Grantmaker roundtables are about to begin again with PSGA’s Funders Forum on Friday, April 16th. Attendees will have a chance to hear from funders about giving for the remainder of 2010 and on into 2011.

While these events focus on the funder making a presentation, I find that the question and answer period I try to include in each round helps me to learn something about the organizations at my table.

What do I listen for when grant seekers talk to me or ask questions? Here are a few tips; whether this is a help with other funders, I’ll leave it to you to determine.

These events are one time when I focus more on the actual funding idea rather than all the details about your organization. I want to know if you are looking for a source to support your annual fundraising drive (which doesn’t fit our giving priorities) or if you need a one-time investment in program, equipment or facilities (which does fit our priorities).

I’m also interested in who your organization serves and where it works. Who you serve is not determined solely by the address of your main building, but that location does have an impact on first impressions. So study the giving guidelines of the funders and think about how their priorities fit or do not fit your work.

Fit generally occurs in one of two ways. First, you might work with an organization that is large and serves a region. For example, the Pacific Science Center gains support from many funders who generally do not fund in Seattle. As I’ve told people at times, no one plans to build another Pacific Science Center in Tacoma. So to the extent that its Seattle site serves people from other areas, the Pacific Science Center can garner support.

The second way this works is when an organization begins a concerted effort to offer services in another area. By concerted effort I mean both having local partners as well as a local location. Having local partners is a critical element because it helps a funder understand whether your desire to expand a program to a new area is the result of your organization’s desire to grow or a response to a need felt by the local community.

Finally, I hope to get a sense of how the organization supports itself year around. My board wants to know that if it makes a one-time investment that the organization can sustain its work. For example, in the past ten years funders are asking more questions about the impact of new facilities on operations. Say you double the size of your building, with the plan to double the number of people you serve. Do you have the capacity to support the higher level of operating costs?

Grantmaker roundtables are a great opportunity for you to get to know a funder, but they are also a way for a funder to get to know something about you and your organization.