In this case, though, the inquiring mind is a nonprofit's development leader.
Because that person has to explain all why a given company turned down a proposal, request for funding, or even flat out refused to meet.
One development director expressed a huge amount of frustration to me about the lack of feedback from a number of local companies to a specific new initiative. This wasn't a new organization, or one on shaky financial ground, or one with "baggage" problems. It's a well-established organization, providing support to under-served youth.
Without giving too many identifying details, the new initiative is an extension of the organization's mission and would allow it to reach some new populations, both in terms of geography and ethnic background. It's well-researched, the budget is reasonable, and they have impact data (benchmarked from other cities).
They've pitched this to their long-standing corporate donors and to a number of prospects that have philanthropic goals or profile that would indicate a potential match.
So, my friend asks, is it the economy? Is it the format of the request? Have we just ticked off someone? Have people in Atlanta stopped being courteous?
So I'm interested to hear what you think - and what your process or policy is about providing feedback when you or your company turn down a request for funding.
