The Illinois chapter of national non-profit organization secures hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to support important community facilities.

Situation

Like many non-profits, our client focuses on doing its important work in the community, rather than attending fundraisers or hob-nobbing around the capitol building. So it's not surprising that the organization needed guidance on how to seek state dollars to support two community centers; one downstate and one in suburban Chicago.

By the time our client approached us, the governor's budget was all but complete. The time to work through state agencies to secure large earmarked grants had passed.

Approach

Although our client has an impeccable reputation for decades of work in Illinois -- and though their local representatives were familiar with that good work -- the non-profit needed help to create a strategic, coordinated approach supported by strong messages in order to secure scarce funds for the centers.

We arranged meetings between our client's leadership and the legislators whose needy constituents would be served. We helped leadership articulate their message to policymakers. Together we outlined the benefits the services would bring to children, troubled youth, abused women, and lonely senior citizens. We asked key legislators to offer line item provisions to the state budget.

Result

We competed against many worthy dollar-seeking interests for policymakers' attention. But legislators in both targeted communities introduced funding requests and then fought for passage.

Both allocations were included in the final budget. And for good measure, we were able to secure an additional $100,000 state grant to assist in planning for a community center in Chicago.