Re: Job Finally Found... question..

[Guest guest]

I've written a number of grants. A very useful tool is the

book " Grant Writing for Dummies " by Beverly A. Browning. Also, she

teaches an on-line course for advanced grant writers at

www.ed2go.com. I recommend taking an introductory course at

http://www.ed2go.com/cgi-bin/ed2go/newofferings.cgi?dept=GW

FYI, it is considered unethical by the Association of Fundraising

Professionals to charge a fee based on the percentage of a grant. It

can soil your reputation if you continue negotiating such contracts.

I also found that when I made the mistake of charging by percentage,

I wasn't compensated enough. Here's a good article explaining this:

Source: http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?

content_item_id=1227 & folder_id=899

Position Paper: percentage-based compensation

Note: The following information is from a 1992 position paper adopted

by the NSFRE, now AFP.

SUMMARY

For purposes of this paper:

Percentage-based compensation for charitable contributions is defined

as any compensation that is based on a percentage (sometimes referred

to as a commission) of charitable contributions raised.

A finder's fee is a fee paid for bringing a donor to a not-for-profit

organization for the purpose of charitable solicitation.

A bonus is a form of compensation based on performance (but not on a

percentage of charitable contributions raised) that is paid as an

incentive to performance in addition to a salary or fee.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) believes that

individuals serving a charity for compensation must accept the

principle that charitable purpose, not self-gain, is paramount. If

this principle is violated and percentage-based compensation is

accepted:

charitable mission can become secondary to self-gain;

donor trust can be unalterably damaged;

there is incentive for self-dealing to prevail over donors' best

interests.

In addition, percentage-based compensation, however administered, can

produce reward without merit.

AFP holds that percentage based compensation can encourage abuses,

imperils the integrity of the voluntary sector, and undermines the

very philanthropic values on which the voluntary sector is based. AFP

stands firm with its Standards of Professional Practice which

prohibits members from working for percentage-based compensation or

accepting finder's fees.

INTRODUCTION

Charitable organizations are integral to the fabric of society. Their

programs and services reach the areas of social need and cultural

enrichment that for-profit enterprises cannot address. Charities

rely, in part, on voluntary donations to meet their budgets. Donor

trust is of paramount importance. To earn and keep that trust, every

aspect of charitable activity must be absolutely ethical. Nowhere is

ethical behavior more essential, nor by its absence more damaging,

than in philanthropic fundraising.

To be ethical, philanthropic fundraising must be mission-led,

institutionally based, volunteer driven and professionally supported

in an environment free of improper motive, unreasonable reward or

personal inurement.

THE CHARITABLE SECTOR

The not-for-profit sector differs from profit-making business in at

least four ways.

1. Law and Regulation

Charities must operate as tax-exempt, tax-deductible entities. They

are accorded this treatment under law only as long as they fulfill

the social mission for which they were established. Charitable

purpose requires that all income of a charity be used in the

fulfillment and furtherance of the organizational mission. If a

charity's income is greater than its expenses, the law requires that

the surplus remain with the charity. Surplus cannot be diverted to

private benefit.

Intermediate Sanctions. (Note: This section applies to those

professionals practicing in the U.S.) In 1996, new U.S. federal

regulations were passed that impact compensation in nonprofit

organizations. Known as " intermediate sanctions, " because they

provide the IRS with an opportunity to impose penalties other than

removal of 501© (3) status, the regulations are contained in

section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code. They give the IRS power to

impose fines for excessive compensation of nonprofit executives.

Intermediate Sanctions guidelines for setting executive compensation

to avoid excess benefit include the following:

the arrangement must be approved by members of the organization's

board or a board-appointed committee, none of whom have a conflict of

interest;

the board or committee must have obtained and relied

upon " appropriate data " as to the comparability of the compensation

or fair market value of the consideration; and

the board or committee must document the basis for its determination

adequately and contemporaneously.

2. Governance

A charity derives its authority from a volunteer governing body,

usually called a board of directors or board of trustees. The board

is the charity's legal authority; board members are charged by law to

hold in trust the assets of the charitable corporation. Board members

serve voluntarily and without compensation providing governance,

policy development, financial security and stewardship.

3. Voluntary Support

Charitable organizations rely on donations voluntarily given. There

is no comparable exchange in the business world. In a commercial

transaction, tangible value passes from one party directly to the

other for a stated price. In a transaction between a charity and a

donor, the value that passes from one to the other is the promise

that the service for which the donor implicitly contracted will, in

fact, be delivered by the charity.

The service recipient is society, a community or a party unknown (and

frequently unidentified) to the donor. The donor's belief that the

charity will use the contribution purposefully, effectively and

efficiently for the charitable mission is the foundation of the

philanthropic exchange.

4. Motivation

The motivating factor in commercial behavior is primarily personal

gain. Because commerce is profit-oriented, employee compensation in

the form of commission or other percentage income related to output

and productivity is appropriate. Workers seek and accept commercial

employment in return for personal profit.

The motivating factor in charitable behavior is social benefit. What

may be proper motivation in commerce is inappropriate in the not-for-

profit sector. There is an inherent conflict of interest between

charities founded without intent of profit or private benefit, and

employees whose compensation and primary motivation are based on

personal financial gain.

AFP'S POSITION

AFP believes that individuals serving a charity for compensation must

first accept the principle that charitable purpose, not self-gain, is

paramount. It is our view that if, by definition, private financial

benefit cannot inure to the charity, it should not inure to the

worker.

