These difficult economic times have many organizations looking for support from any funder they can identify. Often these searches begin with funders who've funded the organization in the past.

This approach results in a lot of calls the "usual suspects." And there is nothing wrong with starting there. As bank robber Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks, "That's where the money is."

But there are pockets of money around the community that may not get as much attention.

As a member of Philanthropy Northwest, I know our area has a large number of smaller family foundations. I was reminded of this recently with the Foundation Center's recent release of Key Facts on Family Foundations. You can download a copy of this report from the Foundation Center at this link.

I did a short query in the Foundation Center online directory regarding independent foundations formed between 2000 and 2008 in Washington. Also I chose only those that give in Washington. Since there is no legal definition of a "family foundation" the only way to pull those out is under the query for independent foundations.

What surprised me is the list I got. I eliminated some of the larger groups that popped up on this list. The Paul G. Allen Foundation pops up on this list because it was formed during this time frame out of several separate groups funded by Mr. Allen.

What is more interesting is looking at the list of smaller foundations. Just since 2000 there have been 157 foundations formed in our state with current asset values of under $5 million. But as a group, those foundations made grants totaling $16,382,000. The median grant was close to $47,000.

The list is even longer if you look at small foundations formed before 2000.

Clearly, many of these foundations won't accept applications, and even those that do may not fund in your particular community, program area, or offer the type of funding you need. Yet it is still worth the time to find out about them.

Here's a suggested strategy; collaboration. Talk to another grant writer or development officer, or two, that you could partner with on this project. They don't have to be with groups that offer the same sort of services; in fact, it might be more productive if they aren't. Here's a chance for a human services group, an arts group, and an environmental group to partner, for example.

Using either your own subscriptions or public access through the libraries that have the Foundation Center directory create a list of smaller foundations and divide it up. Once you have your lists continue with the Foundation Directory, GuideStar or other resources to look at each of these small foundations and create a profile on each that summarizes funding interests, applications process (if any), and key names, including donors, boards, and contact people.

You can copy your sheets and exchange them with your partners, then sort through them in any way that makes sense to you.  For example, those that accept applications would be a priority. But look at the names of people affiliated with those foundations that do not accept applications. Is there someone on that list you can approach to ask how they choose grantees? Sometimes a trust document or other legal instruction limits giving. But many smaller foundations don't accept applications simply for fear of being overwhelmed. And a personal conversation may lead to a new partnership.

I can't promise that this will solve your funding problems in 2009. But it's important that you look in a lot of directions right now. And getting past the list of usual suspects is critical because those groups are getting calls from more groups than they can possibly help.

If you'd like to share other ideas for dealing with the economic crisis, please email me at kenristine@hotmail.com.