It is fun to imagine sitting in the waiting area of a corporate office on the top floor of a soaring skyscraper with multiple copies of a handsome, full-color funding proposal in hand that explains exactly why that company should support your agency for the next 5 years. Or, to picture yourself sitting in the quiet boardroom of a large private foundation, admiring the art on the walls as you wait to talk with a friendly program officer, a laptop humming beside you with a concise and persuasive PowerPoint presentation that clearly elucidates why the foundation should become the lead donor for your groundbreaking project. It is even more fun to imagine that, as you wait, you are completely confident that you will achieve these outcomes.

But how to get there? A few months ago in this space, I discussed some of the reasons that a public health agency might want to raise private funds as well as some things to consider before choosing this path. In this column, I will describe steps necessary to prepare you and your agency to raise support from corporations and foundations.

Develop Agency Priorities

If you wish to create a successful corporate and foundation fundraising program, you would do well to remember an old saw: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Ideally, you have a strategic plan that identifies your agency's priorities for fulfilling its responsibilities over the short term and long term. These responsibilities include activities mandated and funded by your state or local government, but you should also consider how discretionary initiatives may support your organizational goals as well. It is these discretionary initiatives that provide the opportunity to raise private support.

Developing your agency's overall priorities demonstrates to a foundation or corporation that you are serious and thoughtful about the direction your organization is taking and a contributor's potential role in it. In my experience, donors give to programs that move an organization forward and help accomplish a mission that aligns with the donor's own philanthropic goals. To understand this concept, think of your own philanthropy. If you give a sacred object to your church's new sanctuary, you would like to know how it would serve the growing congregation. If you give to a homeless shelter, you would like to know how the organization is coping with homelessness in the long term. The larger the gift, the more this is true. Major donors want to know how their money will be used. Beginning the fundraising process with organizational priorities is crucial.

Once you have established your agency's priorities, create projects with the potential to receive private support that will help you reach organizational objectives. If, for example, your priority is to reduce obesity in your community, first research the literature to determine what approaches have been effective:

* educating the general population about healthy food choices,

* starting neighborhood-based walking clubs with a nutrition education component,

* targeting students with nutrition and exercise information that will spread virally to their families, or

* some combination of these or other approaches.

What type of program will appeal to corporate and foundation donors? Development officers talk about the latest trends in grant making or "buzz words" that should be included in any proposal. My philosophy is that if an organization builds the best program in its community to accomplish a goal, it will find a funder. Certainly take care to make your venture understandable to your audience, but to most donors-and especially institutional donors-a fundable project is one that works. The agency might not find all the support the program needs to thrive, and the program may not succeed in the long run. But most of the time, a great idea coupled with the right approach will find champions.

Develop a Plan for Funding Your Program

Once you have a program you believe will succeed, break the project down into smaller chunks that can be funded by a variety of sources. Here, agency leadership must take a long, hard look at its own finances and revenue to find sources of support that can be coupled with private donations to fund a new venture. If an organization is able to find other funding sources, the donor's confidence increases greatly as does the likelihood of a gift. Donors prefer not to be sole funders of significant programs for a number of reasons:

* other revenue sources spread the risk around,

* broad support in the community indicates better chances of success, and

* the donor has limited resources and may wish to limit his or her gift to the program.

Sources that you could review for possible funding include the following:

* your agency's own funds (even if a small amount),

* personnel time or other agency "in-kind" contributions,

* state funds available for the type of program you are creating, and

* local partners who could cost-share with you (eg, a hospital who could lend a nutritionist to develop obesity reduction materials or who could educate the public about the risks of obesity).

The final step in building the foundation for a private fundraising program is to identify prospects that are likely to support your initiatives. As with most aspects of fundraising, this process begins with those who are closest to the agency and moves out from there:

* Previous donors. If you have received grants or gifts from corporations or foundations, these past donors are your best prospects for future contributions. Start your list here.

* Friends of the agency. These could be program officers from local foundations you have met while sitting on task forces or local boards, members of a community advisory council you have put together for a grant, or the spouse of one of your staff members who has an executive position at a local corporation. Knowledge of your organization's past work helps do your job of cultivation.

* Vendors to the agency. These could be medical supply vendors to your free clinic or the supplier of the vaccine you use for free shots. Be creative and think about where your organization spends most of its budget. There should not be a quid pro quo relationship, but there is no reason not to approach vendors to consider giving to the same program or agency from which they are profiting.

* Local businesses or foundations. These organizations are more likely to have heard about you and your good work than organizations working 3 states away. When compiling your list, think of the largest local businesses and foundations as well as national companies with local plants or work sites.

* Funder directories. After you have exhausted the options outlined above, it may be time to do some research in a directory of funding sources. There may be a good, local directory of institutional donors. Calling your local Association of Fundraising Professionals chapter should yield this answer. If there is not one, I have found the Foundation Center Directory to be the most comprehensive national database of corporate and foundation contributors.

It is not essential-or even possible sometimes-to complete each of these steps before launching a fundraising program. But taking these steps will ensure the best program for your agency in the long run. In my next installment of the Management Moment, I will move beyond fundraising preparation to execution. In the meantime, I would enjoy hearing your feedback about this column and suggestions for other fundraising-related topics via e-mail.

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