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Grants and Foundations Review
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About Grants and Foundations Review™
The thousands of grant writers and funders who are members of CharityChannel have contributed hundreds of articles to Grants and Foundations Review over the years. Articles cover all facets of grantsmanship, and tackle just about every topic imaginable.
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Assessing Organizational Readiness Among Stymied Grantseekers
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
by Stacie Harting Marsh
“Hi…I heard you write grants, and I need the grant.”
Well, yes, I do write, but I write proposals (or applications) to apply for grants. I don’t actually write the grants themselves. And no, I probably won’t write for “the grant” since there are numerous grant opportunities you should consider.
I don’t mean to sound pompous. As a new consultant, I used to welcome these eager grant seekers with open arms, offering to shepherd them into a wealth of grant-funded bliss. Inevitably, we were less than successful. Over the years, I have developed a list of screening criteria to quickly assess the organizational readiness of new grant seekers before I spend my limited work hours (and their limited resources) pursuing something they are not ready for.
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Jettison the Jargon for Grant Success
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
by Kristie Traver, CFRE
There is a classic scene in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam in which Robin Williams’ character, Adrian Cronauer, remarks to another character “Seeing as how the VP is such a VIP, shouldn’t we keep the PC on the QT, because if it leaks to the VC, he could end up MIA, and then we’d all be put on KP.” The scene is incredibly funny not only for the amazing use of so many acronyms in a single sentence, but also for the seemingly bewildered looks displayed by the other characters. As the audience, we aren’t completely certain that these military characters fully understand the military jargon with which they have just been peppered. While these confounded gazes are very amusing in a movie scene, the same gazes from those reviewing your jargon-laden grant would be significantly less humorous, especially when it meant your worthy program received absolutely no funding.
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What I Wish Foundation Program Officers Knew About Grant Developers
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
by Toby Fox
In comparison to other fundraising vehicles, grant development is an area of fundraising that suits my personality because of its predictability. Although there is no such thing as a “perfect” grant, I appreciate knowing in advance exactly what I need to do in order to make the best possible case for support. The questions might change, and the specific requirements might vary, but at the end of the day there is a clear rhyme and reason to the work.
With all of that said, there are moments when interactions between myself and program officers leaves me scratching my head. One of the keys to building a positive working relationship is open communication, so I present the following: What I Wish Foundation Program Officers Knew About Grant Developers (like me!).
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Beyond the Weeds: Making the Best Out of Your Time in Researching Grant Opportunities
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
by Arvetta Jideonwo
Researching grant opportunities can be a difficult and time-consuming process, especially when you are searching for program funds in a specific field or industry. In many cases, during this process you find extraneous opportunities that can distract you. Don’t get sidetracked because they may have specific eligibility requirements or lead to dead-ends in your search for viable grant funding. Other times, we can get caught up in “cherry-picking” or “dialing for dollars,” both of which can negatively impact our organizations and our grant-seeking efforts.
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Are We Ready to Apply for Grants?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
by Saadia Faruqi
If I had a penny for each time a client has instructed me to “write some proposals and get some money,” I would be swimming in pennies. It seems to be the rallying cry for countless organizational leaders who fail to realize that writing and submitting proposals needs much more preparation and groundwork than just writing and submitting alone. One of the key elements to getting funded is determining whether the organization is ready to apply. Contrary to popular opinion among non-grant professionals, one cannot and should not apply to every funder that exists within a hundred-mile radius.
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Beatitudes for Friends of Grant Writers
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
by Rebecca Shawver
So often as grant professionals, we bemoan the fact that those outside our field don’t understand our work, our passion, our challenges, and our frustrations. But recently as I reflected on just who my grant team members really are, I was reminded that countless others contribute to my success.
With many kudos coming my way in recent months, I am blessed to have the support of many other dedicated professionals. The following is dedicated to the unsung “heroes” that continue to make my success possible.
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A Grant Professional’s Challenge: How to Beat Burn-Out?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
by Arvetta Jideonwo
Recently, my son was ill. Caring for him, while trying to maintain a balance between my family obligations and work life, left me tired, worn out, and over-worked. Striving to be a good mother, wife and grant professional, I find that I am continually challenged to maintain a balance between my personal and work lives. I know that a healthy balance between my different lives is critical to my success and happiness.
