When I was asked to help test out this new Grant Center Forum (and thanks Meegan and everyone here for doing this -- I've been asking for a forum like this way before your time with the Grant Center!), I knew that I would want to get VITAL VITAL VITAL (important!) conversation started to help ourselves better understand today's environment for the development, submission and ultimate acceptance of general operating grant opportunities from all sorts of foundations around the country.
(I wish we could set up a poll-like capability inside this forum -- that would be extremely helpful! Other groups like the PBS Development Chat group, and groups on LinkedIn, are already doing it...so Meegan, et al, don't be left behind!) :)
I'm going to number some of the questions, to make it easier to respond. You can respond to each one via its numeric assignment, or just reply to the question in general.
Whatever you do, PLEASE RESPOND!!!! We need PARTICIPATION in this kind of forum in order to make it work! If you don't do your civic grant professional's duty and get involved in this vital interaction, you'll turn this effort into how John Nance Garner described the vice presidency: "not worth a bucket of warm spit." (Sorry, but I wanted to get everyone's attention!)
So, here are my poll questions to you dedicated public TV grant professionals:
1. What's been your experience over the past 12 months in finding, applying for and ultimately receiving general operating grants?
2. Are you getting more operating grants this year, or less?
3. If you're getting more, why? If you're getting less, what reasons, if any, are foundations and other giving institutions giving you as to why they are no longer offering operating grants?
4. Where are your operating grants coming from? Is it always funding sources that are headquartered in your local broadcasting area (for WFYI, although we work hard each year to get them, we've been -- well, quite frankly, blessed -- to get a substantial operating gift from Indianapolis-based Christel DeHaan Family Foundation for the past few years). Or, also in part like WFYI, do you occasionally get surprise (and sometimes large) general operating grants from groups like the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation? (It's a Minnesota-based foundation that, after several recent business transactions like a company stock spinoff from Cargill Corp., is now one of the largest foundations in the country.)
5. How much effort on a daily/weekly/monthly basis do you invest into trying to obtain operating grants versus other grants such as project-based grants?
6. What level of general operating support from foundations do you expect in the coming year? (Is your fiscal year calendar-based or, like WFYI, end at the end of September and start again Oct. 1st?)
Ok, I suppose that's a start! I really, REALLY hope the grant professionals involved in this effort will TAKE the effort to reach out to me and the rest of us to tell us a little of their story over the past year about success and failure with the effort to obtain general operating grants. After all, it's certainly still a question on Capitol Hill, given the change in political winds that's occurred, that federal grant funding of public broadcasting could be radically altered. And that's our most important general operating funding of all!
Thanks for participating!
Jim Brown
WFYI Public Media, Indianapolis -- For Your Information
jbrown@wfyi.org317-614-0487
