Grant Writing 101

Grant Writing 101

Grants and Granters

A grant is a financial award given by a

foundation or other entity to a recipient to carry

out a program or project to benefit greater good. Government Family/trusts Corporate Community

State of Foundations

93,000 foundations in the U.S. 59% are family-run and account for 7% of

total foundation giving Giving was up 1.8% in 2011 - $41.67 billion 14% of all giving

- Giving USA

Grant Pros

Once a recipient, often a recipient again Once you have a system in place, can be

adjusted for multiple grants One of the biggest sources of funding for

nonprofits Great ROI in comparison to other

fundraising

strategies

Grant Cons

Extremely competitive Lengthy period of time until rewarded Majority of granters want pilot programs Not enough money to go around

How to Find Foundations

Two Important Resources

Local corporation and community websites Companies in your area of expertise

Grant Writing is Like Dating

Research Like You’re Prepping for a Date

Former grantees

Grant interests

Who Can Be Your Wingman?

Corporate funders want some kind of

employee connection Volunteer Board member Someone who has been helped

What Does the GranterExpect on the Date?

Timelines Guidelines Application directions Additional information

How They Want to be Wooed

What If There’s Not a PerfectMatch?

Tailor your idea to an RFP carefully Ex. Show benefits from an educational standpoint as opposed to blindness prevention

Don’t waste your time – or your granter’s

time if no appropriate fit Restructuring your program to meet a

funder’s needs can hurt in the long run

Your Proposal

The Pieces of Your Proposal

Cover letter Summary/abstract Needs assessment Program/project description Budget Evaluation Sustainability Supporting materials

Summary/Abstract

Elevator speech Main highlights of your program, the issue

to be resolved, and your end goals Brief mention of funding request The woo-hoo factor

Needs Assessment

Outlines the issue, why it exists and why it

hasn’t been solved. Community analysis Target analysis Gaps in service Statistics

Put a face to the program

Program/Project Description

Outlines your plan of action to solve the problem Expected outcomes

Good/Bad Outcome Examples

Bad: 1,000 youth between the ages of 12 & 16

will have participated in a 6-week education

program on violence prevention (this is actually

an output)

Good: 1,000 youth between the ages of 12 & 16

will increase their knowledge by 40% in conflict

resolution & anger management by June 30, 2012

- Fundamentals of Grant Writing, TICUA.org

Program/Project DescriptionCont.

Goals – qualitative, abstract, long-term Are they SMART?

Objectives – quantitative, measurable,

specific, short-term Activities to put your plan into action

Evaluation

How the results will be measured Evaluation methods

Sustainability

How will the program continued beyond the

funding period?

Supporting Materials

Letters of support (if applicable) IRS letter 990’s Financial audits Board list

Why Grants Fail

Not enough money to go around Program not right at this time Exaggerated results Complicated or jargon-filled application Lack of alignment with granter’s interests Guidelines not followed Unrealistic budget or cost greater than goal

Set Yourself Apart

Pull at the Heartstrings

Collaboration

Partnership

Build relationship with granter Volunteer opportunities Keep them informed of developments Ask for feedback

Spread the Word

Thank you letters Press releases Social media Announcements in marketing materials

Stay on Top of Grants

Keep a calendar Running files of grants Supplement file Grant Friday

The Results

40% of grant writers have a 75% success rate

30% have a 51-75% success rate

- Research Associates

Questions?