Skip the Cold RFP: How to Win Foundation Funding Through Relationships

<p><b><strong>Emily Nichols on building institutional fundraising that actually scales</strong></b></p><p>Emily Nichols, Chief Development Officer at Accion Opportunity Fund, joins James Misner to talk about how she grew an institutional fundraising function from roughly $1 million to $10 million, why relationship-based fundraising still wins, and what it takes to fund a mission-driven organization in a more donor-directed environment. They also unpack what a CDFI is, how Accion Opportunity Fund lends to underserved small businesses, and the lessons learned from a grant that looked promising on paper but ultimately failed.</p><p><b><strong>Key topics</strong></b></p><ul><li>How Emily built and led World Relief's institutional fundraising team.</li><li>Why foundation and corporate fundraising still works, if you go beyond cold RFPs and build relationships.</li><li>Emily's path to mission-driven work, from family and faith to International Justice Mission.</li><li>What Accion Opportunity Fund does as a digital-first nonprofit lender and CDFI.</li><li>How CDFIs differ from banks and serve borrowers often considered unbankable.</li><li>Accion's coaching and accelerator programs, including Brewing the American Dream with Sam Adams.</li><li>Accion's impact: $1B+ lent, ~100,000 jobs, and 90%+ repayment rates.</li><li>Today's fundraising challenges, including the rise of donor-directed funding.</li><li>How to build partnerships by making the internal champion look good.</li><li>A failed $250,000 grant at World Relief and the lesson it taught.</li><li>Tactical advice for smaller organizations starting institutional fundraising.</li></ul><p><b><strong>Timestamps</strong></b></p><p>00:00 - Welcome and recap of Emily's World Relief success<br />00:50 - Building the institutional fundraising team<br />02:23 - Is institutional fundraising worth it?<br />03:18 - Relationships plus strong proposals<br />04:31 - Why Emily chose mission-driven work<br />05:42 - What Accion Opportunity Fund does<br />06:50 - What a CDFI is<br />08:31 - Why many clients are unbankable elsewhere<br />10:13 - Coaching and accelerator programs<br />11:05 - Brewing the American Dream<br />12:42 - Accion's impact: $1B+ lent, 100,000 jobs<br />14:19 - Fundraising in a new era<br />16:09 - Mega gifts and donor-directed funding<br />20:35 - Building relationships from the first conversation<br />22:09 - Why the internal champion matters<br />23:46 - A failed $250,000 grant<br />27:00 - Turning failur