Philanthropy Front and Center - New York

Building Relationships in Government Funding

Securing government funding can be extremely advantageous for a nonprofit. It offers you a new funding stream beyond individual donations, private grants, and earned income, and it can make your organization look even more appealing to other potential funders. However, many nonprofits feel daunted by the seemingly complex, bureaucratic process of seeking federal, state, or local funds.

To help clarify the process, the Foundation Center held a special workshop on March 19 called Government Grants 101: Finding Support for Your Organization. The program was led by grant consultant Marilyn Hoyt and Queens College’s institutional development and major gifts officer Jeff Rosenstock. In previous postings highlighting our government funding workshops, we have featured information related to some of the technical aspects of seeking, applying for, and managing these funds, such as Discretionary Funding: How Does it Work?, Tips for Local Government Funding, and Finding Grants and Contracts from the City of New York. In this installment, meanwhile, our presenters included some great insight on one of the best methods for demystifying government grants, namely the importance of building relationships with government funders. Here are a few details.

Know your program officer. Every government agency, no matter how seemingly opaque, has a human face in charge of it, and an assistant as well. Find out who these people are, and find a way to meet them, or at least get to know them over the phone. You may be confused about application processes and unsure what your chances of success could be, but the simplest way to clarify your uncertainties is by maintaining steady, open communication with the people running the show, and ensuring that they are familiar with your nonprofit’s work as well. The program officer can answer any and all questions you have and provide you with feedback on your prospects for getting funded, and will become more likely to view your organization not as a faceless applicant, but as a human entity.

Be resilient and seek out feedback. If this is your very first time applying for government funds, the odds are that you will not get the grant the first time around. Don’t let that deter you! Your first application merely gets the ball rolling, allowing you to get your name out there and get some practice with the application procedures. The key is to follow up with the program officer after the rejection. Contact the agency and politely ask for some constructive feedback on why your application wasn’t accepted, and make note of the feedback you receive so that you can correct any missteps in future applications. After you have talked to the program officer, send a thank-you note for their feedback, and you’ll be ready to apply again. The important thing is to transform this from a bureaucratic process into an actual human dialogue, thereby making your proposal more than just an application.

Know your field and get involved. If a relevant grant opportunity is out there, try to learn what other organizations are also applying, or have received this funding in past years. This can give you some understanding of how your competitors’ work might differ from yours, and offer some insight on what your chances are and how you can improve those chances. It can also be useful to employ the expertise of your peers in the field as you’re crafting your application (assuming that your peers are not applying for that same grant). When you finish drafting an applications, have some colleagues and peers within the field review your work and offer feedback. Some of these people may have more first-hand knowledge than you do about what goes into a successful application, and their critiques can be valuable.

Finally, when you’ve grown accustomed to the process of applying for government funds, see if you can navigate your way over to the other side of the funding process. Grant applications are typically reviewed by panels of experts in the field; when you’ve gotten to know the people involved in the relevant government agencies, and other organizations in the field, try to become a part of a panel. You’ll get a new perspective on what goes into funding decisions and possibly learn some new ideas for your own future funding requests.

For more information on government grants, you can check out some of our previous blog postings on the subject, read our Knowledge Base article Where Can I Find Information About Government Grants?, which links you to a variety of resources, or view a webinar on navigating Grants.gov. Finally, for details on local New York City funding available for nonprofits, the NYC Government Assistance page can get you started on the right foot.

--Tracy Kaufman
Program Associate
Foundation Center--New York

Combined Federal Campaign – Our First Year Reflections (and How Your Nonprofit Can Participate)

The CFC campaign is the only authorized fundraising drive in the federal workplace to help support charitable organizations. Last year, Foundation Center – New York (CFC#95508) participated in the 2012 New York City Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) for the first time. Fortunately for us, our colleagues in Washington, DC had joined the campaign the previous year and shared lessons learned to help new participants to get started. We implemented many of their ideas to help publicize our campaign. Here is a quick summary of the promotional activities in New York:

Online: We made sure our CFC logo clearly appeared on our web site and this blog. We also announced our participation in the campaign in our newsletter and social media channels.

Library/learning center: We added the CFC logo to the training calendar and mentioned the campaign before beginning our classes.

