I fell into the profession of grant writing quite by accident. I had studied social work, hotel and restaurant management and ended up with a degree in business management. While working as a volunteer coordinator for a nonprofit organization in Northern Virginia, a grant opportunity with a very short deadline became available to the organization. The desire to be a team player and learn a new skill prompted me to actually volunteer to write this grant proposal. The organization was awarded the grant and a new career was born.
After several more years and a move to another state and work with another nonprofit, I was ready to become a freelance grant writer. Grant Consulting Services began in September 2000 out of a desire to serve organizations that help people in need.
The Market
The nonprofit sector has seen tremendous growth over the past decade. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics there are over 1,397,263 nonprofits in America-a growth of 28.8% over the past eight years. While as a group nonprofit organizations cover a wide spectrum of size, scope and mission, the vast majority of nonprofit organizations, in the United States are small, with fewer than fifty staff, and have a mission focused on service.
Nonprofit organizations provide a wide array of services from healthcare, education, youth development, homeless shelters, adoption, crisis response, services to assault victims and batterers and much more. Services are typically provided at low or no cost to the beneficiaries, so other revenue must be obtained to help offset the cost of providing services. Grant writers help to obtain a portion of that revenue.
Grant writing straddles two business categories: writing and fund raising. The proposals must be written exactly to the individual specifications of each funder. Even when a grant proposal is perfectly written it is not always awarded, in fact I have been told that only one in three proposals are actually funded. So it seems that grant writers and hall of fame baseball players have something in common; a baseball player can bat at an average of .300 and be inducted into the baseball hall of fame. A grant writer can get a hit on only one out of three proposals and be considered successful. In the fundraising side of the business: networking, who you know in the community and getting your foot in the door to speak to the appropriate funder can really increase your chances of success. Grant writers work with people at foundations and agencies and not necessarily with individuals like other fundraising professionals who spend the majority of their time building relationships with individuals.
Necessary Skills
There probably aren’t many grant proposal writers who decided that pleading for money was their dream job when they were 9 years old and relentlessly pursued the profession. Nevertheless, sufficient training is necessary to hone your writing and fundraising skills. More and more professional organizations and colleges are offering classes in grant writing such as The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University that offers a certificate in Fund Raising Management.
Many community organizations offer introductory grant writing workshops or seminars. Look for one that is sponsored by an organization that provides services that are of interest to you. For example, if you are interested in the healthcare field, check your local hospital to see if they ever offer grant writing seminars, or if you are interested in education, check with your school district to see if introductory seminars are available. Depending on the area you live in, you may need to look at a county, state or even regional level to find the right opportunity. The Foundation Center offers a great introductory course to grant proposal writing titled Proposal Writing Short Course that gives an easy to understand overview of the grant writing process.
A combination of different skills are needed for success in the grant writing profession. In addition to some type of professional training, grant writers have to have the ability to collaborate, write like there is no tomorrow due to the looming deadline, have excellent written and verbal skills, understand needs of different people groups, and convey how the program or project will help to alleviate the need. Working with other organizations or multiple people within the organization is essential to proper program development. All aspects of the program or project must be planned out prior to writing a grant proposal. The writing of the proposal is typically one of the last steps in non profit program development. Most importantly people working with non profit organizations need to have a high level of compassion and desire to help meet the needs of people who may be experiencing very trying circumstances.
Hanging out your own shingle
Grant proposal writing is a profession that is easily managed from a home based office. A computer with a word processing program, fax, cell phone/business line, and copier are necessary equipment. The majority of draft and finished grant proposals can be sent to your clients via email.
Some states require a grant writer to be licensed and bonded so check with your state and local governing authority to determine if you are required to be licensed as a professional fundraiser. Follow all other sensible and legally mandated business practices.
Nonprofits typically hire consultants by word of mouth, so your marketing and advertising should include a very heavy emphasis on personal networking. The Association of Fundraising Professionals has local chapters in major metropolitan areas that offer wonderful networking opportunities. Go to as many non-profit networking type meetings as possible and get to know the who’s who of the nonprofit organizations in your area, and make sure they get to know you too.
