Category Archives: grant writing

Grant Writing is a Service

Nonprofit agencies pay for professional services all the time. I’ve worked with animal welfare agencies that hire veterinarians and Internet technicians and I’ve worked with disability organizations that hire instructors and therapists. Executive Directors (ED) will budget for those services and of course they only employ professionals to do the work. They would never dream of allowing a volunteer to fill in for a veterinarian if they weren’t a licensed vet.

Sometimes when it comes to paying for a grant writer ED’s cut corners, and often anyone with time and a computer will do. Is this something you do as an ED?  Perhaps that’s because you have not been successful at writing grants in the past, so you could feel that securing grants is a matter of throwing proposals against the wall until something sticks.

I can assure you that a professional grant writer is worth the money. A well-crafted narrative can make all the difference in a funding competition. In the current economic times, there are a lot more organizations submitting proposals than ever. In order to secure a share of the money these days, you want your proposal to stand out because it’s outstanding, not because it looks like a amateur wrote it. When I’ve read grants in the past as part of scoring teams, a poorly written grant stands out like a sore thumb.

Grant research and grant writing are very time-consuming activities. I know, I pretty much do them all day, every day. While that’s my job focus, an ED has a lot of other things to do, not the least of which is the care and feeding of their Board and donors. I am amazed that ED’s find any time to write grants at all. I don’t know, but I suspect most of that writing happens in the wee hours of the morning propelled by Starbucks.

I want to suggest to Executive Directors that your time might be better spent on planning fund raising for other legs of the funding stool, events, and donor cultivation. You might be a good grant writer, but those of us who work on grants full time still have an advantage. I’d suggest to you also that hiring a grant writer is not shirking your duty, it is a wise use of time and resources.

A good grant writer can increase your bottom line and relieve you of the task so you can do more of what you’re best at, connecting with people! Grant writing is a professional service and paying for professional services in support of the mission can be a wise investment.

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This post was written by non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link.
 
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Related posts and aticles:
 
Working with a Grant Writer – You Get What You Pay For
Good Grant Writers are like Wedding Planners
Do I Really Need a Grant Writer?

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Grant Research – Square Pegs and Round Holes

Non-profit consultant and grant writer, Derek Link, writes about the trials of grant research:

I used to think that grant writing was the hardest part of grant work, but now I know the harder job is grant seeking. I spend a lot of time looking for grants as part of grant research contracts for nonprofit organizations. It is grueling work. There are so many considerations to look at and so many factors to consider before making a decision to approach a funder with a request. Even with a good search engine, it’s a little like going to the mall with your girlfriend to find that perfect something…for someone.

The rigor of the search process is sometimes hard for a client to understand. They’ll give me a project they want funding for and say something like, “Here find a grant for this video project. I know there’s TONS of money out there for X.” The implication is that finding grants will be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, anyone with Internet could find it!

So I embark on my research looking for organizations that will fund the topic, the format of the project, the intent and scope of the project, the geographic location of the project, and so on. I look for funders who are accepting applications, who still have money after the crash, who haven’t changed their fields of interest, who weren’t victims of Madoff.

Often, I’m holding a square peg and about 99% of the holes out there are round ones. It’s a mistake to hammer the grant request in, and it’s damaging to the funding process in several ways:

  1. A grant project usually represents the energy and ideas of a group or an individual. They’re excited about it and want to move it forward, but only grant money will allow the project to happen. When a bunch of bad leads are followed, time is wasted on writing letters of inquiry and proposals, energy is sapped from the project, and eventually most people give up on finding a grant entirely
  2. Funding agencies, on the other hand, do not appreciate getting applications that are irrelevant to their mission. They offer grant opportunities to fund their mission, they will only fund your project if it aligns well with their mission. So if they are funding round pegs, don’t try to fit a square one into the opportunity. Some funders simply refuse to accept applications because the bulk of applications they received when holding an open solicitation were way off base and simply wasted their staff’s time.

So, make sure that your project fits the funder before making any approach. Due diligence in grant research is the only way to identify a good match between your project and a funder’s mission, and it’s a grind folks!

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Learn more about grant research by viewing one of the free grant research webinars at GrantGoddess.com.

Grant Research – Square Pegs and Round Holes

Non-profit consultant and grant writer, Derek Link, writes about the trials of grant research:

I used to think that grant writing was the hardest part of grant work, but now I know the harder job is grant seeking. I spend a lot of time looking for grants as part of grant research contracts for nonprofit organizations. It is grueling work. There are so many considerations to look at and so many factors to consider before making a decision to approach a funder with a request. Even with a good search engine, it’s a little like going to the mall with your girlfriend to find that perfect something…for someone.

The rigor of the search process is sometimes hard for a client to understand. They’ll give me a project they want funding for and say something like, “Here find a grant for this video project. I know there’s TONS of money out there for X.” The implication is that finding grants will be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, anyone with Internet could find it!

