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Do you want to make a big splash with grant dollars, but you can only make a small gift? Not a problem! Some of the most effective change starts with a small grant. By following a few simple strategies, you can create a growing ripple effect with a small gift. The following are 12 ideas to help you make a big impact. Whether you invest in a person or an organization, partner with other donors, make a multiyear investment, or choose another avenue, you will discover that there really is no such thing as a too-small gift.
- Educate yourself. Be fully informed about your issue.
- Invest in a great leader. Identify leaders you believe in, find out what they need to become more effective, and then provide support for them.
- Invest in a great organization. Identify a nonprofit that is creating social change and contribute to its long-term sustainability by funding organizational capacity building.
- Focus your giving. The more focused your giving, the greater your impact.
- Provide multiyear funding. If you would like to make a grant that helps free up some of the nonprofit’s fund-raising time, make a multiyear commitment.
- Leverage your resources. What kind of gift can you make if you pool your resources with other grantmakers who share your passion for a purpose, a region, or a population in need?
- Convene nonprofit leaders. You can play a critical role by simply bringing people together to learn from one other.
- Fund an evaluation. Nonprofits know they need to conduct thorough evaluation of their programs, but they also often lack the time, resources, and expertise to conduct unbiased and scientific evaluation.
- Fund policy change. Effective policy change can start with small steps, but funding for advocacy and policy change often gets put on the back burner behind program support.
- Provide program-related investments. Extend your resources by providing program-related investments (PRIs).
- Fund globally. Small grants go far when you send them across the world.
- Offer challenge grants. Jump-start an organization’s development efforts by offering a matching grant.
Read the full article about small grants by Kris Putnam-Walkerly at the National Center for Family Philanthropy.