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Private, Corporate, or Government Grants?

June 10, 2010 By Sandy

When it comes to grantwriting, it can be confusing to decide which kinds of grants to go after.  Here’s a quick-and-dirty explanation of private, corporate, and government grants.

Typically, I like to go after private foundation grant opportunities first.  They tend to be the easiest to apply for and the easiest to follow up on.  If I can find someone on my organization’s Board who knows someone on the foundation Board, it helps so much to make that connection.  I’ve had great success in building relationships with private foundations that lasted for years and resulted in thousands of dollars for my organizations.

Next I go after corporate foundations.  These tend to give money to organizations with missions that are aligned with their business purpose.  These can fluctuate with the economy, but are still a great source of funding.

Government grants tend to be much larger, but have more strings attached.  The applications are usually much more complicated and involve lots more work, but the payoff is really worth it.

Next week, I’ll be starting a 3-part webinar series called “Secrets to Winning Grants” where I’ll be going into a lot of detail about how to research grant opportunities and how to put a winning proposal together.  Get 3 one-hour webinars plus the workbook for $197.  Learn more or sign up at www.getfullyfunded.com/grantwriting-secrets.

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Top 4 nonprofit grantwriting mistakes

June 8, 2010 By Sandy

Writing grants is one of the most popular fundraising techniques for nonprofit organizations. With hundreds of foundations out there offering millions of dollars to fund a variety of programs, it’s easy to understand why Fundraising staff and volunteers want to write proposals to seek funding.

Unfortunately, there are lots of ways to make mistakes and lessen your chances of receiving a grant.  Here are the top four mistakes commonly made by grant writers.

  1. Not having a ‘hand-in-glove’ fit. Before you even begin to write, make sure your funding request will be a good fit for the foundation.  Each foundation has its own areas of interest, and you want to be sure that your proposal will be accepted.  Otherwise, it’s a waste of time. So take the time to thoroughly research a foundation before you submit a proposal.  Call and talk to the Administrator before you submit a proposal to find out if your project or program is a fit.  It will save you time and effort, and increase your overall success rate in securing grant funds.
  2. Not following directions. Follow a foundation’s request submission instructions!  If the foundation requests that you submit your request in a particular format, then do it.  This is not the time to get creative.  Some foundations use this as a criteria to eliminate proposals and you don’t want to lose your chance at getting funded simply because you ignored their directions.
  3. Not writing clearly. Compose your grant proposal carefully.  Be clear and concise – don’t ramble.  Don’t use jargon or words that grant reviewers won’t understand.  Spell out acronyms. Don’t be vague about the objectives of your program or project.  One good way to check your writing is to ask someone who is unfamiliar with your organization to review your proposal for you before you submit it.  They can usually give you some good feedback on how understandable your writing is.
  4. Problems with budget numbers. Make sure the numbers in your budget make sense and that they are consistent with your narrative.  Double-check your math and be certain that the totals are accurate.

Want more help with your grantwriting?  Check out my “Secrets to Winning Grants” webinar series.  It’s actually part of my Fundraising Makeover program and starts next week.  Learn more or register at www.getfullyfunded.com/grantwriting-secrets.

Writing grants is one of the most popular fundraising techniques for nonprofit organizations. With hundreds of foundations out there offering millions of dollars to fund a variety of programs, it’s easy to understand why Fundraising staff and volunteers want to write proposals to seek funding.

Unfortunately, there are lots of ways to make mistakes and lessen your chances of receiving a grant. Here are the top four mistakes commonly made by grant writers.

1. Not having a ‘hand-in-glove’ fit. Before you even begin to write, make sure your funding request will be a good fit for the foundation. Each foundation has its own areas of interest, and you want to be sure that your proposal will be accepted. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time. So take the time to thoroughly research a foundation before you submit a proposal. Call and talk to the Administrator before you submit a proposal to find out if your project or program is a fit. It will save you time and effort, and increase your overall success rate in securing grant funds.

2. Not following directions. Follow a foundation’s request submission instructions! If the foundation requests that you submit your request in a particular format, then do it. This is not the time to get creative. Some foundations use this as a criteria to eliminate proposals and you don’t want to lose your chance at getting funded simply because you ignored their directions.

3. Not writing clearly. Compose your grant proposal carefully. Be clear and concise – don’t ramble. Don’t use jargon or words that grant reviewers won’t understand. Spell out acronyms. Don’t be vague about the objectives of your program or project. One good way to check your writing is to ask someone who is unfamiliar with your organization to review your proposal for you before you submit it. They can usually give you some good feedback on how understandable your writing is.

4. Problems with budget numbers. Make sure the numbers in your budget make sense and that they are consistent with your narrative. Double-check your math and be certain that the totals are accurate.

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Unlock Your Grant Writing Talent

June 4, 2010 By Sandy

Today’s blog post is provided by my dear friend and grant writer extraordinaire, Charlaine Hood.

The biggest tip about writing a grant is to get over your fear: of failure, of not getting it right, of not including enough…what ever your mind is telling you to hold you back from ever trying to write that B-I-G grant.   However, the focus of this article isn’t about fear holding you back.  It’s about what could possibly be created if you unlocked your potential in spite of the fear.

Sandy has said many times:  ‘Reach into your heart and unlock your passion around fundraising.’  This is great advice for writing grants.  Close your eyes, (Yes, right now.) and think about what it is that you LOVE about your organization.  What just grounds you down to your toes in the work you do each day?  Now hold that image, breathe it in, experience it and let your potential flow.

From here, what would you write?  How would you speak about your clients, staff, organization, national focus and mission?  From this space of OMG I LOVE WHAT WE DO, take a sheet of paper and write:

Funding my project is important because:

We will accomplish ___ with the funds so generously given.

_#_ lives will be changed in ______ ways.

Evidence to support this is ____ (any empirical + all the years of success from past projects as well as lessons learned).

KEEP THIS TEMPLATE! Revise it, reuse it, replace components as your organization grows.  Stay away from the ‘I don’t know how’ mentality and go for writing at least one grant in this manner.

The grant request usually makes this even easier by specifying either a page or ½ a page for just this content.  And if it doesn’t, always remember that there is a committee who will be reviewing the grant requests.  Be sharp, focused and direct in what you are requesting and what your organization will be giving for those funds.

Using just this method over the last few years, I have written and received over 1.3 million dollars in grants.  Let your love of your organization inform what you do.

Charlaine Hood, LMSW is the owner of Vibrantly Alive Consulting & Nonprofit Mentoring.  She works with small to medium sized nonprofits to create strategic solutions for nonprofit issues.  She gained practical experience the last four years as a management executive at a large, faith based nonprofit managing a multi-million dollar budget with diverse programs around the East Tennessee region.  Visit her website:  www.charlainehood.com for more information of what she has to offer your organization.

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