Brooke Richie Babbage (0:00)

I know you're not working as hard as you are in your nonprofit to stay small and keep struggling. You want to have real impact, spark change, and lead a team that feels like it's moving forward with purpose. But to do that, you need a strategy and a roadmap. I have a new quiz to help you. Take two minutes, answer six questions and get a simple custom roadmap that tells you exactly what to focus on next so you can grow your nonprofit without chaos. Go to Brookerichybabbage.com gameplan I want to.

Unknown (0:33)

Talk about funder meetings. So this may seem like a super hyper specific topic, but I actually think that funder meetings are an interesting microcosm for power dynamics around money and around funding more generally for organizations. And how you think about these meetings, how you step into these meetings can actually have a ripple effect on how you think about and step into other conversations around money, around investment in your vision, in other spaces, in your ecosystem.

Brooke Richie Babbage (1:09)

Welcome to the Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast. I'm Brooke Richie Babbage. I've been in the social impact game for 25 years as a social justice lawyer turned two time nonprofit founder and leader turned growth strategist and coach for leaders around the country. I grew my nonprofit from me and an intern in a tiny closet to a high impact seven figure organization. And along the way I learned so, so much about how to build an organization that has real impact and how to do it without burning out. In this podcast I share the nuts and bolts of all of it so.

Unknown (1:44)

You can do that too.

Brooke Richie Babbage (1:46)

We dive into the mindset, strategies and tactics of how to scale a high impact organization and how to do it in a way that's truly sustainable.

Unknown (1:56)

