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Philanthropy is a charitable act or good work that helps others or society. Generosity can include donating money to a worthy cause, volunteering time, effort, or other forms of altruism. Philanthropy is often initiated by those seeking tax breaks. However, in addition to looking for tax breaks, philanthropists also donate their time and money because they are driven by a deep desire to solve social problems and help others.
Philanthropy is a critical part of our democratic society. It is different from charity, which focuses on eliminating the suffering caused by social problems, while philanthropy focuses on the elimination of social issues. It supports projects and efforts that benefit others, such as libraries and museums, and it supports initiatives that may be too unpopular or controversial to gain the widespread support of the general public or the government. Philanthropists do not answer the government or society, so they can freely choose the people and projects to receive their support.
If you are a nonprofit organization, philanthropy may be the key to raising awareness about your foundation, helping you feed the hungry, or assisting you in building a facility to expand your growing nonprofit organization’s impact.. However, people won't donate or invest if they don't have a clear understanding of who you are, what you do, or your vision. Donors need to see the difference your organization is making or the ways your nonprofit helps to enrich lives and strengthen communities.
The Questions You Need to Answer Before Looking For An Investor
Do You Have A Marketing Plan?
Whether you are a nonprofit or a start-up business, the need for a marketing plan is needed to generate revenue and bring attention to your organization. When you can show an investor a solid plan to market your organization, it shows a potential investor you are serious about the sustainability of your business.
What Is Your Fundraising History?
Being a nonprofit organization means having some measure of success with fundraising. A type of revenue growth on an ongoing annual basis shows a potential donor or investor that your organization has a proper plan for sustainability. If your organization can show your fundraising plans continually meet these annual milestones, it again indicates that your organization has plans to be around in the future.
How Are Your Outcomes Measured?
Undoubtedly, your organization has a mission, and whatever that mission is, every year, you must establish and have a way to measure how the organization has reached its goals. For an investor or donor to contribute a large sum of money to your organization, they must know the impact of your organization in regard to the stated mission, the tangible benefits, and how successful you are at meeting yearly goals.
What Challenges Has Your Non-Profit Faced?
Not only should you shout out the successes your nonprofit organization has achieved, but you should also be aware of the challenges that you face daily and share them honestly with potential donors. Often, when you're forthright with your problems, donors will rise to the challenge and help you succeed.
What Are Your Top 3 Priorities for The Current Year?
The top three priorities will probably overlap with the challenges you face. However, nonprofit organizations are excellent at focusing on priorities that are often new initiatives. Each year the leadership team of your organization needs to identify the top three priorities or goals for the organization. These priorities should be at the heart of everything you do, and they should drive your daily actions. Even though your priorities may often overlap from year to year, these priorities are the heart and soul of your organization.
Does Your Nonprofit Organization Have A Strategic Plan in Place?
Nonprofit organizations need a strategic plan to have a structured process and to define the success of the organization. A strategic plan helps determine the operational steps required to get there. It aligns resources and staff to achieve a common goal within a specific time frame. Strategic planning involves examining the organization's intended impact and a rigorous analysis of the organization's capabilities. It also outlines full program costs and how the organization can identify opportunities to grow the organization with the most significant potential for impact.
Things You Need to Prepare For When Looking For Investors
Pitching your idea to investors or angel donors can be intimidating. However, you can walk in prepared for the evaluation your nonprofit organization is going to go through by knowing what the potential donors need to know about your organization.
Financial Performance
Be prepared to answer questions about the financial stability of your organization. Donors will need to see where your organization allocates its money and why. Even though these donors are not looking for a return on their investment, they need to know your organization has enough current capital to cover your current and future needs.
Background and Experience in the Industry
Donors look for people who have the experience and the knowledge to handle your unique specialty. Whether it's feeding the homeless,housing battered women or educating college students, donors want to know your leadership has the background and experience to tackle these individual problems.
Company Uniqueness
What makes your nonprofit organization unique? What service do you provide that makes you stand out from the crowd? Why should they donate a large sum of money to your organization over the next organization that does the same thing as you do? Donors look for what distinguishes you from other potential nonprofit organizations who are also looking for angel donors.
How Large Is The Community You're Helping?
Angel donors invest in organizations that help solve significant problems for a significantly large group of people. The broader the base your nonprofit organization helps, the stronger your chance of securing their angel investment. Be prepared to articulate how many people you've helped and who will receive help once you have the facilities to do so because of their investment.
How IAG Commercial Can Help You Find Real-Estate Investors for Your Nonprofit
If your nonprofit organization wants to succeed in seeking out real-estate investors, IAG can help. IAG Commercial can organize and lead a team to define and create a real estate plan for your organization. This plan is then monetized and defined so both anticipated cash needs are clear and a vision is created to share with prospective donors.
