Grants are very competitive and researching and applying for grants is a lot of work. Here are some things you should do to make your organization competitive if you are considering applying for grant money.
1. Determine what the grantor wants and give it to them.
2. Conduct strategic planning so you know if you can give the grantor what they want.
· Clearly define your organization’s and your community’s needs
· Create a Statement of Purpose/Mission.
· Clearly Articulate Your Organization’s Goals.
3. Identify and develop projects that support your organization's core mission.
4. Make it work, and make it replicable.
5. Develop a support and volunteer network.
6. Network and develop partnerships.
7. Conduct a capital campaign.
8. Develop realistic budgets.
9. Conduct regular program evaluations.
10. Develop strong marketing materials.
11. Apply, Apply, Apply
Determine what the grantor wants and give it to them.
When applying for grants it is important that you identify funders that match your organization's ideas and programs. Carefully eliminate funding sources that will require your organization to significantly change the project or "stretch" your objectives to fit into the guidelines of the funder. If your proposed program does not match the interests and requirements of the funder, it will not be funded. Funders want to know that a project reinforces the overall direction of an organization. If it appears that the proposed project is too tangential to the mission of the organization, the funder may assume that the organization will be unable to deliver on the promises in the proposal.
Don’t get caught up mis-representing your organization and accepting money for a program you don’t want, or intend, to operate just to get the money. A grant proposal is a legal promise. Grantees must do what ever is promised in the grant application/proposal. When organizations try to operate programs not related to their core mission it results in failed programs. Your organization may have to refund the money or in a worse case scenario be convicted of fraud.
Do your homework, find out what the grantor wants. Research to make sure the granting organizations you are applying to, fund the kind of program or activity you want to provide. Read the grant guidelines carefully. Check the organization's web site to identify its funding priorities. Find their mission statement and their goals. IRS Form 990s for foundations are posted online. There you can find basic financial data, a complete list of past grantees, the names of board members and officers, etc. Read everything carefully and note anything that seems to be important to the funder. Remember that funders are looking to you, the potential grantee, for programs that fulfill their mission. Be honest in your assessment of whether your organization truly meets the eligibility requirements in the grant guidelines and be sure your organization has a program that really fulfills the mission of the funding agency. If there’s no match, don't waste your time applying.
Conduct strategic planning so you know if you can (?) give the grantor what they want.
So often I’m asked to write a grant for people who want to form a non-profit organization but they’re really vague about what they want to do. No one wants to hear it, but I have to tell them that it is difficult to get a grant if you have no programs. You can’t put the grant before the program. That’s like putting the cart before the horse. To be competitive a grant proposal must demonstrate that the organization has planned for the project and that the project has an excellent chance of succeeding. So before you apply for a grant you must know exactly what you want to do, what your organization has the capacity to do, who will do it, how you will do it, where it will be done and for whom it will be done. Therefore effective organizational planning comes before grant getting.
The good news is that there is grant money out there for capacity building and there are organizations and foundations that have received grants to conduct strategic planning and capacity building for non-profits. Look for foundations and CDCs (Community Development Corporations), etc. in your local area that do capacity building for Non-Profits.
Strategic planning typically includes review or creation of the organization's vision, mission, philosophies, issues and goals. After the strategic planning process has identified and prioritized your goals and issues, determine the strategies you will use to reach the goals. This framework then becomes the operating manual for your organization.
1. Clearly Define Your Needs - Winning grant proposals have clearly defined needs and well planned programs designed to meet the identified needs. Set up a committee to assess and prioritize your organization’s needs as well as the needs of your community and constituencies. Have department heads meet with their staff to brainstorm and compile lists of dreams and true needs. Conduct written needs surveys of each department. Also survey board members and community leaders. Prioritize the identified needs and develop your goals and funding requests around those needs.
2. Create a Statement of Purpose/Mission that addresses your needs in a clear and concise manner. This statement will provide the foundation for your organization’s efforts.
3. Clearly Articulate Your Organization’s Goals, how you will reach them, and how you will measure success. Goals can be defined as a status to be reached through the continued efforts of the organization. The program's goals must be to fix a problem or meet a need among your constituents. Goals should establish a clear direction for the organization and should be described such that the organization can assess whether the goals have been reached or not.
Identify and Develop Projects That Support Your Organization's Core Mission
Articulate a course of action to confront your problem area. You must demonstrate precisely what your organization’s plans and strategies are before any proposal will be funded. Conduct research on the feasibility of your project ideas. Talk to colleagues to determine topics that are getting the most attention in your field. Brainstorm with stakeholders (boardmembers, staff, community) to generate ideas for projects. Try to find a unique approach to solving a problem. Unique approaches to problems often stick out in a proposal reviewer’s mind. Involving stakeholders in the design process helps ensure community support for the project during the writing stage as well as after the grant is awarded! When planning, work backwards from the mission.
Questions to Answer:
· What do you want to do, how much will it cost, and how long will it take?
· What are the goals of the project? How serious is the need for immediate action?
· What is the target population? What are the expected short and long range results?
· What methods and strategies will be tested?
· What benchmarks have been set, what standards will be achieved?
· What has already been done? By whom? What were the results?
· Can the problems your project addresses actually be solved?
· How will you accomplish your goals? What is your plan?
Make it Work and Make it Replicable
Winning proposals give something back. Make the process and results of your project help other organizations. Be sure the project is not strictly local in nature. It should be replicable in other places by other organizations? The process you go through can become a product. Funders want others to adopt and adapt programs that work. Dissemination of knowledge and expertise to others should give your proposal the winning edge.
Develop a Support and Volunteer Network
You need volunteers to get the work of your organization done. Funders look to see that you are able to rally people that are committed to your idea/organization. This is a critical indicator of future success.
