Tap into the power of The Ramona Group’s professional fund-development staff, experienced grant writers, and up-to-date national database. We’re a strategic planning consulting firm that takes action and gets results for non-profit organizations. We’ll work with your executives and staff to build a strong, efficient fund development program that can bring in the donor support you need. The Ramona Group provides:
Strategic Planning
Through our effective research, you’ll know that you’re approaching the strongest potential supporters of your cause. The next step is to create a sound plan for attracting these donors to your organization and convincing them to supply the funding you need. We understand what motivates corporations, foundations, and governments to fund non-profit organizations and we’ll work with you to develop a strategy to gain their support.
A development program is only as good as its research and planning. Strategic and tactical planning techniques developed by The Ramona Group will give you control over the planning process and assurance that plans can be met. Approaching the right sources for your group is a function of effective research.
Research
The Ramona Group finds the most promising potential donors in the corporate, foundation, and government sectors by searching our extensive proprietary database of funding sources. We identify, qualify, and do the background research on high-level prospects, and then match your organization with donors that want to support the objectives of your mission. We share these findings with your executives, board, and staff so they can help us identify any links or personal contacts that can smooth the path to these prime prospects. Finally, we strategize with you to develop a step-by-step action plan for cultivating their support.
Grant Writing
The Ramona Group’s pool of highly skilled grant writers make it their top priority to research and compose grants that are geared to get results.
They begin by preparing a comprehensive grant proposal "blueprint" that contains the core information on which all your proposals will be based. Then, they do the research necessary to find links between specific grant makers and your organization. Our writers carefully craft each grant to perfectly fit the grant maker’s guidelines; point out links between the prospect and your organization; and provide distinct, compelling reasons for the grant maker to fund your request.
Solicitation Management
Does your non-profit have enough staff to attend to the myriad details of fund development, scheduling, and follow-up? Our qualified staff can handle the many details that crop up in fund development programs. We keep track of the various tasks, goals, and milestones to free you up for controlling the bigger picture. Some of the many tasks we can perform include:
- • Creating a development calendar
- • Producing promotional materials and solicitation letters
- • Creating and managing a database that includes donation record keeping
- • Tracking the solicitation process
- • Encouraging funding renewals
- • Researching grants
- • Writing grant proposals
- • Processing grants
- • Seeing to your grant reporting and award compliance
- • Producing promotional materials and solicitation letters
Donor Cultivation
Events organized to cultivate donors – which differ from fund raising events – are an effective way to interest potential contributors in your organization. The Ramona Group can help plan and implement these functions and other means of cultivating current and potential donors.
Donor Communication and Stewardship
It’s common for fundraising programs to offer benefits to donors. If you fail to keep those promises, you could lose your donor’s goodwill and their financial support. The Ramona Group can see to it that your commitments are fulfilled and your donors are kept satisfied. We keep them apprised of when and how you are meeting these obligations, which in turn keeps them interested, involved, and much more likely to contribute to your cause once again.
The stewards of a non-profit must consider cost efficiency. Because fund development is our area of expertise we are more efficient and effective…and less costly…you pay only for the specific services you’ve asked us to provide so you maintain complete control of your costs.
Your donors expect you to use their funding to further the objectives of your non-profit’s mission…and so do we.
Materials and Presentations
The way presentations are made goes a long way to determining your success in raising funds. Your materials create a lasting impression on which donors may base their decision on whether and how much to give your organization. Materials do not have to cost a great deal to be effective. The Ramona Group has developed proven strategies for materials that enhance your organization.
Additional Services
Instructional Services
We’d like to help each of our clients to develop a self-sufficient, internal fund development staff. The Ramona Group offers Solicitation Seminars for board members, volunteers, and staff, introducing techniques for raising funds. We’ll share some of the finer points of solicitation management along with many proven fund raising methods and results.
Special Events for Donor Cultivation
- • Strategizing — determining needs and opportunities
- • Structuring an event
- • Planning & organization
- • Process management (implementation) of the event
- • Structuring an event
