THE RURBAN FRINGE

A Funders Forum Offers Best Bang for Buck

Posted on | April 29, 2010 | No Comments

I feel a lot like Hank Snow these days as I’ve been on the go and have just returned from presenting at a regional funders forum in west-central Alberta. 

With government budgets shrinking and corporate dollars affected by the economic recession, this funders forum was an opportunity for local agencies and organizations to get valuable information on how money for community initiatives can still be acquired. 

What, exactly, is a funders forum, you ask? 

Simply put, a funders forum is a networking and resource-sharing event with funders in attendance speaking about their programs … and participants asking questions and gathering information about potential funding streams.  As well as making funding information available, sometimes sessions are offered to provide advice or training to those seeking funds.

The event I attended was well-done and was quite similar to speed-dating.  Each funder was allocated a table and attendees could then rotate and choose who they wished to gather information from.  There were 12 funders in attendance, each with 20 minutes to interact with attendees, with attendees rotating to hear a maximum of six funders within the evening’s time limit.  As sessions ran concurrently, organizations were encouraged to bring more than one person if they wished to hear from more than six funders. 

The evening unfolded like this:

5:30 pm – Dinner served

6:15 – 6:45 pm – ‘Writing Winning Proposals’ Keynote (this is what I delivered)

6:45 – 8:00 pm – Funding Presentations and Questions

8:00 – 8:15 pm – Break

8:15 - 9:15 pm – Funding Presentations and Questions

There were over 85 participants in attendance, some travelling quite a distance to be there.  The event was hosted by a local not-for-profit and charged a nominal fee to help cover expenses. 

There is immeasurable value in hosting an event such as this… not only do attendees have the opportunity to hear from a variety of funders in one setting, they also have the opportunity to network and make connections with people who may prove important as future project partners. 

In rural and rurban areas, especially, there may be a lack of resources (time, talent, and money) to undertake ‘fund-chasing’ or project networking, whereas this forum – held in a rurban area, I might add - allowed participants to do both.

It was a good evening.  I made a number of great connections, myself.  And I would highly recommend communities or community agencies offering events such as this within their own regions … it enhances the capacity of all.

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