So I embark on my research looking for organizations that will fund the topic, the format of the project, the intent and scope of the project, the geographic location of the project, and so on. I look for funders who are accepting applications, who still have money after the crash, who haven’t changed their fields of interest, who weren’t victims of Madoff.

Often, I’m holding a square peg and about 99% of the holes out there are round ones. It’s a mistake to hammer the grant request in, and it’s damaging to the funding process in several ways:

  1. A grant project usually represents the energy and ideas of a group or an individual. They’re excited about it and want to move it forward, but only grant money will allow the project to happen. When a bunch of bad leads are followed, time is wasted on writing letters of inquiry and proposals, energy is sapped from the project, and eventually most people give up on finding a grant entirely
  2. Funding agencies, on the other hand, do not appreciate getting applications that are irrelevant to their mission. They offer grant opportunities to fund their mission, they will only fund your project if it aligns well with their mission. So if they are funding round pegs, don’t try to fit a square one into the opportunity. Some funders simply refuse to accept applications because the bulk of applications they received when holding an open solicitation were way off base and simply wasted their staff’s time.

So, make sure that your project fits the funder before making any approach. Due diligence in grant research is the only way to identify a good match between your project and a funder’s mission, and it’s a grind folks!

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Learn more about grant research by viewing one of the free grant research webinars at GrantGoddess.com.

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Form a Grant Planning Committee

Non-profit consultant and grant writer, Derek Link, offers some advice about forming a grant planning committee:

For those of you brave enough to read a post with such a seemingly reckless title, one that could severely curtail our readership, forfeit RSS feeds by the millions, and perhaps even be banned in certain Western states, please keep reading you intrepid seekers of grant knowledge.
What I am suggesting is that if your organization needs grants, forming a planning committee will enable you to do several important things:

1) Bring potential collaborative partners to the table – Successful grants these days – large ones in particular – often require that there are collaborative partners. This is because there can be overlapping and competing interests. Funders are worried that grant money will be wasted on poorly targeted or duplicative efforts.

2) Accurately targeting needs for grant funding by spending enough time around a table talking, to truly understand an issue from diverse perspectives. Sometimes the answer to a problem is sharing existing resources not seeking new ones.

3) Break past agency turf wars by spending enough time with leaders from other agencies to form solid relationships. Everyone wants the client to win, but sometimes agencies hold their mission so tightly they drive off potentially helpful collaborative partners.
There are other good reasons for forming a planning committee, and there are also cautions. Here are some key don’ts:

1. Don’t accept members who won’t send a decision-maker to the meetings.

2. Don’t keep members who don’t/won’t make the commitment to attend every time you meet.

3. Don’t birdwalk – Make meetings N.E.A.T. (Nature-Expected Outcomes-Agenda-Time).

4. Identify the common priorities using a needs assessment.

5. Don’t keep meeting if common ground can’t be established.

While another committee and another set of meetings may initiate a reaction similar to a carnival tilt-a-whirl, a grant planning committee can yield well-targeted, productively collaborative grant applications.

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Click here for more great grant writing resources.

Form a Grant Planning Committee

Non-profit consultant and grant writer, Derek Link, offers some advice about forming a grant planning committee:

For those of you brave enough to read a post with such a seemingly reckless title, one that could severely curtail our readership, forfeit RSS feeds by the millions, and perhaps even be banned in certain Western states, please keep reading you intrepid seekers of grant knowledge.
What I am suggesting is that if your organization needs grants, forming a planning committee will enable you to do several important things:

1) Bring potential collaborative partners to the table – Successful grants these days – large ones in particular – often require that there are collaborative partners. This is because there can be overlapping and competing interests. Funders are worried that grant money will be wasted on poorly targeted or duplicative efforts.

2) Accurately targeting needs for grant funding by spending enough time around a table talking, to truly understand an issue from diverse perspectives. Sometimes the answer to a problem is sharing existing resources not seeking new ones.

3) Break past agency turf wars by spending enough time with leaders from other agencies to form solid relationships. Everyone wants the client to win, but sometimes agencies hold their mission so tightly they drive off potentially helpful collaborative partners.
There are other good reasons for forming a planning committee, and there are also cautions. Here are some key don’ts:

1. Don’t accept members who won’t send a decision-maker to the meetings.

2. Don’t keep members who don’t/won’t make the commitment to attend every time you meet.

3. Don’t birdwalk – Make meetings N.E.A.T. (Nature-Expected Outcomes-Agenda-Time).

4. Identify the common priorities using a needs assessment.

5. Don’t keep meeting if common ground can’t be established.

While another committee and another set of meetings may initiate a reaction similar to a carnival tilt-a-whirl, a grant planning committee can yield well-targeted, productively collaborative grant applications.

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Click here for more great grant writing resources.

