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10 SECRETS TO
WRITING GRANTS THAT GET FUNDED by Cheryl Antier
1. Understand the needs of the grantors. Behind
every foundation grant is a philosophy, intention or basic principal. These
principles not only determine how grants are funded, if you pay attention, they
will also tell you how to approach the foundation and what areas of your
proposal are the most important to the foundation. Before you even start
writing the grant, you need to:
Find out about the granting
organization and understand the reasons they are offering grants
Determine what they want in return for the funds —positive publicity,
leverage of funds, provide vehicle for in-house volunteers?
Discover
who actually will be reviewing your application — is it the director, a
funding or grants committee, bureaucrats?
If the information
isn’t available on their Website, ask for examples of recently funded
projects, and also for some that have been rejected.
2. Develop your proposal to fit the application.
You have a great idea, you've identified a need, and you've got the tools
to make it work. And you have found a grantor who shares your goals. But you
still have to make sure that your project matches the funding guidelines of
each potential funder.
Make sure the major budget items in your
project are clearly eligible for funding.
If only part of your project
is relevant to a particular funding opportunity then find other way to fund the
rest of the project, and let them know (this not only shows them how
resourceful you are, it will ensure that you have enough money to actually fund
your project).
Use the restrictions and guidelines of the grant
opportunity to make sure that you’ve thought your project through and have
planned for all contingencies.
If you don’t understand what the
funder needs or wants, the ASK — don’t make assumptions.
Look at your project through the eyes of the grant reviewer. Where is your
project weak? What are it’s strengths? Are you duplicating services? Do
you have the capacity to carry out the work? If you’ve got any doubts,
now’s the time to address them.
3. Make sure that you understand and can comply with
the eligibility requirements and regulations you must comply with. It's a
waste of everyone’s time and resources to apply for grants whose
requirements are beyond your resources.
Be certain you understand what
you’re getting into — including grant deadlines, scope of work,
reports, etc.
Can your organization commit to the contract and other
legal requirements?
If the application process takes a long time and
funding is not for six months to a year, will your project still be relevant
and ready to go?
4. Get a second opinion, and ask for help when you need
it. Often people don't flock to help with fundraising activities. (I
don’t know why!). But, if you’re new to proposal writing and
you’re taking on the grant writing job for your organization, once
you’ve done the research and know what it’s going to take to put
together a winning grants package, ask for the help you need from others in
your organization.
Get someone else to proofread your application, and
make sure that it’s clear and compelling. A confusing application will end
up in the discard pile. When possible, ask someone who knows little or nothing
about the project, because if they can understand the need, urgency and goals
of the project, you have a better chance that so with the grant reviewer.
The budget is one of the most important parts of your application. If you
don’t understand them, get help from your accountant or someone who does.
Don’t be afraid to ask the grantor for help. Don’t expect
them to write the application, but they can answer specific questions and even
help you to brainstorm ideas.
5. Bring your own resources to the table. Even if
you’re not applying for a “match grant” every funder wants to
get the maximum “bang for their buck”. Identify partners, associated
projects, volunteers, supporters, donors, resources, etc. You want to give them
the sense that you are able to stretch the resources you receive to the maximum
amount.
Provide documentation that you have more time, resources and
expenditures invested into the project than the amount you’re requesting
funds for. Funders want to fund projects that are important and valuable.
Show that you have resources from a variety of places; the broader the
support the better. This will demonstrate that you’re a good risk.
6. Show the public support for your project. Every
project can benefit from grass-roots support and involvement.
Document
the support. This can come from a record of volunteers, testimonials from
clients, newspaper clippings, letters of support, etc.
Go beyond
support from the “usual suspects”. Think outside the box — who
else in the community would benefit from your project, or support it? (Think of
corporate volunteers, other organizations who are in a similar line of work, or
who have similar issues, your local city council members or other politicians,
youth or church groups, etc.)
Provide ways for volunteers to help with
your project, even in the beginning stages. Keep track of the hours spent, take
pictures, get letters of support.
7. Make your application come alive in the minds of the
grant reviewers. Help them to see your project. Use words that paint a
picture of what you want to accomplish. Let them feel your excitement and
passion for your work.
If they are conducting a site visit, have
clients attend. Prepare a short slide show, or put together a photo album. Put
pictures on a Website. (And by the way, don’t forget about new marketing
tools such as blogging. There are many free blogs now, and you can post
pictures, invite comments and provide interaction. You can let the funders know
about your blog before you send in the application, or include the url with
your contact information.
Know your audience. Don’t assume they
know technical jargon or acronyms related to your project. State your goals and
objectives clearly and concisely.
8. Make sure that every sentence in your application
counts. Say what you need to say, but make your words convey exactly what
the funder needs to hear to be able to say yes. Don’t waste their time or
try their patience.
If you don't have a good answer for some of the
questions, be honest and say so.
Use bullets, or bold-face type, or a
list of key elements to convey the high points of your project, and don't bury
them in paragraphs of verbiage.
If you're invited to do a
presentation, practice first, and stick to the point.
Make the grant
easy to read; use a reasonable-sized font and leave enough blank space. Don't
include voluminous attachments, unless you have a very good reason clearly
stated in your application.
Make every word convey an important point
to the grant reviewer; if it's not relevant, leave it out. If allowed, use
pictures, diagrams, plans, or maps instead of long, confusing descriptions.
The history and war stories of your project are vivid and important to
you, but a grant reviewer may not care; keep your background and history brief
and focus instead on the project.
10. Give them what they ask for. If you can't provide the
information requested, call the grantor to be sure it is alright to send in
without it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Antier is the
President/CEO of Dream Weaver Enterprises, a business and fundraising
consulting company that helps their clients to "weave their dreams into
reality" by helping them consistently find the funding they need to succeed.
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