Off-site outreach: We attended CFC fairs at federal agencies where we had a table to speak with employees about the Foundation Center. Many of the event attendees we spoke to were excited to learn about the Center’s training opportunities. To ensure that we would be able to contact individuals stopped by our table, we set up a sign-up sheet for our New York newsletter.

The workers typically arrived at our tables in waves throughout the half-day CFC fairs. During the quieter periods, we spoke to representatives of other nonprofits to share campaign strategies and learn about other organizations at the fair. (We made sure by the end of each event, every nonprofit representative knew about the Foundation Center.)

The campaign just concluded a few weeks ago and we are waiting to find out how much we raised. It was a great learning experience this year, and a pleasant opportunity to meet everyone at the CFC events.

We are already thinking about the CFC application for 2013. If your organization is interested participating in the campaign this year, be sure to attend our event at the Foundation Center on January 23rd, “Joining the Combined Federal Campaign: A Step-by-Step Application Guide.” The session will be presented by Mary Ann Sallas, director of the New York City Combined Federal Campaign, and a member of the Federal governing body (LFCC) for NYC. Click here to register for the event.

For more information about workplace giving campaigns, visit "Where can I learn more about workplace giving?" on GrantSpace.

Live Chat Discussion 1/10/13: Fiscal Cliff - Where Do We Stand?

Fiscal cliff talks are over. What does 2013 look like for nonprofits?

Join our free live chat: After The Cliff: Nonprofit Policy Issues in 2013 - Jan. 10, 1-2pm ET with Robert Egger and Rick Cohen

In the 112th "lame duck" session of Congress (Nov-Dec 2012), policymakers attempted to take corrective action to avoid the mandatory, across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases, a measure known as the "fiscal cliff" because of its devastating effects on federal programs and economic growth.

The fiscal cliff would have had far-reaching effects on the nonprofit sector, and yet while the charitable deduction was largely preserved, the outcome achieved does little to address long-term budgeting. For a primer on the last-minute legislation that saved us from immediate fiscal uncertainty, read Rick Cohen's recent article at Nonprofit Quarterly.

Long-term uncertainty remains. Of direct consequence to nonprofits, the massive automatic spending cuts to the safety net that will take place if the new 113th congress fails to resolve its budget issues and raise the debt ceiling. Join us this Thursday to discuss these issues with two leading voices in nonprofit policy matters:

After The Cliff: Nonprofit Policy Issues in 2013 - Jan. 10, 1-2pm ET Guest panelists include:

• Rick Cohen, National Correspondent, Nonprofit Quarterly
• Robert Egger, President, CForward

Whatever outcome lies ahead, nonprofits need to be prepared to protect the services they provide by being vocal and active in policy at all levels of government. We'll ask Robert and Rick what they think about the 2013 legislative calendar, and where nonprofits fit into the policy landscape moving forward.

Register now for this free program >>

Watch This! Inspiring Federal Employees to Support Your Nonprofit

With 45,304 federal employees working within the 5 boroughs of New York City, participating in the New York City Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) can be a great way to raise funds for your organization. CFC is the largest workplace giving campaign in the United States, and the only means authorized for nonprofit organizations to solicit and collect contributions from federal employees in their workplace.

Watch this video recording of our July 18 program with the director of the New York City Combined Federal Campaign, Mary Ann Sallas, who gave practical tips for participating in this fundraising campaign. The panel also included staff from nonprofit organizations who spoke about the success they had in their first year of CFC campaigning.

We are proud to tell you that the Foundation Center is a first-time participant in the Combined Federal Campaign for New York City this year. If you are a federal employee, or know people who are, and would like to donate to the Foundation Center through the CFC campaign, please designate #95508 on your workplace's CFC pledge form. Your gift will help us build our scholarship program for our full-day grantseeker training workshops.

The Combined Federal Campaign and New York City Nonprofits

Just under a week is left before we host our special event, Inspiring Federal Employees to Support Your Organization. Next Wednesday, July 18, from 10 am until 12, we will learn about what makes a nonprofit a successful applicant and beneficiary of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The CFC is not only the largest workplace giving campaign, but also the only channel through which authorized nonprofits may solicit and collect contributions from federal employees in their workplaces. In 2011, the CFC raised a combined $2,281,827 in the five boroughs of NYC alone.

