The Playbook: Nonprofit Funding, Grants, & Financial Sustainability

The nonprofit funding ecosystem is worth over $500 billion annually in the United States, yet 80% of nonprofits report chronic financial instability (Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2023). The barrier is rarely worthiness. It is access, language, and relationships. This session demystifies the funding landscape and gives participants a concrete roadmap to pursue it.

What you will learn:
● The full funding landscape: grants, donors, sponsors, earned revenue
● Grant writing fundamentals: what funders actually read
● Positioning your mission in funders’ language, not yours
● Building and sustaining relationships with funding partners
● How to create a 12-month funding calendar

Emotional Intelligence Focus:
● Scarcity mindset and its effect on funding behavior
● Fear of rejection, and why most leaders never apply
● Chronic undervaluing of mission and impact
● Shifting from asking for money to presenting an investment opportunity

About the Facilitator:
Kurt Faustin
Founder & CEO, The Dropout · Certified Brain-Based Coach · Speaker & Success Strategist
Kurt Faustin has spent over a decade at the intersection of emotional intelligence, performance coaching, and community development. As founder of The Dropout, a Boston-based nonprofit recognized by both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston, Kurt has reached more than 50,000 individuals through keynotes, workshops, and programs designed to bridge the gap between mental health and high performance.
Kurt is a certified Brain-Based Coach and has been appointed to a City of Boston commission. His work spans schools, universities, nonprofits, and corporate partners, all united by one core belief: that execution is an emotional capacity problem before it is a strategy problem. He brings the same framework that has helped youth, educators, and executives to this series, adapted specifically for the pressures and emotional terrain of early-stage entrepreneurship.

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Advance registration is preferred for all Ed Portal programs and events. Walk-in attendees may not be admitted.

Parking is limited around the Ed Portal so we recommend taking public transportation.

Public transportation options:

We are about a 15-20 minute walk from the Red Line Harvard Square station or Green Line -B Harvard Avenue station.

Several MBTA buses also stop near the intersection of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue: #66, #86, #70.

Parking information:

If you choose to drive to the Ed Portal please be prepared to utilize the two-hour on-street parking surrounding the Ed Portal or to park at Artesani Park and walk 10-12 minutes along Western Avenue to arrive at the Ed Portal. A limited number of parking spaces are available in the rear of the Ed Portal building on a first come, first serve basis. You may only use parking spaces in the rear of the Ed Portal building outlined in orange paint.

To help protect visitors and staff, members of the public are asked to stay home if they are unwell or have experienced signs of illness* in the past 24-hours.

If you require an accommodation for a disability, please call the Ed Portal ahead of time at 617-496-5022 or e-mail us at edportal@harvard.edu, and we will do our best to assist you.

* Signs of illness include: fever, chills or feeling feverish; a new cough (not related to chronic condition); new fatigue; muscle or body aches; sore throat; new nasal congestion or new runny nose (not related to seasonal allergies); nausea or vomiting; diarrhea.