In support of the Administrative Priority to Increase and Diversify funding the Tarrant County Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) planned a networking conference for County Extension Agents in surrounding counties. The topic of the conference was “External Funding”. The LAB was instrumental in recruiting an excellent panel of speakers that provided an overview of external funding opportunities. The panel included Mr. John H. Robinson, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Ms. Linda McMillan, Funding Information Center, and Ms. Ellen Ray, Private Consultant.
Mr. Robinson provided information from the standpoint of the funder, what he is looking for in a grant proposal and steps one should take prior to and during the proposal process in order to be successful. A couple of specific things he mentioned that are quite important in the grant seeking arena are to do the research on the funder and to develop a relationship with the funder. You should know who and what the funder has supported in the past. It is also important to make the phone call and seek their suggestions for proposals.
Ms. McMillan provided information on the services that are provided to the non-profit sector by the Funding Information Center. They provide non-profit agencies access to a data base which includes donors across the U.S. who support a wide range of programs, projects and activities.
Ms. Ray is a consultant in the field of fundraising and has extensive background in working with non-profit agencies. She provided information to the group related to seeking local donors and sponsors who will support our efforts. In her message to the group two points which she emphasized, ask for support and build a relationship with potential donors.
Following lunch, Mr. Clint Wolfe, Grant and Program Coordinator of Texas AgriLife – Urban Solutions Center provided an overview of seeking grant funding opportunities, tips for success in the proposal process and guidelines for working with Texas AgriLife Contracts and Grants. Mr. Wolfe pointed out that “the best proposals we can submit are those that build on or expand the programming that we have in place” and don’t think that obtaining funding is the biggest challenge – successful management of funding is a challenge and how you manage and report to the funder will impact future success in seeking grant funds.
As the conference concluded some things were worth repeating
- Build relationships with potential donors.
- Grants are one source of funding but seek other opportunities through local partnerships, donors and sponsors.
- Build on the successful programming that is already in place – could funding help expand the program and reach more people.
- Last but not least – ask!
- Grants.gov http://grants.gov
- Texas Register http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml
- AgriLife Contracts and Grants http://agcg.tamu.edu
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