How Great Storytellers Win Disney Grants
Disney has awarded more than $65 million to projects spanning 115 countries. Winning one of them could significantly boost your nonprofit’s reputation and your bank balance. Do you think you have what it takes?
Below you’ll hear from recent winners: Hannah Nevins, Program Director at the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and Barbara Goto, Director of Operations at the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy (AFC) about the strategies that made them successful.
1. Don’t underestimate the power of background research
To be successful with any grant application, the trick is to invest time into learning what it is the funder truly wants to fund. Luckily, Disney’s website is rich with information on their long term goals and citizen targets.
Barbara Goto and her team invested time upfront to do extensive research on the Disney Conservation Fund before starting their application, as after all, this was their first time applying. Through their research Barbara learned that storytelling is a fundamental approach used throughout Disney communications. When it came time to apply, Barbara leveraged the power of storytelling to win AFC’s first Disney grant in 2016.
Hannah suggests having all of your necessary permits and permissions ready before you apply because this is something Disney values highly. If you’re handling animals you’ll need to demonstrate that you have the proper protocols in place. So make sure you 1. know about these safety precautions, 2. obtain the appropriate forms and 3. include them in your proposal.
2. Demonstrate stakeholder support
Funders want to ensure that the project they fund is viable, so you’ll have an advantage if your project is already in existence and other backers have contributed (in time or money).
Barbara said that “first money in is always the hardest,” so AFC started a community fundraiser before approaching Disney. AFC staff reached out to neighbors and held small open houses in the community where they and neighbors could put their minds together. It wasn’t long before new neighbors were hosting their own open houses to advocate for the AFC project.
Gaining stakeholder support, be it money or enthusiasm, is pivotal in showing Disney that your project is worth investing in.
3. Match Disney’s tone in your application
Pay attention to the tone Disney is using in its communications and make sure to match that same tone in your application.
Barbara: “You want to speak to that tone and personality - essentially you want to speak their language. It’s a lot more palatable since reviewers are reading hundreds of proposals.”
4. Include images
Where ever possible, include photos of your project in your application. Barbara believes it was to their advantage to include photos because Disney can easily see the impact your project has directly
through images.
Hannah encourages applicants to be as specific as possible when they’re reporting past results and metrics. Communicate total numbers to demonstrate impact, such as the number of people involved, the number of habitats to be protected, and number of animals (if any) you’ll be handling.
Thanks to the American Bird Conservancy and Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy for contributing to this article!
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