How important is
it to know someone at the company?
Nothing is better than a personal introduction. Some
companies only consider requests brought forward
by their employees.
- Perhaps one of your board members does business
with the firm and can set up a meeting.
- Your volunteers or clients may be current or
former employees who can advocate for your project.
- A current funder may be able to introduce you
to colleagues from other companies in the same
industry.
- Or someone who supports your agency may sit on
a corporate or nonprofit board with executives
from other philanthropic companies.
"All fundraising
is about relationships," asserts Deanne
Pearn, co-founder and director of community relations
at First Place Fund for Youth in Oakland, CA. “It’s all about relationships.” She adds, “Companies
are not fulltime foundations. You have to get their
attention.”
First Place programs focus on a very disenfranchised
population: older teens who “age out” of
foster care and find themselves without housing,
income, adult support or any preparation for independent
living. Along with matching funds from independent
and family foundations, the project receives significant
support from the charitable foundation of an international
law firm, Morrison & Foerster LLP.
First Place’s Co-Founder Amy Lemley first
discussed their Healthy Transitions project with
a friend who was an associate of the firm. Her friend
then submitted First Place’s need for LFP
matching funds to the foundation, which had announced
a special, large-impact grants program and request
for proposals open only to firm partners and employees.
The Morrison & Foerster Foundation focuses
on organizations serving people in the communities
in which Morrison & Foerster personnel live and
work. The firm has a large presence in the Bay Area
- another point in favor of First Place. Finally,
there was a good fit because the foundation’s
principal giving areas include legal aid, children,
food and shelter, and health—all components
of Healthy Transitions.
In 2005 First Place gave its annual Community Hero
award to The Morrison & Foerster Foundation for
its extraordinary commitment to foster care youth.
The award was accepted by Foundation President Paul
Friedman. The next year the law firm hosted the award
ceremony, providing a prestigious location in their
boardroom. The event always features young people—formerly
in foster care—who tell the stories of how
First Place Fund for Youth helped them make a healthy
transition to a promising, independent adult life.
The Walter S. Johnson Foundation nominated Healthy
Transitions for their 2005 LFP matching grant.
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