I think too often nonprofits walk into conversations with funders already on their proverbial back foot, right? They're already thinking that the main job of that meeting, of them in that meeting is to justify their worth, to prove that they deserve support. Often the orientation is that they have to go in and pitch really well or pitch hard and hope that the funder bites, right? That there's interest on the other end. There's a us them kind of orientation. If we say the right thing, if we do the right dance, then the funder will like us and believe that what we're doing is important and will fund us. That may result in funding, but it is inherently disempowering to the organization and I think it's not actually a fully accurate or accurate at all way of understanding what's actually happening in those meetings. What I think is actually more true is that as a nonprofit, you are a knowledgeable, empowered holder of information. And when you walk into your funder meeting as a knowledgeable, empowered leader, ready to exchange insights, to help shape agendas, to co create solutions, when you see that as the purpose of the meeting and part of achieving that purpose is that the funder provides investment in the work, everything shifts, right? You're able to step into your rightful place as a strategic partner rather than being locked in this either explicit or implicit role of only a grantee, right? A recipient only. So I want to walk through three simple but powerful shifts that can help you reorient things in your mind and reposition your organization as a thought partner, not just a recipient of funding. So the first recommendation or the first shift that I recommend is opening the conversation or orienting the conversation, depending on how these conversations are set up around this phrase, here's what we're seeing, right? So without necessarily using these exact same words, often our conversations with funders or your conversations with funders are oriented around this phrase, here's what we need. Absolutely. You need to talk about what you need, right? That is a huge part of why you are in that conversation. And so I do not want you to shy away from saying, this is what we need to achieve the vision we've talked about. What I'm talking about here is what you lead with, right? The orientation or what centers that meeting. And there is power in the phrase here's what we're seeing. Because the truth is your organization is not just running programs, right? You're not just holding space in communities or meeting with young people or writing legislation. Those are activities that you're doing in service of d deeper, transformational change with the people and the communities that you work with and for. And that means that you're sitting on real data, real information. And a lot of the folks that I work with, they take that for granted, right? Because they see their evaluation data, they hear the stories of change in the young people or the communities or the public spaces that they work in. And it's part and parcel of what they do. But information is power. That's what funders invest in, right? They want to understand what changes are happening in the world. And you and your team are seeing in real time what is happening in the world, what's emerging, what's shifting, where the gaps are, you're on the ground. And when you bring those insights forward, when you make them central to your conversation, your partnership with funders and potential funders, you are positioning your organization, rightly, as a source of intelligence. It's not just a funding request for the sake of money. Right. It is a funding request in service of these outcomes. And you are seeing the outcomes, and that's real power. So the first shift that I recommend is thinking as you're preparing for your funder meetings, what would it look like to start with the phrase. So let me tell you what we're seeing. Second shift that I recommend. Ask, ask, ask, ask for their perspective. So, interestingly, I also happen to have a number of very good friends and colleagues who are funders from my own time as an executive director for my time working at a foundation. And just because I've been in the nonprofit space for almost 30 years, I know a lot of funders, and I think it's fascinating that they are rarely asked to share their take on things. This is a really awesome way to stand out and to reinforce this idea of partnership. The funders that you are meeting with have a really amazing perspective on the work that is happening in your sector, in your part of the sector, in your field, because they fund other organizations like you, either other organizations that have similar missions or theories of change, other organizations that have similar models. Funders create an ecosystem of change through their investments. And that means that they're seeing more of the chessboard than you are from your organization, or at least a different part of the chessboard. I would say not necessarily more, but definitely a different part. And so asking questions in your funder meetings, like, what trends are you seeing across your portfolio? Oh, that's really interesting. Here's some insight we have. What challenges do you think an organization like ours in our space ought to be planning for? Based on what you're seeing, that's working, what you're seeing, that's not working. What do you think? Right. These kinds of questions continue to reorient the dynamic away from passive recipient of money to strategic thought. Partner on the journey to creating outcomes. What you're able to then say, both through your words and through what you're signaling, is, we're not just here to pitch. We are here to understand, to share, to collaborate, and to solve problems together. And this is powerful even with funders that are potential. Right? Potential funders saying to them, what we want is to solve problems together. We will bring our unique insight and help flesh out and help you as someone who cares very deeply about this issue. Because remember, funders are people. And the person you're meeting with, the program officer, whomever you're meeting with, is Someone who, like you, has said, I want to professionally dedicate my energy and my time to figuring out how to solve a set of problems in our world. And if you think about them that way and you ask them, what are you seeing, what's working, what's not working, what do you think you are saying to them? I want to work on this with you. Right. My organization wants to be part of how you are solving this problem. And that is really exciting for funders. That is really memorable, Right? That signals we are peers, we are partners. You might notice a theme, partnership, Right? Okay. Third shift recommendation. Invite them into problem solving for your organization. Now, this is where I think things get really good and a little bit scary, maybe. I remember being an executive director early, early in my understanding of how to build relationships with funders. And the perfectionist in me meant that. And it's still something I struggle with, if I'm honest. The perfectionist in me meant that before I walked into a funder meeting or before I submitted, you know, an loi or really anything that was going, that was Funder facing. It was in my mind, perfect, right? Buttoned up. We had an answer to every problem. That was what I thought Funder needed. They needed me to come and say, look, there's this problem you care about, but don't worry. My mission, my theory of change, my programs, like what we're doing, we're solving the problem. For any of you out there who are running programs, who are leading organizations, you know that that's hubris, right? We're not solving all the problems. We are doing everything we can to address the sliver of the problem that our mission is aimed at. And it is hard work. And it means that some not insignificant piece of what we're doing is an experiment. It is a theory of change that we are executing and implementing, and we are learning as we go. And that's the reality of stewarding a mission. And so when you bring funders into that reality, instead of trying to present a fully baked, unchangeable, rigid proposal, you actually say to them, we are collaborators. You are a collaborator, not just a check writer. So what this might look like is saying something like, we are exploring new ways to grow this program, to expand our impact. Are there models or approaches that you've seen that work? Well, here's what we are planning, here's what we are doing, here's what we've seen work, and here's where it feels a little broken, right? There's a bunch of what we're doing that's great. And these are three things that we've learned over the last year that aren't great. And part of what we're going to do over the next year is figure out how to make them more great. We'd love your Insight perspective partnership on that. This kind of invitation makes the funder feel like they are part of your journey, not just a check writer. And it benefits you and your team, right? You get access to the broader perspective that they bring across grantees, across sectors, across ideas. Right? They really can be these strategic partners for you. So the bottom line is when you are preparing for and walking into a funder conversation, think about how you can root that conversation and what you bring in insights and clarity and in an orientation towards collaboration and partnership. When you do that, you shift the dynamic not just in your own mind, but you shift the power dynamic in the entire meeting and in the entire relationship. You are not there to beg for money, to pitch and hope they like you. You're not there to impress. You're there to lead and to invite partnership on a journey to transformational impact. So my recommendation is before your next funder meeting, ask yourself, what are we seeing that's valuable? What information do we have? What do we want to understand from the funder? What perspective can they bring to help us understand our work better and where can we invite co creation of solutions that will actually move the needle for our mission? If you center those three questions, these three shifts that I talked about today, you will start to move out of the role of passive grant recipient and into trusted thought partner. And in doing so you unlock general operating support, multi year support and long term transformational partnerships with funders. I hope that helps. I'll see you next week for more Mastermind.