This session is designed to equip you to evaluate the viability of each strategy as if you were your own consultant: grants, major gifts, corporate sponsorships, events, and annual giving. You will consider each strategy through a matrix that ranks: sustainability, return on investment, return horizon, scalability, and needed infrastructure.
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Raising Capital & Fundraising
Many founders launch social enterprises so that they can operate transformative programming alongside their business. They may see the opportunity to generate contributed revenue as a “bonus.” Rarely do founders launch social enterprises because they believe that raising capital itself has as much intrinsic value as other activities in the business plan. Instead, raising capital is seen as a side gig, a temporary activity that will occur on the margins until the enterprises generate enough revenue to sustain the ecosystem.
We have designed the following pages to support ESEs in centering your capital-raising activities as intrinsically valuable within your business model. You will witness our desire to build out your fundraising infrastructure and strategy rather than hide it as a symptom of a less-than-optimal earned revenue strategy. Why?
Raising capital allows you to build a movement around your organization. The act of giving generously can be transformational to individuals and institutions. Fundraisers alone have the power to build generosity within our culture. The degree of generosity in a community is arguably correlated to a thriving community.
We recognize that each ESE will have a different approach to raising capital. Some may be fundraising through grant writing or inviting major donors to give philanthropic gifts. Some may be seeking impact investors or other types of competitive financing. Some may be contracting with government agencies to provide employment services. Across all of these activities we see a common denominator–someone on your team makes an ask. It is within these proposals, pitches, applications, or appeal letters that your team does the work of raising capital. We have designed the resources in this section to support both the art and science required.
Featured Resources
Continuing Education Series: Raising Capital Through Mission-Aligned Loans
Continuing Education Series: Government Funding & ESEs 101 | Getting to Know Each Other
Continuing Education Series: Government Funding & ESEs 201 | A Perfect Match or Toxic Relationship?
Continuing Education Series: Fundraising Strategy
All Fundraising Resources
This session builds on the Government Funding & ESEs 101 session by going deeper into the impacts (both positive and negative) government funding can have on an ESE’s business model and impact goals. This session was part of the Fall 2023 Raising Capital & Increasing Revenue CE Week.
In this workshop we'll evaluate the effectiveness of current proposals and discuss the key features of effective proposals. We will also hear from ESEs who are working to strengthen their proposal writing. This session was part of the Fall 2023 Raising Capital & Increasing Revenue CE Week.
In this session we will discuss the different types of government funding available to ESEs from federal, state, and local government agencies, and options for pursuing these funding resources. We will also hear from a REDF Community ESE about their experience seeking and executing government contracts. This session was part of the Fall 2023 Raising Capital & Increasing Revenue CE Week.
REDF has compiled a list of ideal components of a website. Take a look and check off what you already have on your website. For components that you don't have yet, use the two last pages of this document to note what's missing and start an implementation plan
It has become increasingly important that we be able to understand not simply that a program is a “good cause,” but rather that its social returns argue for increasing our investments in their work.
The strategic purpose of corporate sponsorship fundraising is to activate corporate responsibility through meaningful value propositions. Corporate Sponsorship is a common choice for ESEs as the business will already have corporate partners.
The strategic purpose of grant fundraising is to activate institutional generosity. Grants are a common choice for ESEs as workforce development is a priority of many grantmakers.
With such widespread use and increasing impact on consumption habits, leveraging social media platforms should be a component of your social enterprise’s marketing efforts.
Devising an external communications plan that aligns with your organizational goals will help you reach your target audiences where they are, present them with information that resonates, and move them to take action.