Article originally published in:
The Dabbling Mum™ E-zine
National Publication for BUSY Parents
July 17,2006 Edition
Copyright, Valerie Nelson, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
One Year Anniversary
It is hard to believe that I have been blogging for one year now on the topic of grants. I have enjoyed blogging so much that I began blogging for another organization several months ago. Those articles can be viewed at Families.com , and are written on the subjects of education and parenting. This assignment is more time intensive than this blog, as I have a minimum word count and must blog 5 days a week to meet the number of posts goal, but nonetheless it has helped me to write on a daily basis which is a good tool to practice in the profession of grant writing.
I was also recently published in an e-zine with an article called "Grant Writing-An Accidental Profession" describing grant writing as a profession and how I fell into it.
I am looking for ideas and reader suggestions for future blog articles. If there is a particular subject you would like to see written about please reply to this post or email me at Grantstuff@wowway.com.
As grant writers, we are often viewed as the red headed step-child (No offense to any red headed step-child) in the fundraising world. In the mix of writing professionals, I think we are not always taken as seriously as fiction or writers of other genres. In fact, I believe that grant-writing is another genre that needs to be practiced and developed like any other form of writing. We need to understand our audience and write to them utilizing personal stories intermingled with facts and driven by a need. We need to be able to convey a need to a potential funder in such a way that they are moved enough to provide funding to meet that need. Of course the grant proposal is not the only step in this process, but it needs to be written professionally while following the funder guidelines.
I was also recently published in an e-zine with an article called "Grant Writing-An Accidental Profession" describing grant writing as a profession and how I fell into it.
I am looking for ideas and reader suggestions for future blog articles. If there is a particular subject you would like to see written about please reply to this post or email me at Grantstuff@wowway.com.
As grant writers, we are often viewed as the red headed step-child (No offense to any red headed step-child) in the fundraising world. In the mix of writing professionals, I think we are not always taken as seriously as fiction or writers of other genres. In fact, I believe that grant-writing is another genre that needs to be practiced and developed like any other form of writing. We need to understand our audience and write to them utilizing personal stories intermingled with facts and driven by a need. We need to be able to convey a need to a potential funder in such a way that they are moved enough to provide funding to meet that need. Of course the grant proposal is not the only step in this process, but it needs to be written professionally while following the funder guidelines.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Making the Ask
Some people wonder if a grant proposal is the right place to ask for money, or is it better to give information about the organization first. The answer is-make the ask very clearly and succinctly. Also, it may be tempting to create a ten page document that gives heart wrenching stories and fabulous statistics that all lead to the crescendo of asking the funder to give money for your spectacular program; resist that urge.
The majority of funders prefer that the amount and purpose of the grant be spelled out in summary format on the first page of your proposal so that they do not have to through your entire proposal so they can determine exactly what you want. Don't make the person that might help fund your program and target audience dig through pages of information just for effect. He or she might just throw your proposal in the trash-just for effect. Foundations may get hundreds of proposals per funding cycle, so don't give them any reason to reject yours.
In some cases the proposal is the first contact you will have with the potential funder, so you want to give a positive impression the first time. Follow their guidelines perfectly, and don't be afraid to ask them specifically for what you want. Do not give ambiguous information such as: "Look at our website for further details", or "We will leave it up to you to decide how much money you want to give us toward the program." They won't take the time to look at your website and they will decide not to fund you with those wimpy statements.
Do your research and make sure the potential funder gives money to organizations in your geographic area, with your focus and within the range you are asking. It makes no sense to ask for $1 million for a capital campaign for a homeless shelter from an organization that gives grants in the amount of $5,000 for arts organizations. Always do your homework.
The majority of funders prefer that the amount and purpose of the grant be spelled out in summary format on the first page of your proposal so that they do not have to through your entire proposal so they can determine exactly what you want. Don't make the person that might help fund your program and target audience dig through pages of information just for effect. He or she might just throw your proposal in the trash-just for effect. Foundations may get hundreds of proposals per funding cycle, so don't give them any reason to reject yours.
In some cases the proposal is the first contact you will have with the potential funder, so you want to give a positive impression the first time. Follow their guidelines perfectly, and don't be afraid to ask them specifically for what you want. Do not give ambiguous information such as: "Look at our website for further details", or "We will leave it up to you to decide how much money you want to give us toward the program." They won't take the time to look at your website and they will decide not to fund you with those wimpy statements.