We have invited three expert panelists for this special event, including Mary Ann Sallas, director of the New York City Combined Federal Campaign, Donn Daggett, a federal employee at the FDR Post Office, and Philippe Lerch, executive director of Surgeons of Hope, whose fundraising campaigns have been highly successful due in part to its participation in the Combined Federal Campaign. The panelists will share their experiences and some valuable advice on how to attract federal workers to contribute to your campaign.

Still not convinced that the Combined Federal Campaign is right for you? During a previous event on a similar topic at our DC office, Bill Huddleston, author of A Hidden Treasure for Non-Profits, How to Tap into the CFC, America's Largest Workplace Giving Campaign shared the following key pieces of information about getting your nonprofit involved with the Combined Federal Campaigns:

• The application process is not that difficult -- over 90% of applicants are accepted into the program.
• CFC funds are unrestricted, reliable and predictable.
• 92% of givers use the payroll deduction option. The average gift is $125.
• Workplace giving is subsidized fundraising - solicitation is done by employees, saving your development staff time and effort.
• It's the green way to give! No direct mailings that end up in the trash.

Take Mr. Huddelston's advice one step further and learn how your nonprofit can successfully benefit from the New York City CFC. As always with our special events, it's free – so register today!

You can find more information on workplace giving in general by visiting the Knowledge Base area of our website. For more information, read the DC office's blog post on their own experience during their rookie year with the DC area CFC. Lastly, watch for Foundation Center-New York's own participation in CFC this fall.

Alyssa Pehmoeller
Nonprofit Services Fellow
Foundation Center-New York

The 2012-13 City Council Budget Reflects Victory for Nonprofit Advocates

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council agreed upon a $68.5 billion budget covering fiscal year 2012-13, several days ahead of the June 30 deadline. The new budget is noteworthy for its restoration of $150 million for early childhood and Out of School Time (OST) programs, along with restorations for a range of other services within the city.

Previously, Bloomberg had proposed cutting after-school programs for elementary and middle school students by 43 percent, plus additional cuts for childcare vouchers and high school OST programs. Had the cuts been implemented, childcare and after-school programs would have been eliminated for 47,000 children. However, nonprofit service providers and their supporters launched Campaign for Children in reaction to the proposed cuts, advocating for restoration of the funding through a high-profile series of rallies, press conferences, and letter-writing campaigns.

After weeks of protesting by parents, teachers, and service providers, it was announced that funding for these programs would be fully restored for the new fiscal year. In fact, $75 million more will be added to childcare and OST programs than was included in the previous year's budget. It should be noted that out of the restored funding, only $41 million will be base lined, while the remainder of the money will come out of the City Council's discretionary funding. Discretionary funding is only assigned for a one-year period, meaning that the funding could possibly be in jeopardy again for next year's budget. The specifics on how the 2012-13 discretionary funding will be distributed to individual programs is still unknown.

Meanwhile, funding for the city's public libraries has also been a contentious issue for the 2012-13 budget. Library funding had been at risk for a $90 million cut that would have resulted in the closing of 12 branches. As things currently stand, Mayor Bloomberg has stated that the libraries will be receiving approximately the same amount of funding as last year, while Councilman Dominic Recchia Jr., head of the finance committee, has suggested that the amount would be somewhat less.

You can find out more about funding for city services by browsing Schedule C of the new budget, available online. In addition, the New York Nonprofit Press has published a very in-depth article on the restoration of funding for children's services, and even more budget coverage can be found on NBC New York and New York Amsterdam News.

-- Tracy Kaufman
Foundation Center-New York

Cuomo to Restrict Administrative Spending for State-Funded Projects

Service providers take note, as efforts are now underway to limit executive pay and administrative spending for organizations that receive state funding. On January 18, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order asserting that for any state-funded service providers (whether nonprofit or for-profit), reimbursable costs will be restricted to ensure that government funds will be largely devoted to programs, rather than to operational costs and executive salaries.

The order will cap state-funded executive pay at $199,000, and will also dictate that at least 75% of state-authorized assistance must be applied toward direct care and services. By April 1, 2015, that percentage will rise to 85%.

