October is almost the end of the year
October is almost the end of the year. If you don't have the dollars in the door, you’re probably starting to think about where next year’s funding is coming from.
If you're on a calendar fiscal year, you're tidying up the annual report right now, at least the narrative pieces. You can add the final numbers once the year ends.
But October is also a good time to think about something else: reporting and stewardship.
What we always recommend at this point is: let's report. Let's do some stewardship, even with the funders who've already given to you. You want to make sure those funders hear from you before the next proposal lands in their inbox.
October gives you a good window to get some of this work done before the end-of-year rush. Here's how we think about it.
Two kinds of nonprofit grant outcome reporting
Oftentimes there's reporting that's required. Those are easy. You log into the portal, they ask the questions, and they're asking about numbers. (We've written about keeping that process from turning into a scramble.)
Stewardship is different. In the fundraising world, stewardship is the touchpoint we want to make with a funder you already have. It's for the funders who don't have a requirement.
Those are the funders you have to remember to reach out to.
The goal is to make sure you're communicating with those funders before you apply again next year. You don't want your next communication to be, "Hi, we'd love $25,000."
If you have an annual report, this is easy
You send them the annual report. That usually tells the story in a way a funder enjoys.
Many of the organizations we work with don’t have an annual report. They're collecting all the information, but they don't necessarily produce a publication.
An annual report, in our mind, is a marketing piece. A report to a funder is a different communication around the same story, and it helps to know which one you're writing.
You don't need to create an annual report if you don't have one. You can create a simple funder update.
Send every funder a snapshot
What's nice at this time of year is that you can give every funder a simple snapshot of what you've been able to accomplish.
If you projected you’d serve 400 people, are you on track? Maybe you ran into challenges. Be transparent about that.
Keep your snapshot simple: Where did you say you'd be? Where are you now? And what got in the way?
Numbers catch the eye
It's hard, because a lot of funders are interested in numbers. We think of reports and grant proposals a little like resumes. When you're hiring and you're looking at a resume, numbers are the easiest way to catch someone’s eye. The same is true in the funding landscape.
But in the AI era, when so many people dash off something quick, there's an opportunity to really connect. Adding a photo or telling a story, something that draws their attention emotionally and that’s what keeps a funder excited. Those are the things that can make an update feel more personal and memorable.
This goes for all nonprofit grant outcome reporting, whether it’s required or not. If there's a chance to tell a story right now, take it. What you're trying to do is encourage curiosity about your organization, particularly as you head into your next funding year. The numbers matter, but don't let the numbers be the whole update.
Ask for a phone call
Another option is trying to get a phone call with someone at the foundation so you can talk through your organization's health and how the funder is planning for next year.
That's the ideal scenario. It doesn't always work out that way. Ask anyway.
Before you send the snapshot or ask for the call, get a hold of program staff. That's the first thing we think about. The numbers in a funder update come from them, and we try to get mid-year updates before July if we can, or August, because everyone's gone and hard to track down, and program work often slows down then too. If you didn't get those numbers over the summer, October is the next logical window.
Remember, what you're asking for is the numbers you projected against what has actually happened, along with any challenges and a story from the work the grant supported.
That's the update a funder wants, but it's also useful internally. Those are the same numbers you'll want in front of your board this fall.
What counts as a win
A win in October is a funder who has heard from you before your next proposal shows up. They know what you accomplished, what got in the way, and what you're working toward next year, and they're curious.
That's the goal. You're keeping the relationship warm before you need something from them.
If reporting and stewardship are the pieces of your grant program that keep sliding to the bottom of the week, that's the ongoing work a Perennial Partnership is built to carry. See how a Perennial Partnership works.