I love the ‘90s. It was the decade of all my high school and college years (class of ’96 and ’00). Music was popping, fashion was questionable (though I did love a good pleather pant and wide-legged jeans), Friends and ER ruled Thursday nights, and I knew the exact trajectory of my life ahead.
Scratch that last one, because if you had told me in the ‘90s how much time I would spend reading 990s, I would have wondered what kind of gibberish you were speaking. But here I am, living the dream, trolling page after page to find details that will determine if this funder is a good fit for a client.
As someone who started her career focused on federal and state grant funding, I am used to an abundance of information. Every funder has a website, and while not every website is the most user friendly, if you are willing to click through a few pages, you can typically find grant announcement information. In addition, there is always a phone number or an email account you can use to communicate with an actual program officer who can help you find what you’re looking for.
Then I moved into the world of consulting and started spending more time on the private funder side of things. And to say it was culture shock is an understatement. In the latest episode of the Fundraising HayDay Podcast, Kimberly and I talk about the joys and frustrations of the IRS Form 990 – the one place where you’re supposed to get all the information needed to apply to a funder. You can listen HERE.
Sadly, not all 990s are created equally. What frustrates me the most? Let me count thy ways:
(1) A very helpful section of the 990 lists which organizations the foundation (or corporation) funded that year – showing dollar amounts and some sort of program description. Many times, funders will use this space to type “See Attachment X” but said Attachment X is nowhere to be found. Is that the fault of the funder or the IRS who just forgot to upload it to their site? Who knows! Either way, without that information it is hard to tell if your organization/client is a fit for funding.
(2) The Supplementary Information section of the 990 includes a lot of basic information. At the very least, grant seekers should understand if the funder accepts unsolicited applications, where to send an application, what to include in an application, deadlines, and any funding restrictions. But lately, I’m seeing more and more foundations filling out a newer version of the Form 990 that does not include that section. Without those details, it can be nearly impossible to figure out how to apply for that funder. You can read more about this latest trend in an article I wrote for the Grant Professionals Association HERE.
(3) The standard 990 has a box foundations can check if they “only make contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.” Sadly, there are foundations who should check that box, but don’t. And that just wastes everyone’s time.
(4) The Supplementary Section of the 990 has a space for funders to list any restrictions or limitations to awards. I fervently wish funders would make use of this space, though many simply type the word “NONE.” But upon deeper inspection you soon realize they only fund nonprofits in Nashville, Tennessee; only fund Institutes of Higher Education; or have a strong preference for nonprofits that focus on feeding children. As a foundation, you’re doing a disservice to everyone by not being forthright about your funding preferences. I beg of you, please share you mission statement, funding priorities, geographical restrictions, and other details that will help grant seekers determine if you truly are a good fit or not. Because if you are not, we don’t want to spend time writing a grant you are going to outright deny, just as you don’t want to spend your time reading a proposal that does not fit your foundation’s focus.
Basically, while the ‘90s were awesome, the land of 990s are not. But they could be!
If foundations spent a little bit of time sharing helpful details, it would be a win-win! Grant seekers could better match their work to the right funders, and funders would receive less applications that do not align with their work. And who wouldn’t love that!
(Now cue some Whitney Houston…And I…will always love you…or whatever ‘90s love song that floats your boat)
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