Network and Develop Partnerships
The importance of networking cannot be understated in the capital seeking process. Many foundations today allow you to submit proposals to them by invitation only. Networking increases your chances of getting in front of capital decision-makers by soliciting an introduction from someone who knows them. Networking can also help you uncover unannounced discretionary grants, usually left over funds from previous years, given out at the discretion of the director or board of a given agency. This money is not as hard to qualify for. These are who you know types of grants. You have to network to find these, know someone who knows the Director of . . . . .
It is often easier to receive a grant award when the project involves multiple agencies. An increasing number of funders are requiring evidence of collaboration from non-profits applying for funding. Grantors feel they are getting more bang for their buck when multiple entities are involved in a grant project.
Therefore it is important that you develop alliances and strategic partnerships with other groups and agencies. Find out the organizations in your service area that are already doing what your non-profit is doing and find organizations that provide services and activities related to those of your organization. Build relationships and partnerships with those groups. Funders won’t duplicate services in the same area, and will only give money to the organization with the best track record. However if you team with the other organization you increase the service area and the number of clients served. Also sharing resources lowers costs and focuses more resources on serving clients. Doing these things increases the likelihood of funding.
Conduct a Capital Campaign (donations and fundraising)
It is difficult to get a grant if you have no money so Non-Profits have to have capital campaigns. No funder wants to be the only support for a given program or organization. Funders always want to see that you are able to raise money for your idea from multiple sources. This demonstrates that you and your community are committed to the idea/organization. Also funders give more money to program activities than they do to operating costs. Non-Profits often have to get most of their operating costs on their own through donations and fundraisers.
Develop Realistic Budgets
Winning grant proposals present detailed budgets that match the proposed program. Based on your mission, program activities, and desired outcomes put together a budget. Cost out everything, building, staff, materials, etc. whatever is necessary to execute the mission. Develop a start-up budget and a 3-yr. projected budget. Prepare a spreadsheet template or checklist of items to include in your budget, project both revenues and expenditures.
Describe how you will fund the project once the grant money runs out. Individual funders will not want to fund your organization forever. You have a much better chance of being funded if you have a long-term financing strategy for the project/program that phases out the grant support.
Questions to answer:
· What is the current operating budget of the organization?
· What are the expected revenues from your capital campaign?
· What is the anticipated budget for the proposed project(s)?
· How many funders do you have for the proposed project(s)?
· Will you continue the project beyond the grant funding period?
This online budgeting course is a good start to understanding budgeting for non-profits.
http://agwa.us/DescriptionBudget.htm
Conduct Regular Program Evaluations
All funders want answers to these three questions. How will you evaluate the project? How will you know when you have achieved success? How will the project be maintained once it's implemented? So when designing your project make sure you have clear, reasonable and measurable outcomes. Be very specific about products (things you will produce and deliver) and outcomes (changes in status or behaviors). Plan key indicators of program success e.g. three to five major accomplishments that must be reached to attain each outcome, number of clients served, money made, milestones accomplished, measures of satisfaction among clients, etc.
These planned indicators will help you establish whether the program is successful or not. Programs should be evaluated on a yearly basis to determine if they are reaching their goals, and if they are doing so in an efficient manner. Program evaluation helps fine tune delivery of program services. Establish a program review team that includes the chief executive, program directors, and at least one board member. Take a look at the key indicators as noted in the plan.
Questions to Answer:
· Is the program following the original plan? If not, why is the deviation occurring? Is it necessary?
· What is the progress toward the key indicators?
· What major problems exist and what is needed to address them?
· How are the actual costs compared to the planned costs?
· Are there limitations that are holding you back?
· What would you do differently if you could?
Develop Strong Marketing Materials
Whether you’re looking to finance equipment, expansion, or acquisitions, it pays to create a professional image with all the materials you provide clients and potential grantors. This includes writing professional letters and e-mails, producing brochures, and creating a functional web site.
Collect the following information for your marketing materials:
· Compile information on the history, philosophy and mission of your organization and keep it updated and stored on computer to create promotional materials, and for easy access when writing proposals. Include organizational charts, staff and boardmember bios, evaluation plans and results, a list of previous funding, an inventory of resources, etc.
· Write generic descriptions of the organization's projects (current and future). These should give a clear picture of the organization's activities, target population, and services.
· Post annual reports, audit reports, IRS determination letter, organization history, and any general information on your web site. Use links to this information wherever appropriate. Send applications and information electronically whenever possible.
· Identify and describe any special human and community resources your organization can utilize to make a project successful. Solicit letters of support from these organizations and keep them on hand.
· Document the accomplishments of the organization. Include newspaper, magazine, and journal, articles, letters of support, and awards the organization has received.
· Document and showcase the organization’s involvement in the community. Find ways to demonstrate the impact your organization has on the people and economy of your local community.
Apply, Apply, Apply,
Search for foundations, corporations, and government grant programs whose goals match the goals of your organization and apply. Start early and be patient. Grantmaking priorities are set years in advance and the application and funding cycle is always six months to a year long so it may take awhile to identify and locate funding for a project. Don't limit your search to government grants and large foundations. The best fit and least competition for dollars may be through a local community foundation or corporation.
Once you identify the funder(s) you want to work with obtain all application materials and guidelines. Try to obtain copies of grants they have funded in the past. Any extra information you can find on the foundation will help you make your proposal stand out. Make sure the form of your approach is correct. Some foundations do not allow solicitations from grant seekers. They accept proposals by invitation only. Some foundations prefer a phone call or a letter of inquiry as the first step, while most government agencies want you to send them a full proposal at a pre-specified time, with all required documentation, based on their published guidelines.
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