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Is Your Story Worth Buying?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
by Rebecca Shawver
Every grant professional that I know loves to read. And I’m sure that we can all agree, no one likes reading long, boring, and repetitive stories. Rather a short story or a full link novel, we want excitement in our books. And most of us are long past reading formula novels such as Nancy Drew mysteries and the Adventures of the Hardy Boy. We want our novels to be just that, novel. Interesting and exciting. Unpredictable and thrilling.
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Projections Should Be Based on Facts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
by Rebecca Shawver
From the start of my grant writing career, setting performance objectives has always been one of the most difficult challenges I faced with each new proposal writing assignment. As a grant professional, many of the staff and administrators assumed that I would know what figures to insert. But as every grant writer knows, the typical Request for Proposal does not indicate how many clients the funder would like its grantees to serve, nor does it indicate specific outcome measurements or success indicators. These are left to the discretion of applicants.
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Show and Tell -- and Ask
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
by Teri S. Blandon, CFRE
Funders stop supporting our nonprofits for a number of reasons – their endowments drop; they shift their programmatic focus; or, as often happens with government agencies, a specific grant program is no longer funded. All of these situations are out of our control. But sometimes, the reason why the donor walked away is within our control, such as when the donor doesn’t feel connected to our organization or no longer trusts it. Therefore, a stewardship strategy is an important part of a successful fundraising plan -- as important as writing the proposal.
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Developing Skills and Techniques to Make Yourself Valuable at Work
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
by Cheryl L. Kester
Especially during times of economic weakness, we are interested in ways to make ourselves stand out at work — for bosses and other leaders to recognize our true value. Of course, as grant professionals, we are expected to raise funds by producing excellent grant proposals. That goes without saying.
But it has been my experience that colleagues and supervisors rarely understand the amount of work required to craft a truly excellent proposal, that it’s not “just writing.” We have also all experienced the phenomenon of everyone else getting credit when the proposal is successful but the blame falling only on us when it is not.
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Securing Federal Grants: Best Practices from Proposal Planning through Award Notification
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
by Stacie Harting Marsh, MPA
Is your job performance or consultancy tied to your success in securing major grants? Have you been successful in achieving grant funds from local, state, and even national foundations, but always dreamed of securing a multi-million dollar federal award for your organization or your clients? Are you frustrated by the disappointment of spending countless hours planning, writing, and packaging a federal application, to no avail? Even the most seasoned grant writer can be stumped by what it takes to score the elusive federal grant....
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Writing a Winning Grant Application - Needs Assessment
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
by Eva Booker
There are a number of key components required in most grant applications. In today’s competitive funding environment, successful grant applications must thoroughly address all components. The three most critical components are needs assessment, program design, and impacts or outcomes. This article will focus on how successful grant writers present relevant needs assessment statements.
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If You Nearly Missed Your Last Grant Deadline, You Need to Read This!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
by Rebecca Shawver
We’ve all heard nightmare stories of colleagues that worked diligently to complete a complex federal grant application only to have its submission derailed by an uncooperative administrator or staff member. As friends, we commiserate with each other about the lack of respect and appreciation shown to grant professionals by other agency personnel when they refuse to cooperate. All too often their lack of commitment to the grant process results in missed deadlines, wasted effort, and lost grant funds.
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Grant Writing – I Can Survive!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
by Becky Day-Swain
While there is no typical week when you’re a grant writer, sometimes the routine must be noted. As a grant writer, Monday is my favorite day. It’s proof that I survived the weekend and the stress of trying not to work (much less trying not to think about all those looming grant deadlines). Whew! I’m starting my week off exhausted from not trying to do so much.
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Sharing Bad News with Funders
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
by Saadia Faruqi
Grant professionals often become so focused on writing the proposal that the grant award receives comparatively little attention – at least by the grants department. After mailing the funder a thank-you letter, the paperwork is sent to the program staff and the check is deposited by the accounting department. From that moment on, the torch is officially passed to those outside the grant office.
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Developing a Convincing Needs Statement
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
by Lynne T. Dean, CFRE
What makes the needs statement such a crucial and interesting part of a grants proposal? This is the section that provides the grant writer the chance to not only spark the grant maker’s interest but also....
