Folly #90: Finding Things
Do you really have the time to keep looking?
My partner John jokes that I keep everything in departments at home. As in, “What are the chips doing in the breakfast department?” It’s true, I like things organized.
But the reason is not because I’m a neat freak. It’s so I can find things. If I’m looking for an item in more than one place, it’s a waste of time and energy.
Think about photos. I seem to spend forever searching my phone for a photo to share, and then I can’t see which one is best because I’m not wearing my glasses! The Samsung vs. iPhone divide in our otherwise harmonious household makes this even more challenging. (If you have created ease in your family and friend photo sharing, kindly enlighten me with a comment below. I’ll be eternally grateful.)
Where is … that gift?
Applying for grants can be time consuming and onerous, and applications can be very long. And it’s not at all uncommon to apply multiple times before you get a “yes.”
How to keep track of it all so you can build upon each ask and application?
By fiscal year? That makes it easy to find documentation for auditors who are tracking gifts over $5,000. Or to pull fiscal YTD reports so you can give your board an update on revenue.
By name? This allows you to see the evolution of the funding relationship-building over time. Adding FY subfolders will show all-things-gift-related (proposal, grant agreement, check copy, reports) in one spot. (See how I can geek out on this? It makes you appreciate John even more.)
By status? Make it easy to see where to prioritize your time. After all, your donor database can give you the numbers by year and then you’ll know where to find the rest.
The combination of Type (individual/institutional) → Status → Name → Fiscal Year is the best of all worlds. It’s what I recommend when I teach grantwriting and fundraising for small-staffed nonprofits.
It will make your life easier to keep funding documents organized by status: Awarded/Active, Submitted/Pending, Working/ In-Process/To-Apply, Lapsed/Former, and Disqualified.
I offer free 1-on-1 fundraising brainstorms. Recently someone signed up to talk about funders for an organization where I served as Development Director. My first thought was: Did they check the shared folders? I left them in tip top shape for folks to find things.
But, of course, you won’t find it if you don’t look.
Speaking of John, it’s his birthday and I’m off to celebrate him. Enjoy the weekend! I hope you find what you’re looking for.
Keep the good systems and great departments ideas flowing!