Fundraising Committee
Committees » Fundraising

The purpose of the Fundraising is to seek strategic funding opportunities for building CENSA's infrastructure.

The Fundraising:

• Establishes and administers CENSA's non-profit status
• Directs CENSA-wide efforts to identify prospective funding sources
• Works with the Strategy Committee and other CENSA Committees to develop CENSA's business plan to show to representatives of prospective funding sources
• Works closely with CENSA task forces to acquire funding for specific CENSA projects

Click here for information on the Annual Giving Campaign.

The Fundraising Chairman is Stephen Myrow.

 

Fundraising Strategy

CENSA has built its vision on a deliberate, three-stage program for growth that aligns expanding organization capacity with funding programs, institution building, expanding influence, and sustained contribution. The founding members of CENSA felt that it was imperative to demonstrate the credibility and potential of the organization before presenting its vision to potential funders. Therefore, the first stage was funded entirely from individual contributions and in-kind donations arranged by founders and members. In this first stage CENSA demonstrated a market for its vision and ideas; with over 150 members signing on to contribute to CENSA's dialogue and hundreds of downloads of its Presidential Transition Report. Likewise, CENSA exercised its organizational capacity through the publication of two full-length reports, the sponsoring and teaching of several graduate level seminars, two conferences, and the execution of well-attended monthly dinner series across three major cities.

CENSA now moves into the next phase, where its program breadth and depth of expertise allow it to begin building real awareness and influence in the policy community. CENSA will further develop its existing program base, expand its offerings to leverage the talents of our growing membership base, and continue to expand its work into new cities in the US and abroad. Early successes in this stage include the work of a CENSA member to develop a syndicated weekly foreign affairs radio program and the addition of a CENSA internship sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. To continue to move forward, CENSA will bring paid staff on board to coordinate our growing roster of activities, establish a physical presence in Washington, DC to serve as a center for activity, and begin to publish a broader range of materials with a wider distribution list. To do so, CENSA seeks funding from a variety of organizations to provide general operating expenses.

The following pages illustrate specific goals for each stage in our growth, concluding with a discussion of the sources and uses of our financial resources during 2000 and 2001. They also illustrate, we believe, our ability to leverage limited self-funding into some exciting results, and demonstrate the potential for CENSA once it has been adequately capitalized.

 

Sources of Funds

As a nonprofit organization, CENSA operates with three primary sources of cash income:

• membership dues (current)
• grants and donations (near term)
• deliverable products such as memoranda and public-service research contract engagements (long-term)

In addition, a material portion of operating expenses will continue to be offset by in-kind services provided by members and affiliates of CENSA. The proportion of funding derived from these sources will evolve over time: in-kind grants and individual contributions have provided the bulk of funding in the first two years; grants and donations will take a major role beginning in 2002, and deliverables and dues will contribute more as the organization develops expertise and name recognition in the second half of the decade.

In 2002 the board will focus its efforts on continuing to develop a sustainable infrastructure for collaboration, intellectual outreach, and organizational promotion. The board will de-emphasize projects oriented toward revenue generation in lieu of building robust organizational capacity. This approach will minimize board distraction and the organization's exposure to revenue volatility.