Do your research and make sure the potential funder gives money to organizations in your geographic area, with your focus and within the range you are asking. It makes no sense to ask for $1 million for a capital campaign for a homeless shelter from an organization that gives grants in the amount of $5,000 for arts organizations. Always do your homework.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
LOI vs. Full Proposal
In our acronym crazy world even seasoned grants professionals sometimes need a secret decoder ring to figure out the grant jargon. One of the more confusing acronyms is “LOI”. This three letter tyrant can stand for several different types of grant requirements.
A Letter Of Inquiry is a brief, usually two pages, letter requested in lieu of a full proposal by grant-making institutions as a screening device to determine if the funder might be interested in learning more about your program or project. Sometimes if the program officer or the Board of Trustees like the way you presented your program in your LOI, they will ask you to submit a full proposal with a budget, financial statements and all the other bells and whistles.
Letters Of Interest are typically the same thing as a letter of inquiry. Both terms are used interchangeably.
On a side note, did you know that Duilio Loi {born April 19, 1929) is a retired Italian boxer who held the Italian and European lightweight and welterweight titles, as well as the world junior welterweight championship. Loi fought from 1948 to 1962, and retired with a record of 115 wins (26 KOs), 3 losses and 8 draws.(Interesting fact found at Wikpedia.com ) Alas, I digress; back to grant LOI’s.
A Letter Of Intent is often utilized by federal and state agencies and is a required element of a grant application. Typically the letter of intent is due well before the actual application and lets the particular agency know that you plan on applying for funding under a particular RFP (Here is yet another acronym-this one means Request for Proposals). The primary reason that agencies may require the letter of intent is to try to determine just how many proposals they will receive, therefore ensuring they have enough proposal reviewers to judge your application.
The important thing to remember no matter if you are answering an LOI, or RFP-follow each individual funders specific guidelines and know your grant acronyms.
A Letter Of Inquiry is a brief, usually two pages, letter requested in lieu of a full proposal by grant-making institutions as a screening device to determine if the funder might be interested in learning more about your program or project. Sometimes if the program officer or the Board of Trustees like the way you presented your program in your LOI, they will ask you to submit a full proposal with a budget, financial statements and all the other bells and whistles.
Letters Of Interest are typically the same thing as a letter of inquiry. Both terms are used interchangeably.
On a side note, did you know that Duilio Loi {born April 19, 1929) is a retired Italian boxer who held the Italian and European lightweight and welterweight titles, as well as the world junior welterweight championship. Loi fought from 1948 to 1962, and retired with a record of 115 wins (26 KOs), 3 losses and 8 draws.(Interesting fact found at Wikpedia.com ) Alas, I digress; back to grant LOI’s.
A Letter Of Intent is often utilized by federal and state agencies and is a required element of a grant application. Typically the letter of intent is due well before the actual application and lets the particular agency know that you plan on applying for funding under a particular RFP (Here is yet another acronym-this one means Request for Proposals). The primary reason that agencies may require the letter of intent is to try to determine just how many proposals they will receive, therefore ensuring they have enough proposal reviewers to judge your application.
The important thing to remember no matter if you are answering an LOI, or RFP-follow each individual funders specific guidelines and know your grant acronyms.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
More On Following Those Rules
One of the more important yet simple procedures to follow when writing a grant proposal is to follow the funders guidelines explicitly. The majority of grant making organizations have set guidelines that they publish regarding the required contents for each proposal. Find out what those requirements are, get a copy and comb through line by line to make sure you understand what is expected. Many proposals are prematurely tossed out because the author used a 10 point instead of 12 point font.
The instructions for Federal and State proposals can sometimes be almost as long as the proposal itself. Before starting on a complicated proposal- read through the instructions first, then go back and begin to pick each section apart. At this point you will want to determine who on your grant team will be responsible for each required element. You can utilize a software program such as Microsoft Project, keep a running written document with each person’s assignments and deadlines or use a simpler method such as marking up with color coded highlighters.
Many times even small family foundations will have written instructions such as, “As a first step, please submit a two page letter of inquiry explaining the projects goals, objectives and attach a program budget.” You want to follow those instructions to the “T” as well. Do not send a three page summary with your full organizational budget, and your latest glossy annual report. If they need more information they will ask for it.
