[Foundation-l] Fundraising & Networking updates

Tue Jan 8 23:20:03 UTC 2008

On 1/8/08, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:
> Regarding these powerful and influential rainmakers and possibly major
> donors, what are you offering them in return for their assistance?

In principle, we offer to listen to them, and we treat them with
respect and kindness. If their ideas make sense to us - then they may
well become part of our strategy. If they don't, they will not. I do
not view it as a bad thing for someone who believes in our mission &
vision to participate in a discussion about our future. These are,
after all, highly accomplished individuals who bring a lot of wisdom &
experience to the table. I view it as a bad thing for our mission to
be _distorted_ by external influences, whatever they may be.

It is actually more likely, for an immature organization, that its
direction will be distorted by a grant, than through an unrestricted
major donation, because in the former case, the Board & Staff of the
grant-giving organization may have very specific ideas of what they
want you to do, and if you don't do exactly that, you won't get the
money -- in the latter case, you are talking about a much softer
relationship, where the most important thing is to create
opportunities for participation and feedback.

Best,
Erik