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Revisited: Grant Seeking in Tough Economic Times
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
by Tony Silbert
A year ago, at what now is considered the height of the financial crisis, I wrote about the potential impact of the impending economic collapse on grant seeking. (See, Grant Seeking in Tough Economic Times, Grants and Foundations Review, October 8, 2008.) Today, with perfect 20/20 hindsight, I would like to take on the bold and humbling task of assessing my predictions and see if it is time to trade in my gas-guzzling crystal ball for a more efficient model.
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The Grant Professional’s Role in Program Design
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
by Saadia Faruqi
More than any other section of a proposal, program descriptions can be the biggest headache for grant professionals. Countless times I have asked myself questions as I start writing descriptions of a nonprofit’s intake procedures, evaluation plans, or other program aspects. “How can they ever accomplish this?” “Who thought of that?” And sadly, “Are you kidding me?”
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A Grant Contract Isn’t a Suggestion!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
by Rebecca Shawver
Throughout my career I have noted that far too often, program staff and administrators discuss and debate the meaning of the words "grant contract." What does this term really mean? Is it really a binding contract? Why can’t we buy that new computer we need? After all, we have grant funds left over.
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How to Gain Support for Those Pesky Operating Funds
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
by Alyssa Hanada
It is one of the most common nonprofit woes: Foundations say they won’t support operating funds. So how do we cover our bottom line?!
Does this mean every time your agency approaches a foundation for a grant, it has to be for a new program? Of course not! That would not make sense for most agencies, especially in today’s economy. So how do you gain support to keep your agency running and get around the “no operating funds” stance?
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Looking Beyond the Usual Places for Funding
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
by Jeannette Archer-Simons
Habits are hard to break. Thus, it is not surprising that we often go back to the same comfortable sources for funding because we can count on them for support. While having great relationships with funding partners is good, always asking for help from the same friends can wear out the relationship. So now is a great time to step back and look for sources that may be closer to your organization than you think — but haven’t been asked recently to help. Let’s step into the “opportunity zone” and identify new potential sources beyond the usual places for funding.
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Telecommuting is a 21st Century Possibility – Part 4
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
by Jenifer McEnery
Setting Up For and Evaluating Success
Setting up for and evaluating success will determine your longevity as a telecommuter. Though taking a digital photo in place of faxing or scanning was a pretty good improvisation and worked, I definitely needed a better solution in my offsite work office. Developing a work plan that essentially dissects all of your job functions and creates a road map for completing each of those functions is the best way to ensure success.
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Telecommuting is a 21st Century Possibility – Part 3
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
by Jenifer McEnery
As part of my proposal and negotiations to telecommute, I assured my supervisor (and others) that my arrangement would not interfere with work. This is a key factor for most organizations when considering a proposal to telecommute; but, it was especially important for my organization, as it didn’t have a telecommuting policy. Complicating matters, there was no precedent to guide my organization. Specifically, no other employee had tried this full-time — much less while working overseas.
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Coming Soon to a Community Near You - Collaborative Partnerships
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
by Lynne T. Dean, CFRE
In Austin, Texas, a group of nonprofit and community leaders recently gathered to explore the question of whether Central Texas has too many nonprofit organizations. Using data from a variety of sources and their own insights on nonprofits and the region, Matt Kouri, executive director of Greenlights for NonProfit Success, and Deborah Edward, Ph.D., RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, led the discussion. They spotlighted some interesting facts and figures and offered strategies for addressing the situation.
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Would You Like to Write for CharityChannel?
CharityChannel was created in 1992 as a community of nonprofit-sector colleagues who shared a vision to create a professional community where members can help each other by sharing their expertise with each other. One of the most important avenues for the exchange of expertise is the opportunity to write original, down-to-earth articles. CharityChannel contributors have penned thousands of articles over the years, and they're just warming up – in the next weeks and months, we're going to expand the article subject areas.
If you have at least several years of experience in the sector and a specific expertise, as evidenced by a demonstrable record of accomplishment, in any of the topic areas listed to the left, you are invited to raise your hand to join one of our Contributors Panels organized around each topic area.
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