Find Funding Magazine

Q: I run an after-school homework club for low-income students and would like to expand it to the weekends. I have sought several grants to pay for the additional staff. However, each funder has rejected me saying they would like to see evidence of other support in order to ensure sustainability? I need money to get money, but can’t get money without any money! Help!

A: Grant funding and financial commitments are the most obvious way to show program support, but don’t limit yourself to dollars only. You may also list “in-kind” support to make a case for the strength of your program. In-kind support is any good or service people are giving you that don’t cost you anything: a community center houses your homework club rent-free, a local variety store that donates school supplies, or a volunteer who tutors students three hours every week.

These in-kind donations may not be money, but they do have a dollar value. The value of the service is what you would pay if it were not free. The value of the donated community center room is how much it would have cost you to rent a space. The retail price of the school supplies is their value. Use the hourly wage you would pay a tutor to calculate the value of the volunteer.

In-kind support are often little gifts from the community, but when you attach a fair value to them and add them all up, you have a very easy way to make a case that your program is financially sound.

This article was originally published in the October 2006 Issue of Find Funding Newsletter, which is FREE to subscribers.