Summer Time Writing

Fundraising-including grant writing should occur year round as part of a vibrant fundraising plan for your organization. I recently read an article that encouraged school based organizations to continue submitting grant proposals over the summer. I can understand why schools might slow down or stop some of their fundraising activities over the summer, but I don't encourage seasonal stops in fundraising for any type of organizations.

Your fundraising plan should have year round revenue streams that help the organization to reach its goals and objectives. Know your granting agency's due dates. Many funders have summertime deadlines, others do not.

Last year, I stopped grant activities during the summer months with an educational organization that I consult with. This was at their request, and my strong recommendation that we do not stop work because of the potential for lost momentum and eventually lost dollars.

I am sad to report that when we picked up our work together again in the fall, we spent several months creating past due grant reports that no one else bothered to file. Now, six months later we are just getting back on track with hammering out new program plans, and submitting proposals. We lost a lot of ground during our three month hiatus, and are still feeling the negative effects.

Don't get me wrong, if I could work nine months of the year and spend three at the beach, I am all for it. We all need to take breaks to get refreshed. With proper planning-our programs and our constituents do not have to take a break from providing or receiving services due to lack of funding.

Now I have to go shopping for that waterproof, sand proof laptop I can take with me to the beach...