John Regan Associates - External funding for zoos, botanical gardens & aquaria

Recruitment in this area seems to be very much a revolving door.  What is going wrong? Well, first decide which of these two very distinct philosophies you wish to adopt ( see former post http://zoofunding.wordpress.com/2007/03/15/fundraising-versus-development/).  The instinctive response of a zoo decision maker when first wishing to explore external funding is simply to dip their [...]

Those of us who are not very rich can only make one really substantial gift to a given organisation or cause. That is through our will. But that’ s okay because we are all going to die! To be serious, this is of course a sober, sensitive and sometimes difficult subject, but most zoos and aquaria across Europe really do not [...]

This is definitely one of the critical success factors of this kind of exercise.  The campaign chairman needs to be someone who: commands respect within the community from which you expect to raise the money understands and endorses the zoo’s mission and the rationale of this particular exercise can get things done in a no nononsense manner [...]

Grant making trusts and foundations exist (in the USA and UK  at least- there are different models in other nations) purely to donate funds to appropriate causes.  They are perhaps underrated compared to commercial sponsorship as a funding source. Here are a few starter do’s and don’ts: First ask all of your relevant contacts if [...]

In terms of external funding,  and leaving aside commercial borrowing, where should a zoo organisation prioritise its attention if it wants to radically raise its game, or even establish a  completely new operation? A few quick thoughts and in very rough order of priority… 1. Those authorities responsible for the socio economic development of your nation, region, city or [...]

I thought I had put these details on line a while ago, sorry. I will update this list periodically. It is taken from my presentation at the BIAZA Conference in May, the full Powerpoint version is also attached:BIAZA presentation-May 2007 •Potential funders are as follows. If you want more information, please just email me: John@johnreganassociates.com  LIFE [...]

Development ( ‘posh’ for fundraising’)  is,  in some ways, as simple as identifying those people in a position to make a major difference to your organisation, project or cause, and placing yourself in their path ( …again… and again….  and again) One straightforward way of doing this is to obsess on list making and advice taking.  [...]

This is to do with a levy the Government charges on companies who bury waste in landfill sites. This money is accumulated by the landfill operator and at the end of the year goes to the Treasury, unless…  the landfill operator chooses to donate  some of this to an environmental project. A zoo or similar organisation [...]

The Structural and Cohesion Funds, over one third of the European Union budget, are used by the EU for social and economic restructuring across the EU, on the basis that some areas have special economic and social difficulties. They also serve the objective of generally bringing EU states together, especially in terms of transport and infrastructure They [...]

A challenge gift is a fundraising technque widely used in the USA, but not so much in Europe. It is normally deployed within a given campaign, appeal or other distinct fundraising drive. One major donor is asked to publicly make a large firm pledge towards your total target, which can only be redeemed if a matching amount [...]