If the guidelines are non-existent, not clear about what to send and you are unable to contact a person directly at the foundation, then it is best to send less. If you can’t contact someone chances are the organization does not have the resources to read a lengthy proposal. You can send a short letter asking for their written guidelines, or submit a brief one to two page letter outlining your project, making the ask for a certain dollar amount and politely let the organization know you can provide further information should it be required.
The instructions for Federal and State proposals can sometimes be almost as long as the proposal itself. Before starting on a complicated proposal- read through the instructions first, then go back and begin to pick each section apart. At this point you will want to determine who on your grant team will be responsible for each required element. You can utilize a software program such as Microsoft Project, keep a running written document with each person’s assignments and deadlines or use a simpler method such as marking up with color coded highlighters.
Many times even small family foundations will have written instructions such as, “As a first step, please submit a two page letter of inquiry explaining the projects goals, objectives and attach a program budget.” You want to follow those instructions to the “T” as well. Do not send a three page summary with your full organizational budget, and your latest glossy annual report. If they need more information they will ask for it.
If the guidelines are non-existent, not clear about what to send and you are unable to contact a person directly at the foundation, then it is best to send less. If you can’t contact someone chances are the organization does not have the resources to read a lengthy proposal. You can send a short letter asking for their written guidelines, or submit a brief one to two page letter outlining your project, making the ask for a certain dollar amount and politely let the organization know you can provide further information should it be required.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Incredible Shrinking Awards
I have noticed an interesting situation over the past 6-8 months: With the exception of two grant awards, ALL of the grants that have been awarded to my clients recently have been lower than the original requested amount. Of course this does happen frequently and over the past eight years I have experienced the rush of receiving an award and at the same time the disappointment of realizing the awarded amount is lower than the original ask amount. However, the reduction in award amounts seems to be happening more frequently with foundations and corporate giving programs.
In my quest to find out why, I discovered that there is not currently a good answer. At first, I thought that I could blame it on the economy since it is a catch all blame basket for whatever is ailing the country. Then I thought that it was because more giving was diverted from the usual funding areas to help with hurricane relief efforts.
However, the latest statistics show that in 2004 giving increased by 5%. A report released last month by the Foundation Center noted that grants made only by foundation grantmakers increased in 2005. "Giving by the nation's close to 68,000 grantmaking foundations reached a new milestone in 2005. Estimated giving totaled $33.6 billion, up from the previous high of $31.8 billion recorded in 2004" (Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates Current Outlook, p.1).
So if giving is increasing then why are the grant amounts typically smaller? Several factors come to mind. Funding for the natural disasters over the past two years have only slightly diverted funds from other more traditional areas such as education, arts, and research. In addition the number of nonprofit organizations that need grant funding to operate has grown dramatically over the past ten years to over 1 million organizations in the United States alone.
Lastly, corporate and foundation assets have remained relatively flat or only slightly increased over the past three years. Foundations in particular calculate their grant budgets for the next year based on their assets from the past three to five years. When budgeting for 2006 many foundations utilized figures that may have reflected their 2001 assets. If you recall, 2001 was a tough year financially for many including foundations that lost millions with their investments.
More focused giving, higher competition for grant dollars and lack of perceived assets are part of the reasons why many organizations are giving smaller than the requested amount of grant dollars.
Next time, I will explain what to do when you receive a smaller check than expected.
In my quest to find out why, I discovered that there is not currently a good answer. At first, I thought that I could blame it on the economy since it is a catch all blame basket for whatever is ailing the country. Then I thought that it was because more giving was diverted from the usual funding areas to help with hurricane relief efforts.
However, the latest statistics show that in 2004 giving increased by 5%. A report released last month by the Foundation Center noted that grants made only by foundation grantmakers increased in 2005. "Giving by the nation's close to 68,000 grantmaking foundations reached a new milestone in 2005. Estimated giving totaled $33.6 billion, up from the previous high of $31.8 billion recorded in 2004" (Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates Current Outlook, p.1).
So if giving is increasing then why are the grant amounts typically smaller? Several factors come to mind. Funding for the natural disasters over the past two years have only slightly diverted funds from other more traditional areas such as education, arts, and research. In addition the number of nonprofit organizations that need grant funding to operate has grown dramatically over the past ten years to over 1 million organizations in the United States alone.
