What Do Relationships Have To Do With Funding?

Just like in therapy, the results you get are directly impacted by the relationships you build. Relationships in the fundraising world happen in two ways: direct and indirect. 

The direct relationships are those rare gems of moments where a decision maker is directly impacted by what they see and want to support your work. Yay! How amazing is that? 

More often though, it’s the network that you build from relationships that will get you in front of supporters. Partnering with people who can guide you to resources, speaking engagements, and other like-minded movers & shakers may land you the perfect funding source that you never even knew existed. That staff member who sits in on your in-service might know someone who knows someone who knows how to get in touch with the head of a facility that was just asking about this music therapy thing the other day… see how the magic can happen?

Listen along in the video below as Kat and Brittany Tachkov, MT-BC discuss how nurturing relationships with administrators can lead to opportunities.

What Do Relationships Have To Do with Funding? Transcript

Kat Fulton, MM, MT-BC: Tell me more about the correlation you have found between building relationships with supporters and then getting actual funding through the funnel so that your position is very solid.

Brittany Tachkov, MT-BC: Well there’s kind of different levels to that. Sometimes it’s quite direct. People want to give to something that’s actually happening. They want to give to a cause. They want to sometimes even give to a person, a client, a family, a response that happens within music therapy. So sometimes that relationship has meant an exact, individual donation in that moment. It doesn’t always happen that way.

Sometimes that relationship gives us information. It tells us where the funders are. It tells us how to speak to them, how to find them, how to look for resources. It becomes a partnership, so that you’re not the only one trying to look through where can we find funding to support what we’re doing.

And then sometimes it just gives a lot of different ideas. I may not have realized that speaking at this one event helped to gain these other kinds of resources. And that relationship gets me to that event, which then gets into that funding.

So sometimes it’s direct, which might feel a little rare. But it can happen as it builds over time. And sometimes it’s this indirect chain that gives… it increases our ability to receive those funds, to get in front of people who may want to support us.

Kat: I have found all that to be true as well, in various capacities. So, at one point, I was offering music therapy to this older adult facility, and the person in charge, the administrator of that facility, fell in love with the way the residents were responding. She was just like overjoyed that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She said, “You have to come speak here and here, and I got to introduce you to this person,” and, oh my gosh, she felt like knowing me actually kind of, like, improved her value within her network. And I think when you’re able to do that, it’s jackpot! When you’re able to find a support that… 

Brittany: You brought up a really important point too, which is one supporter doesn’t mean that there’s only one person you’ve touched, educated, or advocated with. It’s actually their network. I hear about people talking to their children about the music therapist, at home, or talking to their neighbor, who may be the one that happens to be on a board somewhere… Who knows? But one person isn’t actually just one person. It can be a very expansive relationship.

Kat: I have found all that to be true as well, in various capacities. So, at one point, I was offering music therapy to this older adult facility, and the person in charge, the administrator of that facility, fell in love with the way the residents were responding. She was just like overjoyed that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She said, “You have to come speak here and here, and I got to introduce you to this person,” and, oh my gosh, she felt like knowing me actually kind of, like, improved her value within her network. And I think when you’re able to do that, it’s jackpot! When you’re able to find a support that… 

Brittany: You brought up a really important point too, which is one supporter doesn’t mean that there’s only one person you’ve touched, educated, or advocated with. It’s actually their network. I hear about people talking to their children about the music therapist, at home, or talking to their neighbor, who may be the one that happens to be on a board somewhere… Who knows? But one person isn’t actually just one person. It can be a very expansive relationship.

Do You Want Funding NOW?

If you’re ready to grow your program but aren’t sure where to start, then check out Funding & Program Development with Brittany Tachkov, MT-BC, for 3 CMTES! By taking the course, you will:

• Learn and practice communication skills that will captivate decision-makers
• Set yourself up for success by building a resource-rich framework for your program
• Advocate for your role and impact within organizations
• Create a proposal to get the funding and support you deserve as a leader in healthcare!