Q: How can we find funding for the Benevon Workshop tuition?

Jerry from Oklahoma

A: Here are three options to consider:

1. Rather than approaching foundations that may have never given to your organization before, take the time to cultivate your long-term funders—foundations that know and love your work and have seen your struggles over the years. Once you have built solid relationships with this funder or funders and have the approval of your staff and board to attend our workshops, you can put together a proposal for the funder(s).
   
   Your proposal should explain the results you intend to accomplish with the model, the internal support you have to field a team, and the budget for sending a team (and sometimes for underwriting part of the costs of the Ask Event^™). In other words, state your case and ask for a grant that will cover all or part of the tuition for a team to come to the workshop. You can also invite your main contact person at the foundation to come and participate in the workshop with your team.
   
   
2. Another way to fund the tuition for our workshops is by finding one or more existing donors or board members who have watched your organization's struggles with fundraising over the years and said, "There has got to be a better way." Educate those donors about the model, have them talk with board members or funders of other Benevon alumni organizations in your community, show them the costs and potential returns, and ask for their support.
   
   A variation of this approach is to ask each of the seven team members who will be coming to the workshop to pay a portion of the tuition as a personal contribution to the organization. Some may be in a position to fund more than their "share" to subsidize other team members who may be hard-pressed to fund their own portion.
   
   
3. Finally, as a third alternative, consider taking the money out of your budget or borrowing against internal reserves. Our results show that a group that comes to our workshops and participates in all the coaching calls afterwards will raise an average of $185,000–$200,000 in gifts and pledges at their first Ask Event. Most board members understand the value of an investment and the concept of return on investment. This is a good return.
   
   

Terry