The new measure was quickly put into action following the January 17 budget address. In his talk, Cuomo noted that approximately one third of the New York budget goes toward service providers. He elaborated, "In certain instances, providers of services that receive state funds or state-authorized payments have used such funds to pay for excessive administrative costs and outsized compensation for their senior executives, rather than devoting a greater proportion of such funds to providing direct care or services to their clients." In an effort to control state spending and ascertain that government dollars are being spent responsibly, commissioners at the affected state agencies will have 90 days to fully implement these new regulations, amending any agreements with organizations as necessary.

Agencies that will be affected include the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, Office of Mental Health, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of Children and Family Services, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Department of Health, Office for the Aging, Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Office of Victim Services.

Some large organizations, such as hospitals, receive the most significant portion of their funding from the federal government and from private donors, and therefore their executive compensation levels may not be impacted by Cuomo's order. However, nonprofits that receive the bulk of their funding from the state will need to act swiftly to ensure that they abide by the new regulations.

Read Governor Cuomo's full executive order, as well as coverage provided by CBS News and The New York Times.

Tracy Kaufman
Library Assistant
Foundation Center-New York

NYC Government Funding in the Arts: The Basics

This year, we've been holding a series of seminars here at the Foundation Center focused on the complex world of government funding. If you'd like to read about the earlier installments of our series, we have summaries available for the February 16 event on discretionary funding, the March 16 program on best practices for contract management, and the April 13 event on government audits.

Recently, as part of our Funding for Arts Month programming, we offered a special seminar on October 13, New York City Funding Opportunities for the Arts. The panelists included Kathleen Hughes, assistant commissioner for the Department of Cultural Affairs; Paul L. King, executive director of the Department of Education's Office of Arts & Special Projects; David Ross, executive director of Contracts and Purchasing at the Department of Education; and Jenny Way, assistant director at the Mayor's Office of Contract Services. For anyone who is inexperienced in the ways of accessing arts funding from New York City, here are some highlights:

Where can I find New York City funding for my arts organization or project?
For local funding, there are a number of places you can look:

• Department of Cultural Affairs. This agency specializes in securing public funding for New York City's cultural organizations in all five boroughs. Depending on your needs, there are a few funding areas within DCA for you to explore (the following is borrowed from the agency's web site):

1. Program Services Unit: Administers funds supporting 881 groups that provide cultural experiences for the City's residents and visitors.
2. Cultural Institutions Unit: Provides operational support (in the form of unrestricted operating grants and the payment of all energy bills - heat, light and power) for major cultural institutions occupying City-owned buildings or land.
3. Capital Projects Unit: Provides capital design, construction and equipment funds for those institutions and other cultural groups in City-owned and non City-owned facilities.

In addition to these three areas, DCA can secure federal grants for organizations' small capital projects in low-to-moderate income areas, and can also help arts groups acquire supplies and equipment through its Materials for the Arts Program, which distributes reusable supplies to New York City arts organizations free of charge.

• Local Arts Councils. Each borough has its own arts council, and while these are all technically nonprofit organizations rather than government agencies, the arts councils are tasked with distributing city and state funding to art projects within their boroughs, and can provide a broad variety of additional services to artists and arts organizations as well. The arts councils for New York City are as follows:

  1. Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
  2. Brooklyn Arts Council
  3. Bronx Council on the Arts
  4. Queens Council on the Arts
  5. Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island

• New York State Council on the Arts. This one is not specific to New York City, but if your attempts to get City-related funding do not bear sufficient fruit, you can broaden your search to seek funding from New York State in general. This agency makes about 2,500 grants per year, both to arts organizations and to individual artists with fiscal sponsors.
• Office of Arts & Special Projects, New York City Department of Education. If your work centers on arts education, you can expand your search beyond the Department of Cultural Affairs by seeing what opportunities may be available for funding arts program in NYC public schools. The Office of Arts & Special Projects lists arts education grants whenever available.

  You can also find arts education opportunities through the department's Multiple Task Award Contract (MTAC) system, which allows city schools to e-mail proposal requests to a variety of vendors (such as your organization) whenever they require a specific service. You can read about the MTAC process here and see some of their current opportunities here.

