By Chris LaPage

In many ways, engaging foundations for funding is a similar process regardless of whether they give on a local, regional or national level.  There will be a formal application process or more likely, there will be an initial letter of inquiry that is required.  However, even the most successful organizations when it comes to local and regional funding struggle to breakthrough with nationally-focused foundations.  The truth is that you should have more traction with foundations in your own backyard, but there is no reason you shouldn't be able to leverage some of these institutions that give on a national basis as well.

Don't Make the Mistake of Comparing Apples to Oranges

So why do we hear time and time again from organizations that they "just don't do well with foundations outside their area"?  It essentially boils down to a flaw in the underlying philosophy of their grantseeking strategy.  First and foremost, while there are some common elements to engaging foundations regardless of where they reside, potential applicants cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach.  In other words, don't group all foundations together as if they are all individual store sites belonging to one large retail chain.  Foundations that give on a local or regional basis typically have a vested interest in the people of that geographic area.  In other words, they measure success based on the number of individuals impacted from that area as a result of their grantmaking.  Grantseekers that are successful at this level typically are very gifted in demonstrating the aforementioned community, regional, or statewide impact. 

Consider the Broader Impacts Outside Your Area

Make no mistake about it, national foundations care about the impact their funds are making as well.  So in a sense, that component carries over.  However, national foundations do not have the same vested interest in the residents of your community.  If you are going to be successful with national foundations, you have to take it one step further once you prove that the project will make an impact.  National foundations want to see model demonstration projects that have the potential to be replicated, inform policy decisions, or transform a particular field (health care, education, public safety).  National foundations seek to develop a reputation for funding innovative projects that break new ground and explore new areas.  There is a certain amount of prestige that comes along with funding from certain national grantmakers that have developed such a reputation, such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, and William Randolph Hearst Foundations.  In order to have success with these type of foundations, you have to dedicate proposal space to not only show the project will have an impact, but to discuss potential replication, implications for the field, and dissemination efforts.  Once you take these other areas into consideration, you start to have the trappings of a true demonstration project. 

Explore Regional Concepts and Collaboration

In addition to developing a demonstration project,  there are some other things to keep in mind with national foundations.  Many will not consider funding a project unless it has at least a regional impact.  Thus, cross-community collaboration is much more crucial with national foundations than you will find at the local level.  Going regional with a project is not the only way to catch the eye of a national foundation.  In fact, in many ways a more successful strategy is to find a potential project partners (organizations like yours) across the country and position a pilot project with multiple sites.  For instance, a hospital in rural Georgia may team up with a clinic in Detroit and a major academic medical center in California.  If they were rolling out some type of chronic disease management program, they would now have the ability to improve patient outcomes in several areas while also testing whether geography (urban, rural) and type of clinical service (inpatient, outpatient, specialty services) effect implementation and impact.  While we used healthcare as an example, you could envision a very similar situation involving any type of organization, such as rural/urban/alternative schools across the country attempting to address educational achievement and advancement.  In either scenario, the funder now has before it an applicant with a demonstration project that may be able to not only make an impact, but draw some conclusions as to how results may be replicated in different areas. 

Develop a New Relationship-Building Strategy

Another reason folks may be successful on the local level but fail with national foundations is that they are very good at relationship-building.  Building long-term relationships in much easier on a local level, where you can invite local foundations staff on-site, or to community events where you may not be seeking funding right away.  Grantseekers that are skilled in this area typically throw their hands up with national foundations because they can't employ the same strategy.  While we admit is not as easy, that does not mean relationship-building is not possible.  In particular, once you are able to break through with a national foundation and complete a successful project, they may seek you out in the future to expand upon your initial efforts or to roll out a new project tackling one of the foundation's priorities.  With today's technology and video conferencing capabilities, there are certainly ways to do some old school "face-to-face" relationship building with these national foundations as well.  The other piece to consider is that these national foundations typically have board members from all over the country.  Identify their board members and circulate those names amongst your own governing body, politicians and other supporters of your organization that might be well connected.  You never know who just might know someone on that list and be able to make a personal connection to start the relationship-building and get a foot in the door.

Cultivate a Positive Attitude

No one is saying national foundations are an easy source of funding.  As previously stated, it should be easier to secure funds in your own community where local foundations have a presence.  But on the flip side, it is nowhere near as impossible as many grantseekers believe.  As simple as it sounds, the first step is the adoption of an "it can be done" positive attitude. From there, you can start to look at your initiative and transform it into a demonstration project with broad implications; thereby, making it more attractive to national foundations.  It's all about having a successful strategy, which requires flexibility and a willingness to make adjustments.