FAQs

Am I eligible?

If you work for a nonprofit organization (501c3 or fiscally sponsored) that is led by and/or for people of color, whose budget is under $1 million in the Greater Philadelphia region, and you are or will be the primary fundraiser for your work, then you are eligible to apply.

What does it mean to be the “primary fundraiser” for your work? Who is the best person to send from our organization?

We do not have a rigid definition for this. We expect that your organization will decide who is the best person to apply for this program. We discourage applicants who have never had the experience of helping to write a grant application or report nor anyone who actively states “I hate fundraising.” As previously said, if you are uncertain, please send us an email and we will try to help you decide.

Can we send more than one person (to the whole program or different workshops)?

We want the participant from each organization to get the most out of their time and work with Securing the Roots and think it’s optimal for the same person to attend the entire program. We will emphasize a need for whoever participates to practice sharing what they’ve learned with their full team of staff and volunteers in order to maximize the learning. There are also particular circumstances such as shifts in roles or internal, previously agreed upon time off or scheduling situations that we would like to know about in the event that we can accommodate your organization. Please let us know of any of these special circumstances and we will see what we can do.

Can more than one person apply from our organization?

Yes! We are building a cohort of individuals with a range of experiences. The individual applicant’s responses are important, but they are also important relative to the other applications we receive.

Can we send someone who doesn’t have any fundraising experience?

As stated above, we think it’s optimal to send someone who has had some experience with fundraising for an organization, even if it has not been for your organization. We want to be able to meet the knowledge of everyone in the room.

Can we send someone who has more than 5 years of experience?

Similar to someone who has little or no experience, we think that it is optimal for our cohort of 12 people to have a range of experience and knowledge in fundraising.

What is the cost of the program?

There is no cost to fellows. As a gesture of valuing your work in the community, each fellow/participant will be given a stipend of $2,500 at the end of the fellowship. The full stipend is dependent upon completion of the full program, and missing a session means that the participant will not receive the full amount of the stipend.

More questions? Please reach out to us at info@securingtheroots.org.