Studying grant writing is a ceremony of passage for a lot of nonprofit professionals. Many people first dive into grant writing with minimal (and even no) prior expertise.
Writing a grant proposal may look like an enormous, scary job. In any case, you’re presenting your group for judgment with actual cash and help on the road throughout a time when many nonprofits are seeing drops of their donation numbers.
Whereas that is all true, it’s essential to do not forget that grant writing is admittedly only a collection of steps, not a mysterious course of that leads to cash for some fortunate nonprofits and rejections for others.
Profitable grant writing comes all the way down to group, cautious decision-making, and expertise. The extra you strive, the extra classes you choose up and the higher you turn out to be (which is why many organizations depend on grant writing freelancers who focus solely on the craft).
However let’s say you’re working in-house and simply bought handed your first grant writing project—what subsequent? We break it down into an approachable 10-step course of.
Step 1: Perceive the Grant Panorama and Course of.
First, you’ll want some context to make extra knowledgeable choices. Spend a while studying extra about these key areas of the grant panorama:
- Funders. Non-public foundations, public foundations (technically known as public charities), authorities businesses on the native, state, and federal ranges, and companies are the first sorts of organizations that present grants to nonprofits.
- Funding buildings. Grants are available in a couple of totally different styles and sizes. Funding may be restricted to the particular mission specified by your proposal or unrestricted for common use. Payouts may be given suddenly or supplied in installments. The full worth may be a flat sum of money or matched, that means the grant supplies a sure portion of your mission’s complete prices (typically 50%). Every of those classes can deliver totally different reporting issues that you just’ll want to grasp forward of time, as nicely.
- The phases of the grant lifecycle. There’s extra to grant searching for than writing a proposal and profitable funding, most notably the post-award steps of grant administration and reporting. Carefully following your funder’s reporting pointers not solely ensures compliance and easy payouts but in addition units you up nicely for future partnerships.
- The elements of a grant proposal. When you’re model new to grant searching for, you’ll want to grasp the totally different sections and paperwork that make up a typical proposal. The precise necessities and order will range from grant to grant, however you’ll be able to usually anticipate to see these sections:
Take a look at Be taught Grant Writing’s introductory information for a breakdown of those frequent parts and paperwork.
Step 2: Assessment Your Nonprofit’s Undertaking.
What are you searching for funding for? The overwhelming majority of grants are restricted, that means they’re supposed to fund particular tasks, packages, or initiatives.
Ideally, your nonprofit already is aware of the brand new tasks that want funding as a part of its broader strategic plan and calendar.
Do not put the cart earlier than the horse—solely apply for grant alternatives that align together with your mission and what you already need to accomplish. Don’t provide you with new tasks and packages solely for the sake of making use of for a grant. It is a recipe for mission drift, disorganization, and in the end, a much less targeted and efficient nonprofit.
Step 3: Analysis Grant Alternatives.
Begin in search of your first (or subsequent) grant to use for.
There are numerous useful sources to take a look at. For presidency grants, depend on the official grants.gov web site. Candid and The Nationwide Council of Nonprofits present useful directories for all kinds of basis grants, as nicely.
Memberships and paid platforms are additionally out there and supply extra options that may allow you to construct a constant grant funding pipeline. Instrumentl and GrantStation are each fashionable selections on this class.
Begin your analysis by discovering alternatives that align together with your mission, supposed mission, worth, and timeframe. Don’t be afraid to place collectively an extended listing at this stage.
Step 4: Prioritize Your Choices.
Subsequent, start narrowing down your listing of grant alternatives to people who will give you the best likelihood of success. A number of standards can assist you prioritize your alternatives, together with:
- Mission alignment between your nonprofit and the funder
- Undertaking alignment with the grant’s acknowledged function and objectives
- Any present connections you might need with the funder
- Applicant success charge, or the variety of awardees over the whole variety of candidates for previous grants supplied by the funder
- The prominence of the funder or the niche-ness of the grant (as proxy measures of competitiveness)
- The price of pursuing the grant or the trade-off of time spent making use of for and managing it versus its precise worth or impression in your mission
There’s nobody excellent technique to measure competitiveness, and your consolation zone will range relying on the particular circumstances. One useful rule of thumb we suggest is to prioritize grants with applicant success charges of 20% or larger.
Bear in mind, too, that you may (and will) attain out on to funders to be taught extra when you can’t discover related info on-line or by way of any databases you employ.
Work by way of your listing a number of occasions, narrowing it all the way down to a handful of one of the best alternatives. Once you’ve settled in your #1, it’s time to start out making use of.
Step 5: Dive Deep into the Grant’s Pointers.
Your chosen grant’s pointers and necessities would be the basis of every thing that comes subsequent. Take your time to learn, learn, and reread them.
Actively search clarification from the funder and skilled group members as wanted. Higher to speculate the time in understanding the rules now than wrestle by way of the appliance course of later and notice you’re off-target!
Step 6: Put together a Narrative Skeleton.
Start by giving your self a strong construction to construct on, one which’s constructed instantly from the acknowledged necessities of the grant. It will preserve you on monitor, save time, and end in a more practical proposal.
We name it the “narrative skeleton.” Work your manner by way of the grant’s pointers and necessities and compile them into an overview.
Use the precise language from the rules because the part headings—this may instantly convey relevance to your funder. Start brainstorming speaking factors and sorts of knowledge to incorporate in every part as you consider them, however don’t fear about filling within the particulars and drafting full sentences but. The aim is just to put the groundwork with an easy-to-use template that you just’ll later fill in and polish right into a completed product.
