Strategies to Secure Funding

If your organization does not have budget to sign up for Legacy Online, consider raising the funds!Your organization has many friends and supporters who will understand and applaud your goal of increasing and diversifying support for your mission. Most will also appreciate your initiative in developing a long-term plan.

Think about approaching a board member, donor or volunteer who wants to strengthen your organization and will invest in your effort to attract legacy gifts. Is there a community-minded professional advisor or business person who appreciates your mission, who will underwrite the cost of enabling you to build greater financial security? Can you identify a foundation or corporation that appreciates the importance of your programs, and will offer capacity-building support to help your organization become more income diverse and less reliant on grants?

Create a list of your strongest prospects and ask yourself:

• What are my reasons for thinking they will be supportive?
• To gauge their interest, should I call first or send a letter?
• Can I make the request or will I need someone else to ask them?

Narrow your list to the top two or three prospects. Below are some templates to help you secure funding. We have provided them in PDF and Word versions so that you can edit and tailor them to meet your needs.

Sample Telephone Script: PDF* / Word

Sample Letter Requesting Support: PDF* / Word

Sample Thank You Letter: PDF* / Word

*If you do not have Adobe's Free PDF Reader, you can download it here.