Partner: Oakland Enrolls
Services: Fundraising Support
Location: Oakland, California
Background
Oakland Enrolls is an educational nonprofit organization that helps parents match their learners with the best public schools in the area. Using Oakland Enrolls, parents can choose a public charter school in Oakland that fits their student’s unique needs, priorities, and learning goals. In addition, Oakland Enrolls streamlines the process of selecting and enrolling in a public school, ensuring an easy, efficient, and equitable experience for all parents. This nonprofit regularly surveys schools, determining their instruction plans and providing parents with enough information to make informed decisions.
According to a 2019 report by EdSource, charter schools “are enrolling so many low-income, high-need students that they reduce the concentration of such students in the Oakland Unified School District schools.” The article suggested that this, in turn, reduces financial costs for Oakland’s education system as a whole.
Why Oakland Enrolls Needed Help
Oakland Enrolls reached out for help from Stronger Consulting because they lost significant amounts of money through their fundraising efforts. They also wanted to exert more control over these efforts with greater overall independence.
Our Action Plan
After writing a support case, we provided Oakland Enrolls with a “best-fit funder” list. This strategy is effective when identifying and searching for new grants, funders, and other funding sources. Our goal was to match Oakland Enrolls with foundations that fit with their overall mission, providing not just additional funding but also a cohesive nonprofit-funder relationship. To accomplish this, we worked with Oakland Enrolls to learn more about their general philosophy and mission.
Once we had a clear idea of their goals and priorities, we created a strategic plan. We provided them with targeted resources that aligned their fundraising efforts with entities that supported their overall mission. Our best-fit funder list also looks at other critical factors organizational structure and the dynamics of the Bay area market — to increase the efficiency of fundraising efforts and overall results.
The End Result
Stronger Consulting has helped Oakland Enrolls revitalize and transform its fundraising efforts. We worked closely with them to provide a more strategic plan that matches them with foundations and organizations aligned with their mission, increasing their chances of securing funding, and building relationships with promising new sources of support. Previously, Oakland Enrolls was either unaware of these funders or did not realize how they could help. The result is simple: Oakland Enrolls is now in a better position to secure new funding, fueling its mission to help students and parents in the Oakland area for years to come.
