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Solid ground in

stormy weather

Developing adaptive funding strategies for uncertain times

February 9, 2026

12:00–1:30pm EST

Maine Community Collaborative Impact Hub

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Maine Development Foundation & �Maine Alliance for Health and Prosperity��

with support from:

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Welcome

Thank you for joining us!

Some logistics:

Feel free to add your questions to the chat as you think of them
Some questions may be answered during the presentation, while others will be held for the question and answer period
We will have opportunities for breakout discussion and Q & A
Please keep your audio muted during the presentation

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Presenter

Rebecca Huenink helps rural communities and organizations find what they need to move forward, from strategies and systems to messaging and money. In her two decades of consulting, she has worked with national and international NGOs, governments, colleges and universities, hospital systems, and community-based organizations and coalitions in all regions of the country. Her roots are Appalachian, from southeastern West Virginia to southeastern Vermont.

Maine Community Collaborative Impact Hub connected with Rebecca through her work with the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group.

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Goals for today

At our convening last month, participants expressed interest in resources and training around fundraising and development.

Today we will focus on strategies to:

Diversify funding streams
Build collaborative, engaged relationships with funders

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Framing the work of fund development

The Center for Community Investment’s�Capital Absorption Framework �reminds us that there is more to fund �development than asking for money:

Articulating a shared priority
Creating and executing an �investable pipeline of projects
Improving the enabling environment

Today’s presentation will address all three functions.

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Meeting the moment

Fundraising for community development work has never been easy

Limited, short-term funding
Misaligned incentives
Funder misunderstanding, especially in rural contexts

The last year has brought new levels of instability and uncertainty

Sudden, midstream federal funding shifts and cancellations
Existential threats to organizations
Private funders struggling to respond and recalibrate

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Meeting the moment

Given the context, it is more important than ever for community collaboratives to have diversified, engaged funding

Diversified

A variety of sources and types of funding and support

Engaged

Contributors who are part of the team and understand the work

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Understanding where we are

Poll questions

What kinds of funders are you currently working with?
Are contributors currently part of your community collaborative?

Thank you for sharing!

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Diversified funding and support

Multiple types of funding and support from multiple sources

Financial contribution (donation)

Usually without conditions

Grant

Usually funding for specific work with specific conditions

Loan

Specific repayment times and terms

Investment

Varied structures

In-kind contribution

Non-monetary donations such as time, space, goods, or other resources

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Diversified funding

Multiple types of funding from multiple sources

Sources:

Public

Federal, state, local
Agency grant programs, budgets/earmarks

Private

Individuals and businesses (local, national, multinational)
Philanthropy (local, regional, national foundations, funds)
Financial institutions (banks, CDFIs, investors)

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Working with diversified funding

Approaches to combining and integrating funding types and sources

Blended funding

Pooled funds, funding streams not tracked separately
Works best for contributions and unrestricted grants, loans, and investments

Braided funding

Complementary streams of funding woven together to support a goal
Funding streams tracked and reported separately

Layered (stacked) funding

Multiple sources of funding for the same work
Funding streams tracked and reported as negotiated with funders

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Beyond “grant writing”

Diversifying starts with assessing your broader funding landscape

Who are the people, businesses, and institutions that care about your region and your work? Think broadly, beyond traditional “funders” like foundations

What

What types of contribution can they make?

What are their goals and how do they align with yours?

How can you connect with them and bring them onto your team?

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Landscape assessment

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Who	What	Why	How
Jane Q. Businessowner	Expertise, meeting space, marketing, funding (contributions)	She wants to see our downtown thrive	She’s very busy, so we need to come to her with specific opportunities and asks
XYZ Multinational Corporation	Funding (grants and contributions), connections	They want to show they are good corporate citizens and neighbors (promotional opportunities)	They have both a corporate foundation and a corporate giving program; we need to connect with their community relations staff to learn more and get them involved in our work
ABC Regional CDFI	Funding (loans), connections, technical assistance	They want to support projects that advance economic development in our region	Meet with a representative to learn more about their opportunities; bring them into our planning process
John Z. Legislator	Funding, connections	He wants to support impactful work in the district	Connect with staff to tell them about our work and learn about the appropriations process

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Working on diversification

Remember that funding is based on relationships

(Yes, even formal grant funding)

Talk to partners and supporters. Ask:

Who else cares about this?
Can you introduce us?
How can we work together?

The first step is to get potential contributors engaged in the work

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Engaged funding

Engaged funding means contributors are part of your team

It sounds simple, but in practice it can require radical shifts in:

Approaches

Separate → integrated

Practices

Supplication → collaboration

Relationships

Hierarchical → equal

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Engaged funding

Standard model

Funders/contributors are external to the community team
Community team

Designs a project
Applies to funder(s) for money
Implements the project
Reports back to funder(s)

Sets funders up as judges/critics, rather than partners
Adversarial, hierarchical relationship

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Engaged funding

Engaged model

Contributors are part of the community team

Participate in project design and implementation
Feel ownership of projects, commitment to success

Sets funders up as partners
Equal relationship

Solving problems together
Working toward the same goals
Helping each other improve

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Engaged funding

How does this work in real life?

Like other team members, contributors participate in different ways

Meetings, individual conversations
Offering expertise, connections, resources

Respect and understanding are key

Respect each other’s time, perspectives, goals, systems, boundaries, needs

Remember the old fundraising saying:

“If you want money, ask for advice. If you want advice, ask for money.”

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Engaged funding: Examples

A foundation-based example from California:

Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation sponsors learning exchanges to connect funders and community members in a team
The exchanges bring together three groups:

Disconnected (community groups without formal structures or resources)
Connected (organizations with formal recognition and funding)
Decision-makers (funders and government)

The process builds trust and capacity, leading to funded projects

More information: Building Funder Capacity to Work with Communities (Aspen CSG)

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Engaged funding: Examples

An example involving public funding:

The Regional Offices of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) use an engaged process to support grant development
Economic Development Representatives (EDRs) work with potential grant applicants to help them understand agency priorities and design a responsive project
EDRs develop a deep knowledge of and commitment to their regions

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Engaged funding: Examples

A collaborative example from Maine:

United 4 Child Care (U4CC) is a collaborative solution to southern Maine’s child care crisis
Convened by United Way of Southern Maine and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, U4CC brings together local businesses and organizations to create and fund concrete solutions
Businesses sponsoring the work can reserve child care slots for their employees, while also providing slots for low income families

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Integrating with the Capital Absorption Framework

Engaging and diversifying funding in the three functions of the Capital Absorption Framework from the Center for Community Investment:

Articulating a shared priority

Include a variety of contributors/funders in the process

Creating and executing an investable pipeline of projects

Include contributors/funders and develop a diverse selection of projects

Improving the enabling environment

Help contributors/funders understand their role and improve practices

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Questions?

Feel free to add questions to the chat or join the discussion via audio

After a short Q & A period, we will enter breakout groups for a more in-depth discussion

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Breakout discussions

In small groups, share:

What might you do differently based on today’s presentation?
What is most exciting about diversifying and engaging funders?
What feels most challenging?

Choose one participant to report back on highlights from the group discussion.

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Taking action

Next steps:

Begin a formal assessment of your local funding landscape
Identify potential contributors to engage
Reach out to one potential contributor to discuss participating in your collaborative

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