http://www.lawlewis.com/nonpfaqs.htm
[...]
Q. How can I best approach a potential donor with a request for
funding?
A. There is no single "best" way to approach a potential donor, as
donors vary so much, but if we limit the scope of this response to
private and corporate donors the following may be useful.
Draft a business plan, to show the potential donor how you will use
donations to your nonprofit. Show that you have identified the
specific need you wish to alleviate, how you will provide the
services required, why you and not some other group is best
placed to meet that need, the costs you expect to incur in meeting
the need, and from where you expect to receive the funds to do so.
[*]A major part of your presentation to a prospective donor,
especially a corporate donor is to clearly define how the donor will
benefit from making a donation.[*] Assume that donated money
must provide a comparable return, whether it be in "goodwill",
increased corporate identity recognition or in directly increasing
sales.
Private donors also have expectations associated with donating to
nonprofits, and failing to identify, and then [failing to] meet those
expectations will make your fundraising efforts less effective.
Major donors plan their giving program a year in advance, so plan
your fund raising activities with this in mind.
Q. The Board of Directors of my nonprofit seem to have lost faith
with the purpose for which it was set up, as they do not participate
as much as they could, what can be done to reinvigorate the Board
to make it more effective?
A. Boards of Directors are responsible for setting policy and acting
as the nonprofit�s ambassadors to the community at large. As the
nonprofit enters the various phases of its development, the
demands on the skills of the individual Directors changes.
Initially, the founding Board needs to be small, compact and
involved in the details of setting up operations, but as the nonprofit
becomes established as a force benefiting the community and
begins to grow in both needs met, and funds received, the Board
has different challenges to meet. No longer is it necessary for
Directors to volunteer to provide services directly meeting the
purpose of the nonprofit, rather, their role becomes one of
community outreach, fundraising, promoting the benefits of the
nonprofit to the community at large.
As the role changes, so too must the individuals comprising the
Board. Leadership and diplomacy is required to redirect the
energies of directors who no longer have the skills the nonprofit
requires to continue growing. New Directors are needed to carry
out the changing role, but do not be too quick to discard those who
have served a long time. An Advisory Board can play a very
constructive role in guiding the Board, and in assisting with special
projects.
Q. I have heard that members can make running a nonprofit very
complicated, but how can one exist without a grassroots support
network?
A. The California Business and Professions Code provides for both
Membership and Non-Membership nonprofit Corporations. If a
nonprofit decides to have "statutory" members, such members
have rights and duties similar in nature to those of a shareholder in
a for-profit corporation. For example, "statutory" members [*]elect
Directors[*], make certain decisions, and may make certain
demands on the nonprofit corporation. It is recommended that
nonprofit corporations avoid designating anyone "statutory
members" and avoid a level of bureaucracy such would otherwise
impose.
Instead, Make it crystal clear in the bylaws that even if a group of
individuals wishes to belong to the nonprofit, and contribute to its
purposes, and even be called "members" there is no intention to
grant such a group the rights and duties of "statutory membership."
Running the nonprofit will be a lot simpler, and yet the benefits of
sharing the purposes of the nonprofit with a group of individuals
remains.
===
