Habits of Fearless Grant Seekers
July 15th, 2005
Seeking and maintaining grants can become more complicated than it needs to be. And once it becomes complicated, it gets placed on the back burner while more easily-handled matters arise.
Whether you are writing grants yourself or you have a staff member
doing so, you can make grantseeking an efficient part of your
development effort. To do this, you or your staff person in charge of
grants will need to create a system that keeps the grants process
moving, guards against missing important deadlines, and helps you to
develop relationships with foundation and corporate funders.
You will need to create a system that is best for you and your staff.
But whatever system you choose, it will most likely be based on
anticipating needs, deadlines, and questions, and being ready to act
efficiently when opportunities arise. To get started, you can
incorporate several simple but essential habits — listed below — that
will help you get the best value out of your grant-seeking time.
It’s true that taking these actions, and setting up a grants management
system, will take time — which is usually scarce for not-for-profit
staff. However, investing the time now to set up a solid,
understandable system of grants management will save you untold time
later, and may significantly increase your income. If you handle grants
yourself, it can help wake you from the nightmare of complication. And
if you have a staff person who handles grant writing and follow up, you
can end the nightmare for them, by working with them to develop a
system that incorporates these actions:
1. QUALIFY each potential grant-maker the way you would a major donor.
What is their capacity to give, and their average grant amount in
dollars? Have they given to causes or projects similar to yours? Does
anyone on your board know someone on theirs? Why did you think of them
in the first place? What is your best approach? Create a form to use
every time you work on qualifying a foundation as a potential donor.
2. MATCH the right program with the right funder. Research on the
funder’s past grant-making, and your own creativity, are the tools to
do this effectively. With practice, this will become the most exciting
part of grant-seeking (next to receiving those checks in the mail!)
3. POSITION yourself for success by only asking for grantworthy
programs. Ultimately, that means those that match well with a
grant-maker’s purpose, guidelines, and capacity to give. In general, a
grantworthy program is one that can be visualized as a finite program
or project.
A grantworthy program often serves many people or makes a major
difference in the community, involves partnerships with other
organizations,and has some tangible component. It is most often limited
in scope — it can be viewed as a whole, distinct project. Grantworthy
programs may include new projects or services, direct services, special
one-time expenses, major expansions of existing programs, buildings, or
technical assistance, such as needs assessments. Grants most often do
not pay for staff time, conferences, travel, or general operating
expenses, unless they are part of a larger, more interesting project.
Resist the urge to waste time asking for the latter. Zero in on what is
most grantworthy, then propose it.
4. ANTICIPATE information you will be asked for over and over, so you
don’t waste time writing the same thing over and over. Create base
documents that literally form the foundation of every grant proposal.
These documents most often include:
��� * a one-page resume on your organization (described below)
��� * board list, with affiliations and phone numbers
��� * one-page bio of each key staff person and volunteer
��� * your 501(c)3 letter
��� * your current organization-wide budget
��� * your current financial statement
��� * your last two audited financial statements
��� * your anti-discrimination policy
��� * any great letters of support
��� * important newspaper clippings
��� * stories about people you have served
You or your appropriate staff should keep these materials up to date and have many copies ready all the time.
5. SUMMARIZE your organization on one page. I call this your resume, and it should include all these things:
��� * your mission
��� * a list or short description of your services
��� * your geographic service area
��� * founding date and major milestones in your history
��� * name of CEO, with phone number
��� * name of board president, with phone number
��� * total annual budget
��� * where the money comes from
��� * where the money goes (small pie charts are an excellent way to provide these money statistics)
��� * how many paid staff and how many volunteers you have
Use your Case Statement to help you in writing this one-pager. And yes, you can get this all on one page!
6. LIMIT the number of people who participate in the proposal
writing/editing process. You will definitely want yourself included at
some point, whether it be throughout the process or just at the very
end. You will also want key staff and volunteers involved. But grants
need not go to your entire development committee and board, unless the
funder requires a board resolution (very few do, and it will be in
their instructions).
7. INFORM people of their part in the process. Offer it in writing, so
that problems won’t arise later. Reiterate the process at management
meetings. No one should misunderstand when and how they will be called
on to participate in grant writing. Use forms to remind people when
their input is needed, for instance when you need some stories from a
program director to include in a follow-up letter to a funder.
8. ASK targeted questions of yourself and your program staff, to get to
the information that is key about each new project for which you are
writing a grant. Develop a list of questions to use every time.
9. SEGMENT your grant seeking time into blocks. Rather than working all
over the place, have a specific time for grants each week, and have
specific times to work on research, writing, follow up, and filing.
10. ACTIVATE yourself with a mechanism to remind you of deadlines. If a
funder does not have a deadline, create one for yourself. Create
deadlines for follow-up reports as well as for the initial proposal.
Keep each deadline on an index or rolodex card, so you can keep it in
front of you as you work, and put it away for next year once you mail
off your proposal.
11. CHECK everything twice. If a funder does not provide a checklist of
what should be included in a grant, read their materials carefully and
create one for yourself. Make sure that paper is bound, hole-punched,
or assembled according to their instructions.
12. KEEP only the key information, and keep it accessible. Files need
not include all your notes and phone conversations — only the ones
that contain vital information for later use. Once you have reduced all
your grant files to only the essentials, they won’t take up so much
space, and it will be easy to keep them readily accessible to yourself
and others. Filing alpahbetically by funder is best, since it
eliminates wondering about where something might be. Codes or separate
areas for different stages of proposals can only lead to confusion if
someone is looking for a grant file when you’re not there. You don’t
want to be the only one who can find these things!
13. TRACK the status of all the proposals you send out and answers you
receive. Keeping this information on a single sheet is extremely
helpful when it’s time to apply to the United Way, report to the board,
recognize donors, or create an annual report.
14. COMMUNICATE early and often with key others. They may include the
person who opens the mail, the bookkeeper, the person who handles donor
recognition, the program staff, the board…anyone who plays a role in
the system you create. Brief reports to the board can keep them
informed of received and pending grants, in case they receive phone
calls from potential funders. Brief reports, or copies of your tracking
sheet, can keep the donor recognition person from sending a form letter
to a foundation.
15. SCHEDULE your follow up activities. Once you have received a grant,
create deadlines for yourself to send the funder quarterly reports,
holiday letters, “What a Difference” letters, stories about people
whose lives have been touched by their generosity, and any other
materials you may find appropriate. Also, whether they require it or
not, schedule a final report at the end of the grant period.
16. LISTEN all the time for stories about people whose lives are saved
or changed by your organization. Also be alert to unmet needs. These
will become ideas for grant proposals or follow-up reports to funders.
Ask your staff to keep photographs of people working together –
volunteers and those your organization serves. Include stories and
photos in all grant proposals and follow-up reports.
17. ACKNOWLEDGE grants more often, and further down the road, than you
might think is necessary. Funders are impressed when you write to them
five years after a grant was made, and tell how tremendously your
organization has grown and benefited from their investment over the
years. Remembering their role in your success just might encourage them
to get involved with you all over again.
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Entry Filed under: advice