Start Your Research at The San Diego Foundation
by Pat Fitzmorris
UPDATE 9/19/204:  The San Diego Foundation no longer houses the Foundation Library.  It is now housed at Nonprofit Management Solutions. Please click here for hours and location.
In our Grant Development classes we recommend that grant seekers do Research, Research, & more Research to find the foundation that will fund your program.  One of the best places to do research on potential funding sources is the San Diego Foundation.  The San Diego Foundation is located in Liberty Station at 2508 Historic Decatur Rd., Ste. 200 San Diego, CA 92106.    The hours are M-F 8AM to 5PM. 

According to the Foundation’s web page, “The San Diego Foundation is proud to stand as San Diego's leading resource for information about charitable giving and community needs. We encourage, support and facilitate meaningful dialogue on issues affecting each of our communities, and work with philanthropists to develop creative solutions to meet critical community needs. The Foundation proudly grants out more than $60 million each year to outstanding nonprofits throughout the county, in areas such as the environment, arts and culture, science and technology, civil society, health and human services, and disaster relief.”  As you can see the foundation itself is a great place to start looking for a match. Go to the web to review the guidelines, application forms and deadlines.  www.sdfoundation.org.   

The Foundation also has a library and several computer stations open to the public to do research on other foundations that may be interested in funding programs. The database is amazing and it can cut your research time by hours just because of the sorting system. Be sure to sort by geography, target population, deadlines and areas of interest (art, science, etc).  Please call to determine the librarian’s hours so she/he can show you how the system works. Then you can go on your own any time.  They also offer leadership training and scholarships. 

Government funders and some foundations may request a logic model as the evaluation component cornerstone of your grant application.  The logic model is designed to show a logical or linear path to success for your program or grant proposal. 

The logic model is a tool used to demonstrate how and why your program will work.  It illustrates what will be accomplished and how your grant proposal will reach the goals and objectives designed in your program.  The logic model must communicate specific resources, measurable action oriented outcomes with a realistic timeline.

Logic models may be created in several ways. A template can be downloaded and used as a guide to create the logic model for the evaluation section ofyour proposal.    A Google search of Logic Model Templates provides several models to review.  Beautiful charts of all shapes and forms give a full picture of the wide range of options to design the logic model itself.

Several sites also include detailed guidelines for development of the logic model. Samples are provided in chart form.  If the grant development team includes a professional evaluator or university research staff as part of the evaluation team they will develop the logic model and incorporate all of the elements to show success. The evaluator may take the lead in writing the evaluation/logic model section of the grant.

Goals, objectives, methods, activities, outcomes—Oh my!  These terms get thrown into nearly every grant application and can be confusing.  And as mentioned last week, I am a visual thinker, so I have found that putting these terms into a picture helps me keep them straight.

I’ve developed a picture that we use in our training to help everyone understand goals, objectives, methods or activities, and outcomes.  Imagine constructing a building and here’s how that project is related:

Goal:  Picture the building.  What does it look like?  Where is it located?  What is the reason for building it? Here’s an example, “To support improvement in a neighborhood undergoing redevelopment.”  This is the goal.  In program development and in a grant application the goal is a broad statement, the one that is the driving force for everything you do.  For your grant application, there should only be one goal statement.

Objectives:  When planning our building, we create a project timeline with benchmarks to achieve along the way.  In program planning and grant development, these are the objectives.  They are specific, time limited, measurable, and achievable statements of purpose to guide you toward reaching the goal. For our building, an objective might be “By October 30, 2012 the foundation will be completed.”  There may be several objectives for each goal. 

Methods or Activities:  Notice that the Objectives can be specific and yet broad.  That is because the methods or activities are those building blocks that support the objectives.  In the case of our building, activities to support the objective named above could be (1) Dig the hole for the foundation; (2) lay the frame and rebar to support the foundation; and (3) pour the concrete.  There are usually numerous activities to support each objective. 

Outcomes:  These are the expected results of the endeavor or program.  Once the building is completed, an expected outcome could be “New business attracted to the community” or “Non-profits organizations providing community services in the building for the area residents.”  The outcomes are what effect will occur during the grant period as a result of the proposed activities.