Step 7: Kick Off the Undertaking and Acquire the Obligatory Data
Grant proposals include info gathered from throughout a corporation, so that they often require enter from a number of group members and departments. Earlier than you start drafting your proposal, it’s a good suggestion to sync up with the people who’ll allow you to alongside the best way.
Whereas making ready your narrative skeleton, you recognized info that you just’ll want on your proposal, like impression knowledge about previous packages or projections on your proposed mission. Put together an agenda and invite the people who can assist you collect this info to a grant kickoff assembly.
Throughout your assembly, evaluation the next necessities:
- The grant, the funder, and the rules
- Your timeline and supposed submission date
- The info you want, from whom, and by when
- The way to share info and paperwork with the grant group
- Anecdotes and constituent suggestions that might be useful to assemble
That is additionally the time to debate some essential logistics. Your group ought to finalize the price range on your proposed mission as quickly as potential (particularly for matching grants) so that you could embrace it in your proposal. Focus on any extra documentation required by the grant, and get the ball rolling on securing it quickly. For some organizations, it will probably take fairly some time to safe official board resolutions, as an example.
Reply questions, thank everybody for his or her time, and comply with up as wanted. The secret’s to be organized—nobody needs to be roped right into a mission the place they don’t perceive what’s wanted of them or when.
Step 8: Write Your Grant Narrative.
After your assembly, and as knowledge and enter start rolling in, begin drafting your major grant proposal. Contemplate these greatest practices to assist make this course of as easy and efficient as potential:
- Begin from the tip and work backward. Most grants finish with the meatier and extra advanced sections, like sustainability plans and budgets. Attempt to sort out these first to each get them out of the best way and to maintain their essential particulars recent in your thoughts as you draft the sooner, extra narrative-driven sections.
- Observe storytelling greatest practices. Energetic language, use of the primary individual, illustrative particulars, actual folks and locations, and a dynamic, constructive tone all assist your readers higher envision their very own roles in your story and people of your neighborhood. Attempt to strike the proper steadiness of delicate however emotionally compelling storytelling.
- Steadiness your narrative with arduous numbers. Funders are moved by tales, however they’ve to make use of numbers to make choices. Be sure that your proposal makes a balanced case that’s defensible from each the qualitative and quantitative angles. Use knowledge for example the issue you’re fixing, your progress up to now, and the way a lot additional your new mission will push you towards success.
- Keep targeted and impact-forward. Write from a place of power reasonably than shortage; that’s, whilst you ought to clearly illustrate the issues at hand, preserve the deal with the way you’re shifting ahead urgently and deliberately. Tie your major speaking factors again to measurable impression at any time when potential and illustrate them with tangible examples and particulars.
We suggest tackling this step quick and furiously.
When you’ve deliberate out your timeline nicely, you’ll have loads of time to evaluation your proposal, get suggestions, and make revisions, however for now, you need power and momentum. For many grants, it is best to intention to finish a full first draft in 4 days or fewer.
Step 9: Put together the Full Software.
With a whole draft in hand that you just’ve combed by way of and tightened up, it’s time to compile all the extra documentation you’ll want to present the funder. These mostly embrace budgets, resolutions, and letters of help. Bear in mind, it’s by no means a nasty thought to carefully evaluation your grant pointers one final time to ensure you’re not lacking something.
At this stage, you’ll additionally probably need to create a canopy sheet on your proposal that outlines the contents and supplemental supplies.
Step 10: Assessment, Submit, and Take a Breather.
Lastly, ask a teammate to fastidiously evaluation your full proposal and examine it towards the grant’s pointers. Have them search for any big-picture points, lacking particulars, and clunky language.
Then, make your ultimate revisions and submit the grant in accordance with the funder’s directions (ideally a minimum of a day or two earlier than the official deadline).
As soon as it’s out of your fingers, take a breath, let everybody know, thank them for his or her assist, and shake off all of the nervous power. We suggest taking a stroll, bike experience, or simply taking an early afternoon to fulfill up with a good friend. No matter works for you!
This 10-step course of has served us and our grant writing college students nicely, and it ought to function a useful framework on your first forays into the world of grant writing, too. Observe its core suggestions and keep extraordinarily organized. If you wish to make your new expertise official, strive exploring on-line grant writing programs that provide acknowledged certification!
Bonus factors when you go the additional mile on your group—keep in mind the listing of prioritized listing of grant alternatives you developed in Steps 3 and 4?
Revisit them to create a coherent Grant Funding Technique, a yearlong roadmap of grant alternatives that can maintain your present and upcoming tasks. This straightforward train can go a really lengthy technique to streamline your future grant writing efforts and set your nonprofit up for long-term success. Better of luck!
In regards to the Creator
Meredith Noble
Meredith Noble is the co-founder of Be taught Grant Writing, a web-based membership for these constructing their careers in grant writing. Her e book, The way to Write a Grant: Turn into a Grant Writing Unicorn, is a bestseller for nonprofit fundraising and grants. Her experience has been featured in NASDAQ, Forbes, Quick Firm, Enterprise Insider, and different high publications. She has secured over $45 million in grant funding, and her college students have secured over $627 million – a quantity that grows each day. If Meredith’s not biking or snowboarding in Alaska, she may be discovered curled round a steaming cup of green-tea and a superb e book.
