director announcement
Dear Shepherds Friend,
Each year Shepherds applies for grants from approximately 15 – 20 private family, corporate and community foundations to help fund elements of Shepherds programs not covered by mentors, individual sponsors, donors and Board of Directors.
Foundation grants typically contribute 15-20% of our total annual budget. They help fund tuition expenses, mentor programming and support, along with academic skills, college prep and career planning.
In recent weeks, we are grateful and honored to report that three of our most loyal and generous grantor foundations sent us checks increasing their funding to Shepherds:

All of these foundation grants and the other ones funding Shepherds come from personal relationships developed over time. There is little effectiveness in “cold-calling” a foundation. You have an introduction, an “in”, for most foundations to allow a non-rofit to apply for a grant in th first place.

We ask all readers of this Newsletter if you have an affiliation with a foundation or know the name of a foundation that would be interested in supporting an organization like Shepherds, to kindly consider introducing Shepherds to the key people at the foundation. You never know which door will open and what difference new funding can make to the young people and families we serve!  

Best wishes for a continued safe and hopefully relaxing August! We’ll see you in September!