By law, compensation based on skill, effort and time expended,

remunerated by salary or fee, does not constitute personal inurement.

Conversely, AFP believes that a commission or percentage based

compensation or a finder's fee breaches the no-inurement principle

and is, therefore, a violation of its Standards of Professional

Practice for six specific reasons.

1. If the self-inurement principle is violated, the mission and long-

term interests of the charity may become secondary to the worker's

personal interest and self-gain. The donor's (and public's) interest

and needs may no longer be foremost.

2. Donor attitudes can be unalterably damaged in reaction to undue

pressure and the awareness that a commission will be paid to a

fundraiser from his or her gift, thus compromising the trust on which

charity relies.

3. Percentage-based compensation or commissions can foster

inappropriate conduct by individuals whose self-interest is oriented

to immediate results, irrespective of the donor's best interests.

4. Fundraising is an ongoing process of donor identification and

cultivation. Individuals develop an affinity for an organizational

mission and wish to further it through charitable contributions. A

major tenet for success is that an organization is strengthened when

volunteers are actively involved in this process. The role of a

professional fundraiser should include building an increasingly

committed, enthusiastic and capable group of volunteers who affect

the fundraising process without compensation. Tying staff

compensation to a percentage of charitable contributions raised may

discourage this activity.

5. Percentage-based compensation can provide reward without merit.

Contributions that materialize at a given moment are often the

culmination of the efforts of many people, including volunteers, over

long periods of time. The person whose compensation rests on a

percentage of charitable contributions raised would wish to include

such gifts for the purposes of calculation his/her compensation. For

example:

a. Charities receive unexpected or unsolicited gifts, often bequests,

sometimes from previously unknown benefactors. Such windfall gifts

can provide an unrealistically high base--in effect, an unearned base-

-on which percentage-based compensation may be calculated.

b. Promises of payment of contributions in the future, in the form of

written pledges, annuity and insurance contracts, and other such

financial agreements, can elicit unpaid gift values a fundraiser may

expect to be included in the base for his/her compensation

calculation.

6. Donors' interests may not remain paramount. There are a variety of

charitable giving instruments, including deferred giving

arrangements, from which prospective contributors may choose. The

fundraiser who compensation is based on a percentage of charitable

contributions raised may influence donor choice so as to generate the

greatest current result rather than preserve the donor's assets for

the best long-term benefit to him or her, and to the charity.

THE AFP CODE

AFP requires its members to adhere to a Code of Ethical Principles

and Standards of Professional Practice that have been developed to

preserve and protect donor rights and the integrity of the

philanthropic process.

AFP holds that percentage-based compensation and finders fees may

encourage abuse, imperil the integrity of the voluntary sector, and

undermine the philanthropic values upon which it is based.

Accordingly, AFP's Standards of Professional Practice include the

following statements:

Compensation

16. Members shall not accept compensation that is based on a

percentage of charitable contributions; nor shall they accept

finder's fees.

17. Members may accept performance-based compensation, such as

bonuses, provided such bonuses are in accord with prevailing

practices within the members' own organizations, and are not based on

a percentage of charitable contributions.

18. Members shall not pay finder's fees, or commissions or percentage

compensation based on charitable contributions, and shall take care

to discourage their organizations from making such payments.

>

> I finally seem to have found a job. Its not working as a counselor,

> which is what I am looking for, but I'll take what I can get at this

> point. I will know for sure if I have the position or not, but my

> " future " boss said my chances of getting it are great.

>

>

>

> The job is that of a Grant Writer. Its for a non-profit

organization

> who help homeless and poor children and single mothers. I was told

> that I would get about 10% of each Grant I am successful of getting,

> and 5% if I don't get it, for my effort. And I can do this job from

> home, which is good for now.

>

>

>

> I have no clue how to write a grant proposal? Anyone out there who

> has done this or is doing it? Can I get some advice?

>

>

>

> God Bless!

>

> ~ Meg ~

>

> ( <http://www.myspace.com/sexytear> http://www.myspace.com/sexytear)

>

> ( <http://360./pink-tulip@...>

> http://360./pink-tulip@...)

>

>

>

> _____

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Grant Writing for Dummies is where I would start at http://www.amazon.com.

Lori

P.S. Congrats!

Meg W. wrote:

> I finally seem to have found a job. Its not working as a counselor,

> which is what I am looking for, but I'll take what I can get at this

> point. I will know for sure if I have the position or not, but my

> " future " boss said my chances of getting it are great.

>

> The job is that of a Grant Writer. Its for a non-profit organization

> who help homeless and poor children and single mothers. I was told

> that I would get about 10% of each Grant I am successful of getting,

> and 5% if I don't get it, for my effort. And I can do this job from

> home, which is good for now.

>

> I have no clue how to write a grant proposal? Anyone out there who

> has done this or is doing it? Can I get some advice?

>

> God Bless!

>

> ~ Meg ~

>

> ( <http://www.myspace.com/sexytear <http://www.myspace.com/sexytear>>

> http://www.myspace.com/sexytear <http://www.myspace.com/sexytear>)

>

> ( <http://360./pink-tulipameritech (DOT) net

> <http://360./pink-tulipameritech (DOT) net>>

> http://360./pink-tulipameritech (DOT) net

> <http://360./pink-tulipameritech (DOT) net>)

>

> _____

>

>