Thou shalt have boilerplate communications pieces ready.
Make sure you have the most-needed communications pieces ready to go (and often these same things are requested items for grant proposals). Can you provide each of the following?
- Your organization’s mission and brief history. When and why was your nonprofit founded and by whom? Has its focus changed over the years? What are some key moments in your organization’s history? What was the most recent accomplishment achieved?
- A list of all programs. Provide a brief description of program highlights, population served and how many reached for each program. Provide at least one positive measurable outcome for each program
- A need statement for your project or program. What is the issue your nonprofit addresses? What need/s does your community have? How specifically does your organization eliminate or reduce the need, thereby providing workable solutions for your community and the people in it? How do you make the world (or your world, however big or small) a better place to be?
- Detail on any collaborations with other organizations or businesses. Do you have an annual event with a community partner? An ongoing relationship with a corporation or local business? How do you work together?
- A listing of major funders already committed to each project or program. Include the amount of funding committed by each donor.
- Your expected outcome for this project or program. What does success look like?
- An explanation of how you measure your results against the goal. Have an explanation for your data and what it means. How do you know what success looks like?
