Thousands of foundations, billions of dollars and only 1.5 million nonprofits. Let’s get our tax-exemption and snag that first, free money! Spoiler alert: this story does not end well. Most proposals get rejected, most brand-new nonprofits do not get their first dollar from a foundation and some have estimated that half the new nonprofits will fizzle out in a year or two. What about the “other half?” What are the characteristics of nonprofits that stand the best chance of winning foundation support?

Our last blog, about avoiding jargon in your proposals, has caused some in our community to respond with anger, dismay, and/or a gentle reprimand to walk our talk. “To err is human” and we sure are. So let us be clear: we do value older people, we do think women are intelligent, and we do think seniors are capable of high-level, important contributions. We’re sorry for any consternation and/or offense caused by our poorly chosen words.

Good proposals show that there’s a need for the program being proposed. One way to do this is by presenting statistics that give an accurate picture of the situation. Your organization’s credibility rests in part on demonstrating that you understand the problem you’re addressing. And numbers can tell the story, if they’re the right numbers.

There are about 4,000 chambers of commerce across the country that have at least one staff person. Membership can include one-person enterprises, very small “mom-and-pop” stores, small firms, local manufacturers, all kinds of companies that deliver all kinds of goods and services to the community. Why should a nonprofit organization consider joining the local chamber? Here are a few ideas about how chamber of commerce membership might benefit your nonprofit organization.

Covid-19 and the shutdown have put the role of nonprofit boards in sharp focus. It’s a good time to reexamine your understandings and expectations of your organization’s board. What is it that boards actually do for a nonprofit? A good way to think about it is to remember the “required and elective” scheme.

United American Indian Involvement (UAII) got its start on Los Angeles’ Skid Row almost 40 years ago. Now it’s the largest urban Native American nonprofit in the United States, bringing medical care, mental health treatment, youth services and education to thousands of Native Americans in Southern and Central California.

The temptation is to plunge into a proposal writing frenzy, cranking out thousands of words that seem likely to impress a foundation. Surely if you write a spellbinding proposal you’ll snag that grant! Here’s a modest suggestion: put that cart back behind the horse where it belongs.

Your nonprofit has done an assessment of board membership and determined that you need a few new members to fill particular roles and responsibilities. Instead of simply asking friends if they want to join, consider doing a search as if you were hiring a senior executive.

The question always comes up: “Who’s on your board and why did they join?” Some of the worst answers are often the most common: “They’re a few friends of the founder. . . the executive director just went out and appointed some people. . . they joined years ago, nobody knows what motivated them.” Nonprofit boards are too important to be left to this kind of random “personal roundup.”

Yuval Noah Harari, the Israeli historian and author, says that for humans to make it into the next chapter of our story, we need two things: resilience and the capacity to embrace and survive the big changes we will face. Resilience isn’t a dreamy concept, it’s a real thing. It’s the ability to “bounce back” after an injury or accident or catastrophe. Here are some ways to help people, and nonprofits, get back up after the knockdown blows of 2020.