Spring 2002

Minnesota Nonprofits, Grantmakers Explore
Funding Outlook at MCF Meeting

To help Minnesota’s nonprofits survive and thrive in today’s leaner economic times, the state’s nonprofits and grantmakers must become more involved in collaborative advocacy work. That was a key message of a recent public meeting sponsored by the Minnesota Council on Foundations.

More than 150 representatives of nonprofit and grantmaking organizations in the state gathered for the two-hour meeting on February 25, 2002, to discuss the outlook for the state's philanthropy. The meeting featured a panel of representatives from three grantmaker organizations: Emmett Carson, president and CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation; Mary Pickard, president and executive director of The St. Paul Companies, Inc. Foundation; and Rip Rapson, president of The McKnight Foundation.

Council research director Tina Joh set the stage for the meeting by reporting that despite record grantmaking growth in the late 1990s, the current slowdown in the nation’s economy will likely have a negative effect on the state’s 2002 grantmaking dollars. Joh reported the results of the Council’s recent poll of its membership, in which 89 percent of respondents said their assets declined over the last year and two-thirds said they are anticipating decreases in their 2002 grants. All three panelists confirmed that their own organization’s grantmaking dollars would be lower this year.

In discussing how Minnesota’s nonprofit sector can deal with more limited funding resources, the panelists stressed that nonprofit advocacy was crucial, especially given the state government’s current budget woes. They agreed that the sector must change the widespread misperception by both grantmakers and nonprofits that they cannot participate in advocacy and lobbying.

“Nonprofits need to find their voice,” said Carson, who added that nonprofits and grantmakers must develop more collaborative efforts to advocate at the state and federal levels for their issues. He pointed to the recent “Think Twice” campaign as an example of the type of advocacy that is needed.

Other key points raised during the program include:

• Some audience members expressed a concern that grant cutbacks would translate into more conservative grantmaking and therefore less support for emerging organizations. But all three panelists said this would not be the case, and encouraged grant applications from emerging groups.
     

• As grantmakers look to build relationships with the groups they fund, activities such as site visits will take on greater importance as an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding.
     

• Some grantmakers are providing multi-year grants to encourage long-term growth and development. But the panelists cautioned that organizations should actively seek support from a variety of sources and not become dependent on a narrow source of funding.
      

• Carson was frank in predicting that some nonprofits in the state will not survive in today’s tighter funding environment. He said the most vulnerable organizations are not necessarily the smallest ones, but rather those that are not accountable and that don’t have a well-defined niche.

Council president Bill King voiced the Council’s commitment to continue working with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits to present a unified voice for the nonprofit sector around government funding and other public policy issues. The two organizations have been meeting together with key state legislators during the current session. King said the Council would also continue to provide information and resources that can help nonprofits and grantmakers be as effective as possible with their resources. GF

© Copyright 2002 Minnesota Council on Foundations
Reproduction in any form without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Top