Beyond the 990: Peer Benchmarking
Sadly, I have yet to find a complete replacement for looking through 990s when doing prospect research. Even the fanciest databases don’t get every detail right, so I always check a 990 when evaluating a funding prospect. That said, 990s alone don’t always tell the whole story either, so this series will point out a few additional tools that can help give a more complete picture of a funder.
Next up, peer benchmarking!
This research trick is so simple I sometimes forget about it – look at who is funding your peers. It can be so easy to spend hours and hours looking for the newest funder, or the close-not-quite-but-what-if-we- presented-it-like-this funders, that I find a lot of organizations overlooking one of the easiest starting points for grant research – peer research! So, if you have never looked at who is funding your peer and partner organizations, now is the time to start!
There are two equally easy ways of answering the question of who is funding whom. First, make a list of your peer organizations – that is, those organizations that are doing work in a similar space as you. I recommend looking locally, regionally, and nationally, in that order. Try to create a list of at least five peer organizations. Then, and I will admit this is a bit of a bait and switch for this series, it’s back to the ole’ 990. Look at each organization’s last two or three years of grants, and see who has been awarding them, and at what funding level. Check this against your prospect list and current funders. Any funders that seem like they would be interested in also funding you but aren’t currently should be added to your prospect list.
The second way of answering this question is theoretically easier but can feel a lot harder: ask your peers who is funding them. I know that can be a delicate question, given the scarcity mentality endemic to the nonprofit sector, but if you think you have a strong relationship with some of your peers, it is absolutely worth asking. Offer to compare notes about who is funding both of your organizations, and, if the relationship is comfortable enough, to share contacts. More funders that you might initially guess are looking to fund additional organizations working in an area of their interest.
Peer benchmarking is a great way of checking grant database or general 990 research, both to make sure you haven’t missed anything, and to cross-check funder data against practice. It’s an easy way to find a handful of new prospects for your calendar, all from just an afternoon or two’s research!
