From Hamster Wheel to 50-Week Fundraising Flywheel
Let the power of compounding work for you.
Funding Roundup is at the bottom!
Dear Impact Star,
Today marks a milestone I never saw coming: the 50th edition of Find Funding Faster. Pour yourself a glass of something bubbly (or your beverage of choice), because we're celebrating!
Picture this: 50 weeks ago, I'm drowning in a sea of emails, all asking variations of the same questions. My fingers are cramping from typing the same responses over and over. "There's got to be a better way to avoid carpal tunnel," I thought.
So, I had this wild idea: What if I wrote down these answers once and just shared them with everyone? A simple plan to save my sanity and my wrists.
Little did I know, we were about to start something that feels less like a newsletter and more like... well, a secret society for world-changers. Except instead of secret handshakes, we have grant applications and pitch decks, terrible memes and even worse jokes.
You have been so kind in tolerating (and sometimes encouraging) my juvenile sense of humor — it’s just that I don’t see why fundraising needs to be so serious.
Today, I’m going to share how this experience of writing 50 issues of Find Funding Faster led me to a revelation this morning that may help your fundraising feel fresh and delightful again.
Will you consider it?
The Problem: The Fundraising Hamster Wheel Makes You Feel You’re Moving Forward But You’re Not
Asking for money to fund your impact work, can make you feel like a hamster on a wheel. You’re moving but you’re getting nowhere in a hurry.
That’s when you may consider cranking up the 50-WEEK FUNDRAISING FLYWHEEL.
Just like I did my newsletter — week after week, what can you do for 50 straight weeks that feels doable AND delightful?
What Feels Incremental May Become Exponential
50 weeks of writing one post to you and I have enough posts that David Witzel joked with me, “It’s enough to publish a book!” As someone who’s written a book before (15 hour days for 15 months straight, thankfully I was much younger then), I can tell you, this once a week post was SO MUCH EASIER. The ‘book’ wrote itself: once post at a time.
What’s one thing you can commit to doing every week for 50 weeks that feels delightful and doable?
I always looked forward to sending the newsletter to you. So make sure you do something you enjoy, and like I’m doing in this newsletter — take some time along the way to celebrate the wins!
Here are some idea starters to get your brain cells firing:
Build Relationships: Reach out to one funder per week before you need them. Fundraising becomes so much easier when you’re already on their radar. Building a bond before you ask for money is powerful because you’re no longer just a cold email or a pitch deck landing in their Inbox — they know you and your vision. Better yet, you’ve aligned with their vision, and they’ve helped you shape the pitch.
Weekly Updates: Stay in front of your current funders. Every week, share a nugget of progress—small wins, challenges, pivots. It doesn’t have to be pages and pages — no one has time to read that. It could be ONE win from the week. Or one question, to ONE funder at a time. When it’s time to renew, they'll feel like they’re part of the journey and want to stick around. You’re not just delivering updates; you’re building trust and excitement. How cool is that? I have some really great templates you can use for these updates - let me know if you want me to share them in a future issue.
Grant Wizard: Discover and apply to one grant per week. Use your "Scoville heat scale" to prioritize the best fits, apply, and even if you don’t land one, do a postmortem. Learn. Improve. And after a while, you’ll crack the code. In this previous issue, I laid out the entire roadmap for you. All you need to do is operationalize it — week after week, make a little progress, and before you know it, you’ll have so many grants under your belt, and one will eventually come through.
Tell Your Story: Here’s a fun one—share your magnetic pitch with someone new every week. It’s like pitch practice but more dynamic. Whether it’s a funder, advisor, or even your Uber driver, telling your story repeatedly sharpens your message and builds momentum. Can you commit to doing 50 pitches in 50 weeks? You just increased your luck surface area exponentially!
Accountability Partner: Find your own David Witzel—someone who can be your sounding board, your check-in, and your encourager. Magic happens when you know someone’s got your back. I’ve played this role for my clients, and it’s an honor and a privilege to do so. Find someone who holds you to account and gives you a shoulder to cry on at 1 am when you need it. Not just a YES MAN or YES WOMAN who indulges you. They know when you need tough love and when you need a pat on your back.
Pick something that’s right for you.
Follow your gut. It knows.
What’s one thing you can do for 50 weeks?
Reply to this email with your commitment, and I’ll hold you to it.
Thanks for being part of the journey. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. And stay tuned—next week, I’ll be compiling a two-part series, “50 Ways to Find Funding Faster” as part of this newsletter milestone. Let’s see where the Muse takes me!
Warmest,
Neesha
P.S. I’d love for you to reply with one takeaway, insight, or action that resulted from reading any one of the 50 issues of Find Funding Faster — if you don’t mind sharing. It would take a few minutes, but it would mean a lot to me. You’ve been here for me as a co-conspirator in this adventure, and I so appreciate it!
