't spend their time on a grant that small. A 10k grant is just not worth their time. Around my place that won't even fund half of the cost of a night of modern dance. 

That is why you should give it to artists instead. Have them come to you, write the proposal, and do the leg work. They can then go to a non-profit presenting org and say "I have a grant to perform X, will you sponsor it?" Everyone wins. They money is worth a lot more to them. 

Many board members of 501 c 3's make enough money to support the organizations themselves. They don't really care to chase grants unless there is going to be a BIG payoff. Your dealing with the small companies, your going to get what you get. I would find a presenters network in your area and get involved there. Become a member of the arts community. Go sit on a board at one of the non-profits. Then go from there.


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## RickR (Feb 1, 2016)

You might try networking with other granting organizations; Rotary, city/state arts departments and other funds like yours. Get some tips on how they work and what they do.

I have limited contact with Rotary but hear a lot about their process for very small grants ($1-5K) They focus on buying 'stuff' rather than funding projects or people. That seems to bring some clarity to the requests.


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## Fountain Of Euph (Feb 4, 2016)

I work with both a small liberal arts university, as well as a local theater company. The company specializes in putting on lighter opera and older music theater, as well as a huge touring educational program. We NEED grants for stuff, not people. There are tons of grants for sponsoring artists, visiting acts, and the like. Their are very few that will pay for a new sound systems or a replacement for our 16yo Express. 7k would get us a new board. 10k would get us on the way to a new system, or would atleast get us some decent wireless gear or even something better then Wal-Mart walkie talkies. 

I feel that you should advertise to both the techs as well as the leadership. Sometimes diffrent views can ensure that your money goes to making a difference by raising production values, and thus drawing a bigger paying audience. 

Sent from Taptalk for Android, this was.


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## Silicon_Knight (Feb 5, 2016)

Fountain Of Euph said:


> I work with both a small liberal arts university, as well as a local theater company. The company specializes in putting on lighter opera and older music theater, as well as a huge touring educational program. We NEED grants for stuff, not people. There are tons of grants for sponsoring artists, visiting acts, and the like. Their are very few that will pay for a new sound systems or a replacement for our 16yo Express. 7k would get us a new board. 10k would get us on the way to a new system, or would atleast get us some decent wireless gear or even something better then Wal-Mart walkie talkies.
> 
> I feel that you should advertise to both the techs as well as the leadership. Sometimes diffrent views can ensure that your money goes to making a difference by raising production values, and thus drawing a bigger paying audience.
> 
> Sent from Taptalk for Android, this was.



I can't agree with this enough. There are also plenty of churches that could use this money in this range for equipment upgrades. The challenge is to find one that has strong arts/theatrical ministries that aligns with your goals. For instance, I replaced our rolling mixer and wireless receivers last summer for an amount that was within the guidelines you posted. Though we had some patron members that funded it, a grant would've been another path.


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## NotJPMorgan (Feb 5, 2016)

Fountain Of Euph said:


> I work with both a small liberal arts university, as well as a local theater company. The company specializes in putting on lighter opera and older music theater, as well as a huge touring educational program. We NEED grants for stuff, not people. There are tons of grants for sponsoring artists, visiting acts, and the like. Their are very few that will pay for a new sound systems or a replacement for our 16yo Express. 7k would get us a new board. 10k would get us on the way to a new system, or would atleast get us some decent wireless gear or even something better then Wal-Mart walkie talkies.
> 
> I feel that you should advertise to both the techs as well as the leadership. Sometimes diffrent views can ensure that your money goes to making a difference by raising production values, and thus drawing a bigger paying audience.
> 
> Sent from Taptalk for Android, this was.



One issue is how to find the proper folks to contact. This is an ongoing issue.

As for what we give money for - here is a breakdown of the last cycle for smallish organizations.

1/2 of a light board. ( They had partial funding already) 
1/3 of an air conditioning system. 
3 separate requests for sound systems. 
request for wigs, costumes, and musicians
request to help in paying for sound deadening for a new space
Partial funding for a development person 
Assistance in funding an extra long rehearsal period ( equity company) 
Training of staff. 
1 general sulpport.


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