Lastly, corporate and foundation assets have remained relatively flat or only slightly increased over the past three years. Foundations in particular calculate their grant budgets for the next year based on their assets from the past three to five years. When budgeting for 2006 many foundations utilized figures that may have reflected their 2001 assets. If you recall, 2001 was a tough year financially for many including foundations that lost millions with their investments.
More focused giving, higher competition for grant dollars and lack of perceived assets are part of the reasons why many organizations are giving smaller than the requested amount of grant dollars.
Next time, I will explain what to do when you receive a smaller check than expected.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
More on Federal Grants
I am one of the few people, I believe, that actually enjoy writing Federal grant proposals. Now before you write me off for good, let me explain why. All Federal proposals that I have worked on have clearly defined instructions that explain in detail exactly what is needed for each section. Most Federal proposals are scored on a point system and typically the higher scored proposals are the ones that are funded. Usually the issuing agency is even kind enough to give you a rubric, which explains how each section in the proposal will be scored. For example under the target population section the rubric may show that 10 points are awarded for services provided to multiple ethnic groups, 5 points for services to one or two ethnic groups and 2 points for services serving only one ethnic group.
Perhaps it is because I thrive when I am organized, but I much prefer this knowing exactly what is expected of you method than to writing only two pages that describe the organization in detail and explain precisely what the organization will accomplish over the next three years with such limited word space. I guess I am a person of many words, as is the case with most writers!
Back to grants. Each Federal agency has its own criteria and instructions, which can sometimes be larger than the proposal itself, for their grant programs. The step after properly planning the program is to get a hold of the RFP or application and sit down with a nice cup of tea or java or whatever you prefer and comb through every word on every page while taking notes about action steps. After you are done with that, go back through your notes and prioritize each action item and create a timeline which assigns responsibility for completion of each action item for each team member. Remember that most organizations applying for Federal funding are collaborationg with other organizations. Keep in mind that you may need to obtain information from other agencies that have different ways of disseminating information than you are used to. Allow extra time when collaborating with others.
Now to the attachments. The Feds are particular about non profit organizations performing lobbying activites, discriminating against people groups, employing criminals and many other such pesky matters. Forms are provided by the government for the agency that is applying for the grant to sign and include as attachments to the proposal. These are pretty straightforward forms, just don't forget to include them.
The EPA in connection with Purdue Univesity has a nice grant tutorial that offers practical grant proposal writing information and a writing activity.
Yes, the Federal proposals are very time comsuming, can be emotionally draining if the program is not properly planned out, and can be donwright frightening for the first time Federal proposal writer, but the payoff can be huge in terms of dollar amounts awarded and people served through the program.
Perhaps it is because I thrive when I am organized, but I much prefer this knowing exactly what is expected of you method than to writing only two pages that describe the organization in detail and explain precisely what the organization will accomplish over the next three years with such limited word space. I guess I am a person of many words, as is the case with most writers!
Back to grants. Each Federal agency has its own criteria and instructions, which can sometimes be larger than the proposal itself, for their grant programs. The step after properly planning the program is to get a hold of the RFP or application and sit down with a nice cup of tea or java or whatever you prefer and comb through every word on every page while taking notes about action steps. After you are done with that, go back through your notes and prioritize each action item and create a timeline which assigns responsibility for completion of each action item for each team member. Remember that most organizations applying for Federal funding are collaborationg with other organizations. Keep in mind that you may need to obtain information from other agencies that have different ways of disseminating information than you are used to. Allow extra time when collaborating with others.
Now to the attachments. The Feds are particular about non profit organizations performing lobbying activites, discriminating against people groups, employing criminals and many other such pesky matters. Forms are provided by the government for the agency that is applying for the grant to sign and include as attachments to the proposal. These are pretty straightforward forms, just don't forget to include them.
The EPA in connection with Purdue Univesity has a nice grant tutorial that offers practical grant proposal writing information and a writing activity.
Yes, the Federal proposals are very time comsuming, can be emotionally draining if the program is not properly planned out, and can be donwright frightening for the first time Federal proposal writer, but the payoff can be huge in terms of dollar amounts awarded and people served through the program.
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