P. P.S. Thanks to Dave Witzel for editing as always. Where would this newsletter be without you?
How do you feel about taking one consistent action for 50 weeks?
A.
B.
Reply to this email or comment on Substack with either A or B and the ONE thing you’re committing to doing for 50 straight weeks — or as long as it serves you.
FUNDING ROUNDUP
Global
For Island Nation Entrepreneurs….
The Rapid Ocean Conservation (ROC) Grants, funded by the Waitt Foundation, offer up to $20,000 for projects supporting sustainable fishing and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in island nations. Priority is given to locations within the Blue Prosperity Coalition (Azores, Bermuda, Micronesia, Fiji, Maldives, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu). Applicants must be affiliated with an NGO or academic institution, and projects should last up to 6 months. Applications are reviewed monthly, with funding distributed within two weeks of approval.
UBS Global Wealth Management and Rockefeller Asset Management are rolling out the Oceans Engagement Fund, targeting 50 small and mid-cap public equities in ocean health sectors such as wastewater treatment, plastic recycling, and sustainable aquaculture. Open to European investors, the fund is part of a broader push to raise €13 billion across 52 blue economy funds. The fund aims to generate competitive returns through shareholder engagement, driving both ocean health impact and profitability. To date, 164 funds have raised €45 billion to support life below water, with the largest contributions from foundations, corporations, and family offices. Source: "Ride the Blue Wave: UBS Launches €13B Ocean Impact Fund for European Investors:”
Africa
The End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC), a public-private partnership hosted by the IUCN with support from the U.S. Department of State, is inviting proposals for its 2024 Request for Proposals (RFPs) in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa, focusing on upstream and midstream plastic pollution solutions. The deadline for submissions is October 27, 2024, at 23:59 ET.
United States
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has launched a new initiative to invest up to $5 million in programs that empower youth in Washington state through leadership training, civic engagement, and youth organizing. Grants of up to $500,000 will be awarded for programs meeting these goals, with a focus on youth-informed and community-based efforts, particularly in underserved areas. Since this foundation has funded environmental causes before, an environmental twist on a youth program may be a great way to win this grant! Applications are due by November 7, 2024.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Golden Field Office has announced a funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0003415) for U.S. Wave Energy Open Water Testing. This initiative aims to accelerate wave energy technology adoption through a $112.5 million cooperative agreement program. It focuses on testing and validating wave energy converters across distributed, community, and utility applications. The application deadline is January 30, 2025
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering a funding opportunity (EPA-OW-OGWDW-24-04) to provide training and technical assistance to small public water systems, aiming to improve water quality and ensure safe drinking water. With a total program funding of $30.7 million, awards range from $1.25 million to $13 million. The application deadline is November 25, 2024.
The Department of Transportation’s Low Carbon Transportation Materials Program offers funding to support the use of construction materials with lower greenhouse gas emissions for transportation projects. The program aims to increase adoption of low-carbon materials, promote environmental justice, and support workforce development. Up to $800 million in grants are available, with no cost-sharing requirement. Eligible applicants include local governments, public authorities, and MPOs. The closing date for applications is November 25, 2024.
NYSERDA offers various programs that fund and support clean energy technologies, transportation innovations, and low-carbon building retrofits. These opportunities target startups, entrepreneurs, researchers, and businesses working on scalable solutions to reduce emissions, increase fuel efficiency, and decarbonize buildings. Key initiatives include direct funding for clean energy innovations, assistance for high-rise retrofits, and clean transportation funding, with a focus on disadvantaged communities.
Even if you don’t live in NY and can’t use the NYSERDA funding, look at what your local, regional, and state programs offer. For example, I just applied for a grant from another state government which will partially pay for the marketing, localization, and some of the display booth costs for a startup entering the EU market. They had no idea such a program even existed!
Solid Waste Management Grant Program (SWMFY25): The Department of Agriculture is offering up to $1,000,000 in grants to eligible organizations for technical assistance in managing solid waste and reducing water pollution in rural areas. Applications are open until December 31, 2024.
Europe
EIT Food offers up to €1.5m in equity funding for EU agrifood startups that are alumni or participants in their flagship entrepreneurship programs, aiming to drive sustainable and resilient food system innovations.
Only Because The Lawyers Made Us:
Impact Stars and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
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I met one of my readers, Usha who’s developing a regenerative agriculture platform for smallholder farmers in India during my trip to NY for Climate Week. She gave me some really good feedback on the newsletter…
On the 50th week anniversary of Find Funding Faster, would you be willing to reply and share your insights, aha moments, and wins too?
Let’s take a victory lap together!
Here’s a link to all the 50 issues.
💌 Made with Love in Raleigh, NC for Systems Changers and Impact Innovators Everywhere. I only get to do what I do — because you do what you do. So THANK YOU.