Episode 127: Are You Asking the Right Questions? Do They Lead to Growth?
If you're 2+ years in with your nonprofit and in the same place as you were last year (self-funding your organization), then you are asking the wrong questions. If you're still asking "How do I get grants?" or "How can I get this for free?" you're asking the wrong questions. A nonprofit is a business. You should be asking those who are where you want to be, "How did you get there?" Learn all the questions you should be asking to stop funding your organization and start scaling and making the impact you started your nonprofit to make.
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🔦 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT 🙌🏿
Mirror Memoirs Pt. 3
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🚀 RESOURCES TO HELP YOU RUN A SUCCESSFUL NONPROFIT
Questions To Ask A Grant Writer Before You Hire Them https://fusion.amberwynn.net/product/questions-to-ask-a-grant-writer-before-you-hire-them/
The Nonprofit Mastery Academy
https://fusion.amberwynn.net/nonprofit-mastery-academy/
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Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learn to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding impact and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident, Philanthrepreneur Amber Wynn.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hey, it's Amber Wynn, your girl, Philanthrepreneur. And today we are talking about are you asking the right questions?
(00:33):
And how do you know if you're asking the right questions? Do your questions lead to growth? Listen, as the leader of your nonprofit, the longevity, the impact, the growth of your organization rests on you. And so if you're spinning your wheels, right, you're two, three years in the organization, you're still feeling overwhelmed, you're still in the same place, your organization hasn't grown, maybe it's even gotten worse. I'm going to ask you, are you asking the right questions? And you're saying, of course, I'm asking the right questions. I'm trying to figure it out. When we come back, I'm going to really just get laser focused on the type of questions you need to ask to move your organization forward. Have you been duped by a grant writer promising you the moon and the stars, but after collecting your $2,000, you never win a grant? No. A grant writer can't guarantee you'll get funded.
(01:34):
But if you don't know how to vet them, you could walk right into a scam. Check out my guide the questions to ask a grant writer before you hire them to help you determine if a grant writer is a bonafide professional or out to steal your hard earned money with no intentions of yielding results. This guide explains what to look for in a grant writer if they're novice or seasoned, if they're a fit for the type of proposal you need written, what questions they should ask you. Leverage my 25 years of grant writing experience securing over $10 million in grants for clients to help you find a qualified grant writer and reduce your chances of getting scammed. Order your copy today. Welcome back. You're on air with Amber Wynn, Philanthrepreneur, and today we're talking about are you asking the right questions? Questions that will move your organization, get it to a place of sustainability where you can make the impact that you actually start at your organization to make.
(02:28):
And I am focusing on, are you asking the right questions? Because I'm in a lot of these nonprofit forums and every day or day I get the same questions. How do I get a grant? How do I get a grant? How do I get a grant? How do I fund my organization? And I want to just scream and say, that is not the right question. Listen, a nonprofit is a business. It's just a business with a philanthropic purpose. And so the questions that you're asking is going to keep you spinning in this place of poverty. How do I get a grant? Are you even ready for a grant? You think you believe that once you get your 501(c)(3) a grant is your solution. But I'm going to challenge you, right? Because a nonprofit is a business. There are other nonprofit businesses out there that are successful.
(03:21):
A better question would be, how did you get to this place of success? How did you get your organization to a place where you can pay staff? How did you get your organization to a place where you are actually able to secure six figure grants? How did you get your organization to a place where you have consistent outside revenue? How did you recruit seasoned board members who are actually paying their dues in bringing in resources? How did you get your organization to the place where funders are asking you to submit? Those are the types of questions you should be asking. You shouldn't be saying, well, how can I get this for free? And how can I from this place of poverty and lack, and you don't know what you don't know, but I am challenging you to look at your organization as an opportunity for growth and start asking questions like, what is the roadmap that's going to get me to the place of growth?
(04:30):
And understand that because it's a business, it's not going to happen for free. Stop expecting it to stop trying to find ways of getting things for nothing. Your nonprofit is a business and you're going to have to invest in it. And I'm talking from personal experience. I've never been the type of person who quite frankly believe that I shouldn't invest in my organization, but money don't grow on trees, but I am looking for the fastest, most efficient way to get to my next. And so I'm going to look at a business that is doing what I want to do, and I'm going to ask that business owner, how did you do that? And if they said, oh girl, I invested in a coach I invested in, or my mentor showed with me how to do X, Y, and Z, then I am going to invest in something similar because it's going to move my organization, as opposed to you spinning your wheels when you get stuff for free.
