March 28, 2019
If you’re new to grant writing or have been unsuccessful in securing grant funding, this post is for you. We’re going to cover three essential truths about grant funding to help you prepare a strong grant strategy.
When it comes to grant funding, you must:
Plan ahead
Know your organization’s capabilities
Set reasonable expectations
Plan Ahead
Unfortunately for all the procrastinators out there, if you want to secure grant funding, you need to plan ahead. If you learn about a grant opportunity a week or two before the deadline, unless it is a very short application that does not require a detailed budget, you should not apply. If you want to prepare a competitive proposal that actually has a chance of winning, you will need more than a couple of weeks to assemble the application.
How much time do you need? It depends on the complexity of the grant application, but if it requires a 5-page or longer proposal narrative and a detailed budget, you should set aside at least two weeks for even the simplest proposal. During those two weeks, you will need to clear your calendar to focus on the proposal.
The best strategy is to plan your proposal calendar months in advance. How can you do this? By dedicating a block of time at least once a week (preferably every day) to researching potential funders. When you find something you’re eligible for that looks interesting, look at the deadline. Given the grant application requirements, is the application deadline far enough in the future to allow you time to prepare a high-quality proposal? If the answer is “yes,” you can start planning the proposal process. If the answer is “no”—and the funder accepts applications for the opportunity annually—then you’ll want to check the funder’s website periodically to see when the opportunity opens up again. While you wait for the opportunity to go live, you can start preparing the materials you know you’ll need for the application.
Why do you need to dedicate so much time to a document that may be just a few pages in length?
Because getting a grant is a competitive process. You are up against other organizations that want the grant as much as (or more than) you do. You must prepare proposals that are clearly written and persuasive to have a chance of winning a grant, and for most of us, this kind of writing takes time and doesn’t come naturally. In fact, the shorter the application, the harder it is to write because you have to choose every word carefully.
If you don’t have time to prepare a quality grant application, don’t waste your time by applying. Your goal as a grant seeker should not be to submit as many grant proposals as you can in a given period. The goal should be to prepare a select number of high-quality, competitive proposals that have a reasonable chance of being funded.
Know Your Organization's Capabilities (and Its Limits)
Knowing the needs of your beneficiary population is not the same as being eligible for grant funding. This is true regardless of whether you are doing a phenomenal job of serving your beneficiaries. Why? Grant funding is not about getting money; it’s about getting money for a specific purpose. It’s about receiving money because of what you can offer the funder, which includes effective project and fiscal management. The funder knows you are seeking money — that’s why you submitted the grant application — but the funder will not award a grant to the organization that appears to “need” the money the most. Funders evaluate proposals based on several criteria, including how responsive the proposal is to the funding opportunity announcement, whether the applicant has demonstrated the capacity to manage a funded project based on their past performance, and the level of skills and experience of key personnel.
To receive grant money, an organization must show it has the capacity to manage funds, accomplish project goals, and meet funder requirements related to reporting on project outcomes.
Your organization may be eligible to apply for grant funding from a particular funder because of the population you serve or the nature of your work, but this does not make you a competitive grant applicant.
Many nonprofits believe the primary barrier to securing more grant funding is the difficulty of finding open grant opportunities. The reality is more complicated. You need to find opportunities to apply to, that’s a given. However, to have a chance at receiving a grant, you must have policies and procedures in place to manage funds and programs. If you do not have a fiscal management system in place or accurate data on how many beneficiaries you’ve served or projects you’ve led—and if you cannot show how your work is making a difference—it’s going to be a challenge to secure a grant.
This leads us to the final truth: setting reasonable expectations.
Set Reasonable Expectations for Your Grant Program
A grant will not solve all of your organization’s funding issues. A grant can be part of a solution, but alone, winning a grant will not be enough to keep your doors open long term.
Setting reasonable expectations for your grant program involves several steps. One part involves identifying the funding opportunities you want to pursue in the coming year and estimating the likelihood of winning a grant. The second part involves having a clear understanding of why you need the money and of the other revenue sources available to you.
While grant money can be a good source of revenue, you’ll need other sources of income to meet your organization’s operating expenses. Relying on grant money means your revenue will ebb and flow. You may win several grants in one year, but few or none the next, and your programs and services will have to adjust accordingly. The only way to counter this natural cycle and create a more consistent funding stream is to have additional revenue sources, such as fundraising events and individual donors.
Additionally, grant money is not a good option if you primarily need to cover general operating expenses.
Do you need an influx of funds to meet some well-defined objective? If the answer is “yes," grants can be good for that. Do you need funds to pay rent and utilities for your office, or to pay staff to manage core programs with no end date? Grants are not a good fit for these ongoing costs. Although you may get a portion of your overhead costs covered through a grant, few grants provide 100% unrestricted funds for operating costs.
Lastly, when you plan your grant strategy, it’s important to factor in your organization’s status. If you are a small organization that does not have a track record of winning grants, you’ll want to be very conservative in your projections of how many grants you might win and their dollar value.
You Are Committed to Getting Grant Funding. Now What?
If you have determined that grant funding is something you want to pursue, your first step should be to evaluate your organization. You will need to know your organization’s programmatic and funding history, as well as its administrative capacity, to identify opportunities you are eligible to apply for and have a reasonable chance of winning.
Second, identify the resources available to you for preparing grant applications. While volunteer grant writers can sometimes be found, you shouldn’t count on finding a volunteer to help you. Assuming you must depend solely on your organization’s staff to write the proposals, how much time and effort can your organization reasonably dedicate to pursuing grant funding?
Third, pull out a calendar and block off time each week to search for opportunities. To stack the deck in your favor and give you as much time as possible to prepare the application, it’s very important to identify opportunities as soon as they arise.
Applying these three steps—planning ahead, evaluating your organization, and setting reasonable expectations—will significantly improve your chances of securing grant funding.
For more guidance on researching opportunities and applying for grants, please explore our courses.