  For even more information on arts education, you can also have a look at some of the helpful resource guides created by the Department of Education, which offer links to a wide variety of groups that help support specific fields like music, dance, theater, and visual arts.

Is NYC Funding Available for Individual Artists?
In general, funding from agencies like the Department of Cultural Affairs typically goes to arts organizations rather than individual artists. However, if you are fiscally sponsored, you may be eligible to apply for their grants.

Meanwhile, you also have the alternate option of using your local arts council. Arts councils tend to feature re-grant programs, in which the council receives government funds and then distributes them to local organizations or individual artists. Not every grant may be available for individuals, though, so check carefully within the application guidelines.

What's It Like to Apply for City Funding?
Government funding is not for the faint of heart: it involves much paperwork and will require you to learn and understand terms like discretionary funding, VENDEX, OQA, and MOCS. To learn everything about the application process for New York City funding, you'll probably want to read our blog post from earlier this year, Discretionary Funding for Nonprofits: How Does It Work? Also, for assistance along the way, you may want to keep in touch with the Capacity Building & Oversight Unit, which offers training sessions and other types of guidance.

As stated earlier, this October 13 program was part of a series we've been holding throughout 2011 on government funding opportunities within New York City. If you'd like to learn more on this topic, our next free seminar is NYC Government Funding Opportunities for Nonprofits, scheduled for Wednesday, November 16. We hope to see you there!

Tracy Kaufman
Library Assistant
Foundation Center-New York

Program Reminder: Meet Project Leaders from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services

Thursday, September 8, 3:00-4:30 pm
Right after the Labor Day break, we will be presenting A Call to Action to Health and Human Services Providers: Help Shape City Procurement Reforms, a special program with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. Project leaders for the HHS Accelerator unit will give an overview of the new centralized pre-qualification process that will replace the existing procurement system.

In addition to learning about the new system under development, you will be encouraged to provide feedback to help refine the agency's reform efforts and comments on what city agencies should consider in reviewing nonprofit capacity, management practices, and readiness to compete for contracts.

Don't miss this opportunity to meet with representatives of government funding agencies and to help shape how health and human services awards and contracts are managed.

Register today»

New York State Receives Federal Grant to Create New Charter Schools

The United States Department of Education has awarded a State Education Agencies Grant totaling more than $113 million to New York to increase public school choice options throughout the state. Among the fourteen states that applied for grants under the federal competition, only New York and Florida received grant awards. One of seven grant programs funded by the Charter Schools Program, this award provides funding to states to create new, high-quality public charter schools and disseminate the best practices of existing charter schools.

In a press release issued early last week, the New York State Board of Regents described the basic components of the award to New York: $113 million over a five-year period will provide funding for start-up public charter schools to open across the state. Specifically, the grant application submitted by the New York State Education Department indicates the state will use its funding to provide incentives to open schools that serve high-needs students; expand quality charter schools and networks that have proven results; and help improve the state's lowest performing schools.

New York State's grant application also includes provisions for enhanced collaboration among the state's charter school authorizers, the State Education Department's Charter School Office, the Charter Schools Institute at SUNY, and the Charter Schools Office of the New York City Department of Education. These groups will work together to improve authorizing practices for new charter schools and contribute to state and national authorization and policy dialogue.

The press release cited Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch on the importance of the award: "The Board of Regents believes that quality charter schools, when carefully selected and held accountable for their results, are an important element in making good public schools available to the children of our state. This grant helps ensure there will now be more high-quality options available to New York's families."

The Charter Schools Institute at SUNY has a toolkit with information on the process involved in opening a charter school in New York. To run a field study of charter schools in New York City, use the listing for NYC Charter Schools on the New York City Department of Education's Charter Schools Office web site.

For information on the other grant programs run by the U.S. Department of Education's Charter Schools Program, including two targeting individual charter schools, visit the web site of the Office of Innovation and Improvement.

Foundations also fund charter schools; in fact, in New York State alone over 1,200 grants were awarded in the past few years to support charter schools, and one can imagine that interest in charter schools will increase among private sector funders in the coming years. Visit the Center's New York library to research potential funders for charter schools using our comprehensive database of U.S. grantmakers, Foundation Directory Online.