This post was written by Toby Tremlett, with input from Rick Holland.
Rick Holland, the Director of Confident Philanthropy, will be holding an AMA during Funding Strategy Week (formerly known as Funding Diversification Week). Leave your questions in the comments of this post, and Rick will answer them on Thursday the 7th of November.
Through his consultancy, Rick has been advising organisations on their fundraising efforts for the past fifteen years, and has led the fundraising efforts at a variety of nonprofits for many years before that.
In our conversations, Rick has said that although all organisations are different, there are many things that we can do to strengthen our relationships with our funders and supporters. Rick is open to questions that run the gamut about fundraising, whether about overall organisational strategy or day-to-day donor and gift management.
Rick has worked with VeganForTheAnimals, ALLFED, The Vagina Museum, GFI, Humanists UK, Otwarte Klatki (Open Cages), More United, and many other organisations inside and outside of EA circles.
I thought it would be particularly interesting to ask Rick questions during Funding Strategy Week, when the Forum will be discussing a wide range of funding-related questions.
Consider asking Rick about:
- Trade-offs between relying on major funders versus appealing to small donors
- How to discover what motivates funders
- Common fundraising mistakes made by EA organisations
- Tapping into the knowledge and expertise of your funders
- How you might work with existing funders to find new funders
- The most underrated Beatles song.
Hey Rick! What advice do you have for animal-focused groups trying to appeal to environmentally-focused funders? Any specific strategies to bridge the gap?
Heya, Rick. To what extent would you say that the donor landscape of EA-associated individuals requires a different approach, from a fundraising perspective, to those outside EA? What tips might you have for an organization aiming to diversify outside the bubble?
And, frankly, the bullet-pointed questions in the lead-in are all of interest, especially (for me) common mistakes made by EA organizers, working with existing funders to find new ones, and the Beatles, of course. Whatever you have bandwidth for based on other questions. Many thanks!
Hello !
I have a bit of a specific question: Do you know any organisation that could act as a bridge between a US donor and a French non-profit? I'm part of a French organization in such a situation. No problem if you don't have an answer.
The US donor is donating through a DAF and wants to give to a tax-deductible US 501(c)(3) nonprofit - that would send the money to the French org.
The answers I got so far from asking around:
Which of these options seems like the best? I'd be curious to hear about your opinion.
What do you see as the potential for non-EA funding opportunities for community building organisations like EA Netherlands? Currently, 95% of our funding comes from CEA, OP, and EA IF.
My sense is that non-EA funding might be viable for specific initiatives, like talent development programmes, but securing such funding for core EA community building activities — like community events, office spaces, organiser support, and outreach — seems much more challenging.
Hi Rick, it’s great to connect with you! I have a few questions and would really appreciate hearing your perspective on them.
Given that I haven’t yet had much success in securing substantial support for my phage-related projects, what strategies would you recommend for balancing the trade-off between relying on major funders and building a network of smaller donors, especially in niche fields like phage therapy research?
Could you suggest effective ways to uncover what truly motivates funders, particularly those who might be interested in high-impact, emerging biomedical solutions? This insight would be invaluable in refining my approach for phage therapy projects.
Based on your experience with EA organizations, what are some common fundraising mistakes to avoid when pitching early-stage, high-risk research? I’m particularly keen to understand where others might have gone wrong, as I work to gain support for my own phage research.
How can I tap into the knowledge and expertise of existing funders to strengthen both my research and fundraising efforts? Additionally, are there effective ways to work with current funders to identify potential new funding sources within the global health sector?