(05:30):
It's not necessarily in alignment with what you want to do. You know what I mean? People may donate computers to your organization, but if they're old now you've got to figure out a way to get them up to date and it just takes you away from your mission. Versus if someone says, well, the way that you get these computers donated is by going through this program where they teach you how to integrate it, and then at the end they give you a grant. You need to ask people who are where you want to be, how they got there, and ask the right questions. Not how did you get a grant for that, but literally how did you get there? How did you get to the success that you have? Is there a roadmap? Is there a blueprint? Nine times out of 10, there's not. But if a person's gone through it, they can share with you what they've gone through.
(06:25):
I for one, having been an executive director, bumped my head and made a lot of mistakes. And I don't want you to go through the same thing. I want you to get to where you need to be, which is sustainable without having to go through the things that I went through. Why? Because the world needs nonprofits right now, and if all my nonprofit leaders are banging their heads up against the wall and struggling and trying to figure out and not getting paid, we can't make a difference in this world. There are roadmaps, there are formulas, there are shorter pathways to get to where you want to be. Nine times out of 10, they're through consultants because consultants have experience that's going to help you grow faster. But those consultants are not free. So what do you do? You generate enough money to cover those consultants because it's worth the investment to get you to where you want to be faster.
(07:16):
Most people want to generate money, then they put it into the program, generate money, put it into the program, but that's not helping you to grow. It's helping you to stay right where you are because you're not putting systems in place. You're not able to hire people who have the knowledge and experience to take your organization further. You only want to get interns. Interns don't know nothing. Interns are there to learn from you. So yes, are you getting some stuff done? Yes, but it's not taking your organization to the next level. You may have volunteers. Volunteers are fine, but volunteers aren't going to provide a consistent output of anything. They're going to be there for a certain amount of time. Once they leave, then you get a new volunteer and it starts over. You want to be able to pay people their value and their worth to help take your organization to the next level.
(08:08):
So the right question is, how did you get your organization to a place where you could pay your staff? How did you get your organization to a place where you could pay yourself? What did you do? So stop asking the same entire question. Hey, how do I get a grant? Hey, where do I get somebody to pay for and start asking the questions? That's going to move your organization forward. When you don't know, you don't know, now you know, I need you to do better. Alright? And if you're still not sure about how to get there, again, I have the roadmap. You've got to just be willing to invest in your organization. I have it there all laid out for you. Step A, B, all the way to Z, how to do all of the questions that you may have and you're not sure how to.
(08:59):
I've compiled them over the years and it's called The Nonprofit Mastery Academy. It is your roadmap for answering all of those questions that you don't have the answer for. Let's take a look. Are you struggling to fund your programs? Can't get a grant to save your life. Most consultants will share the what of how to start a nonprofit or how to fundraise. They may even share the why, but they don't share the how because that's where they make their money. Now, I'm not hating. I'm a businesswoman too, but I've been where you are trying to make the world a better place, struggling to keep the doors open up to the wee hours of the night, writing grants and doing whatever needed to be done. And because I've walked in your shoes, I'm not here to make you spend your will, waste your time or your hard earned money.
(09:51):
We ain't got time for that. The world needs you. I'm here to show you how to transform that pit. You keep dumping your heart earned money into a profitable nonprofit. I take my 30 years of nonprofit experience as a founder, executive director, program developer, grant writer in funder, giving out over $7 million annually in grants, and I save you literally thousands of dollars in hundreds of hours. I walk you through setting up your nonprofit organization so that you can be generating enough revenue to cover your monthly expenses in just 90 days. How would that feel? Not paying bills from your personal bank account. I share my insider secrets, tips, tricks of the trade, and provide you with a step-by-step roadmap on how to turn your bootstrap organization into a profitable nonprofit. Within six months, you could be generating enough revenue to pay your salary or fully fund your programs.
(10:50):
The choice is yours, but you have to get the blueprint. And it took me three years to develop it, but it's here and it's going to change your life. Join my other successful clients who are just like you, full of passion and determination, but they had no idea all that it takes to run and fund a successful nonprofit. Now they're winning grants and drawing a salary, and they know what it is that they're supposed to be doing to run a successful nonprofit. They're no longer making it up as they go. They have the roadmap and they're clear about next steps. And I want that for you too. So what do you get in this course? You'll walk away with knowledge, products, processes, and systems, not just a bunch of promises, but exactly what you need to turn your organization into a profitable nonprofit. I promise you don't need grants.
