Fund
General Reference
- Management Help Online Library:
- The “All About Nonprofit Fundraising” section has numerous tools for your use in raising funds for your watershed effort.
- River Network’s Resource Library:
- River Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping local watershed groups protect and restore their rivers and streams. Their Resource Library has good information for local groups – all free! Apply the “FUNDRAISING AND GRANTS” category filter to see publications relating to this topic.
Grants
- IDEM Funding Matrix [XLS] (Revised 12/2011):
- This Microsoft Excel table lists activities that watershed groups commonly need to have funded and matches them up with specific grants and other funding sources.
- Purdue University’s Grant Writing Tutorial [PDF]:
- This Web site provides tips and examples for writing great grant proposals.
Fundraising - Private Donations / Foundations
- Community Foundation Locator:
- Find the community foundation your group may access via this web-interfaced list. Not only are community foundations sources of local funding, but also employ professionals who can assist you in your fundraising efforts.
- Fundraising Readiness Checklist [XLS]:
- This checklist helps you to determine whether or not you are ready to start fundraising. If it turns out you are not, it helps to outline what you need to do first.
- Individual Donor Development Plan [DOC]:
- This is a sample plan outline designed to help you build your individual donor contributions as part of a sustainable watershed effort.
- Corporate Appeal Letter (sample) [DOC]:
- This corporate appeal letter is part of the fundraising campaign used by a successful Indiana land trust. Take a look to learn how to sell your program and word an “ask.”
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations: Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Organisations Fundraising [PDF]:
- This booklet contains information on when to fundraise and who does it; fundraising principles; and, how to fundraise from all sectors. Though based in the U.K., the NCVO’s Introductory Pack on Funding and Finance contains information relevant to Indiana’s watershed groups.
Financial Planning
- U.S. EPA’s Watershed Academy “Developing a Sustainable Finance Plan” module:
- This Web-based module tells you what you need to know to prepare a budget, identify potential funding sources and strategies, and include nonmonetary returns in your funding strategy. Upon completion of this module, you should be able to write a financial plan for your watershed group.
- Plan2Fund:
- An online project/funding tracking system for watershed management plans. You must already have your plan written (including goals, objectives and tasks) and have cost estimates for each task to use this system. Though specifically created for watershed management plans, this system may have use as a strategic plan tracking system as well. With regular updates, this tool could be very useful for reporting purposes as well as keeping track of plan and funding source status.
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations: Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Organisations Financial Management:
- The financial management guide walks the reader through the basics of handling money from creating a budget to simple bookkeeping and annual reporting. It includes several tools to assist groups in completing tasks. Though based in the U.K., the NCVO’s Introductory Pack on Funding and Financecontains information relevant to Indiana’s watershed groups.
Sustainability
- Sustainable Funding for Watershed Groups webcast:
- A Microsoft PowerPoint by River Network that describes an ideal funding schema for watershed groups and river organizations. Use the information provided to compare where your group is now to the goals set in the presentation.
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations: Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Organisations Sustainable Funding:
- Sustainable funding is more than just getting the money in hand. This guide provides the context that a group needs in order to be successful in carrying out its mission. Though based in the U.K., the NCVO’s Introductory Pack on Funding and Finance contains information relevant to Indiana’s watershed groups.
Branding - Value
- Marketing a Nonprofit Brand:
- This blog by branding experts at the Branding Strategy Insider lays out the important components of a successful nonprofit brand.
- Branding for Nonprofits: Why it’s Important:
- This article lays out a philosophy of branding specifically for environmental nonprofits, with specific examples of branding done well. A must-read for any nonprofit who is considering a brand.
Watershed Toolkit: Table of Contents
Online Services
I Want To...
- Find out if my stream is healthy.
- Learn about how I can improve water quality.
- Report a water quality problem.
- Read a success story.
- Learn more about blue-green algae.
- Find out information on water permits.
- Learn about wetlands.
- Learn about household hazardous waste.
- Learn about composting and how to do it.