(11:44):
What you need is a solid infrastructure, and this course is going to give you all of that and more. And what's more it comes with the money back guarantee. So go ahead, click the link below to register for this course. Welcome back to On Air with Amber Wynn. And today we're talking about are you asking the right questions? A perfect segue for our next segment, which is Ask Amber. And it's where you get to ask me your pressing questions. Today's question comes from Darnell Johnson from Valencia, and his question is, how long should it take before a nonprofit starts getting grants? It's been about a year since I started my nonprofit, but I still haven't been able to get any grants. So Darnell, I'm going to say that you didn't ask the right question, right? A better question is, do you qualify? If I were you, I would say, Hey Amber, what do I need to do in order to qualify for grants?
(12:47):
Not how long should it takes before a nonprofit starts to get a grant? But what does it take to qualify for one? Here's what you should know. Grants are not free money. They're not just out there waiting for you to get to a certain point in your organization where you get them. No, no, no, no, no. They're based on your impact in your results. After a year, you should be able to demonstrate results. Have you been collecting the data that says this is what we do, and because we've done it, this is what has happened as a result, and that result has positive and it's changed the lives of our participants? If you can say that, then you should be eligible to apply for an organization's grant. And a year in, you can get $500. What does $500 due? It allows a funder to say, you've managed money.
(13:49):
That's a start. You did it successfully. And then after that, you should be able to apply for a $1,500 grant and a $2,500 grant. What that does is it shows the funder, you've been progressively managing money successfully. But what you should understand is those five, $10,000 grants, they're not enough to sustain your organization. In reality, those grants are like $20. Once you break it, it's like gone. They're good to have, who doesn't want to have money? But we want to get you to the point where you qualify for six figure grants. Those are what gets you to sustainability, diversifying your funding strength. That's what gets you to sustainability. And here's the thing, if you don't look the part, if you've been around for a year or two and your website is janky, meaning it doesn't have demonstrated proof of your impact, if you've got a PO box, if your URL says.com, these are all red flags that a funder looks forward to say, this isn't really a nonprofit organization.
(14:55):
This is some, I don't know what it is, right? But if they look for those red flags, what does your outward facing material say that you are? Does it say that you are in alignment with the IRS? Does it say that you understand what a nonprofit is? It's not always. It's never about the length of time your organization has been in business, but it's about the outcomes. It's about your presentation. What does your website, what do your grants say that you are? So Darnell, I'm going to encourage you to ask different questions. I'm going to encourage you to look at your outward facing materials. I'm going to encourage you to look at what it is you put out into the space. Does it say that you qualify for a six figure grant? Does it say that you qualify for a $10,000 grant? If the answer is no, then that's what you need to focus on.
(15:52):
Alright? So thank you so much for your question. If you have a question for me, hit me up on any of my socials. I'm on everything y'all. I'm on Facebook and Instagram. You can even email me at amber@amberwynn.net and I'll be sure to get your question on air. And now we're going to shift to my favorite time of the episode where I get to feature a nonprofit. And we are on the third part of our conversation with Jaden Fields of mirror memoirs. Remember, it's not enough just to be in community and do the work. In order for you to sustain your organization, you need visibility. You need funders to know that you're out there. You need potential clients out there talking about how amazing your work is. So let's jump back into our conversation with Mirror Memoirs to see how they do with y'all when we give back.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
There's been a variety of challenges. The biggest one being capacity. Our vision is big to create a world wherein this violence doesn't continue. And the capacity of the staff, which is made up of all survivors who are lgbtqia plus people of color. It's so personal to our own experiences. And we're a staff of now three with a membership that is across the country of over 700 survivors who also fit that demographic as well as what we call our allies or accomplice members, that it's well over a thousand. So the biggest challenge has been trying to continue to size the current vision for where the capacity is as we are working to build our capacity as a staff, working to try to hire more people with a livable wage because we know that when we hire from our community, it's important that our folks are able to also have access to the things that they need to continue healing. And then another challenge has been because of our unique intersection, we're realizing that our membership is growing really fast. So many people were like, oh, I haven't seen something like this. I haven't had access to this kind of space as a survivor or as a loved one of a survivor, as someone who is partnered with a survivor or whatever. And so really being thoughtful about how do we expand our programming to meet the constantly growing need.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
And we're back from our conversation with Jaden of Mirror Memoirs. If you want to see the full episode, you can wait until next week to see part four, or you can just go on over to my YouTube channel and see the full episode conversation with Mirror Memoirs. And so that's all we have for this week. Our focus was you asking the right questions, get in the mindset of asking questions that's going to lead to growth and not just staying at this same space. If you enjoyed today's topic, be sure to like and subscribe. And if you think there's somebody out there who could use this content today, go ahead and share it with them. I look forward to seeing you next week when we wrap up with Jaden and Mirror Memoirs. And I'm going to tell you like I tell you every week, because you guys kiss so much, make sure you take care of yourself, like you take care of your community. See you next week. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.next/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.