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Grant Writing Tools You Can Use

Every now and then we like to post about the amazing grant writing tools we have to help you be successful.  Most are totally FREE.  Those that aren’t free are very inexpensive. Please feel free to share these tools with your friends and colleagues. Grant writers need all the help they can get.

New Text Message Tips. This is really new for us.  We’re sending out grant writing tips and grant sources via text message. There are four different groups you can join – you can join them all or juts the one or two that interest you the most. The tips are totally free, but if you don’t have an unlimited text plan with your mobile provider, standard text message rates apply. We’re sending out 2-3 messages per week for each group, so you won’t be inundated with texts and we do not sell third party advertising so you won’t be flooded with ads, either. Here’s how you sign up:

  • Text GRANTS to 313131 for grant writing tips.
  • Text EDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources relating to education.
  • Text KIDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources for youth programs.
  • Text NONPROFIT to 313131 for non-profit development and fund raising tips.

Free online webinars. Right now, we offer free recorded webinars on the following grant writing topics:

  • Top 10 Tips for Grant Wsriting
  • Collaborating with School Districts on Grants
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Research: The Basics
  • Effective Grant Research

In addition to these topics, we have other webinars on various program evaluation and non-profit development topics.  All are between 20 and 40 minutes long (most are about 30 minutes) and all are available for viewing on demand.


BlogTalk Radio Tips from the Grant Goddess.  Every Friday at 3:00 p.m. (Pacific) we air our 30 minute  online radio show, Tips from the Grant Goddess, on BlogTalkRadio. If you miss the live show, you can listen to the recordings on demand at any time. There are currently over 35 shows archived for listening at your leisure.  Some of the many grant writing topics covered in these shows include:

  • The Art and the Science of Grant Writing
  • Tips for Effective Collaboration
  • Budget Development
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Writing: The Basics
  • Grant Seeking
  • Developing a Logic Model
  • Selecting Evidence-Based Programs and Practices

Grant Writing Resources Page. This page has quite a selection of great FREE grant writing resources and tools, including articles and links to other sites with good grant writing resources.

Past Blog Posts. Take some time to go back through the archive of blog posts here.The posts you find are different than the articles we put on the Grant Writing Resources Page. With the exception of news posts, most of our posts are about grant writing tips and techniques that you can still use long after they were initially published.

Grant Tips iPhone App. We took the time to put together an iPhone application with 101+ grant tips to help you succeed with your grant writing.  Currently, the app is available for 99 cents in the App Store. You can get more information here. Pretty soon, the FREE version of the app (Grant Tips Lite) will be available.  It will have only 50 tips, rather than over a hundred, but the other features will all be the same. Stay tuned for more information as we release the new app.

Membership at GrantGoddess.com. Everything I’ve told you about so far has been free (or very inexpensive). A membership at GrantGoddess.com costs only $9.95/month (or you can save some money and get an annual membership for $99/year). On the member site, you’ll have access to the largest collection of grant seeking, grant writing, program evaluation, and non-profit development resources available on the web! The content is not duplicated from the free site; it’s all developed just for members. We launched the member site in January 2010 and it’s growing every day.  But here’s the rub — the early bird rate of $9.95/mo is only good until the end of May.  On June 1, the price will go up to $19.95/month.  Lock in your lower membership rate now!

Grant Writing Tools You Can Use

Every now and then we like to post about the amazing grant writing tools we have to help you be successful.  Most are totally FREE.  Those that aren’t free are very inexpensive. Please feel free to share these tools with your friends and colleagues. Grant writers need all the help they can get.

New Text Message Tips. This is really new for us.  We’re sending out grant writing tips and grant sources via text message. There are four different groups you can join – you can join them all or juts the one or two that interest you the most. The tips are totally free, but if you don’t have an unlimited text plan with your mobile provider, standard text message rates apply. We’re sending out 2-3 messages per week for each group, so you won’t be inundated with texts and we do not sell third party advertising so you won’t be flooded with ads, either. Here’s how you sign up:

  • Text GRANTS to 313131 for grant writing tips.
  • Text EDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources relating to education.
  • Text KIDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources for youth programs.
  • Text NONPROFIT to 313131 for non-profit development and fund raising tips.

Free online webinars. Right now, we offer free recorded webinars on the following grant writing topics:

  • Top 10 Tips for Grant Wsriting
  • Collaborating with School Districts on Grants
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Research: The Basics
  • Effective Grant Research

In addition to these topics, we have other webinars on various program evaluation and non-profit development topics.  All are between 20 and 40 minutes long (most are about 30 minutes) and all are available for viewing on demand.


BlogTalk Radio Tips from the Grant Goddess.  Every Friday at 3:00 p.m. (Pacific) we air our 30 minute  online radio show, Tips from the Grant Goddess, on BlogTalkRadio. If you miss the live show, you can listen to the recordings on demand at any time. There are currently over 35 shows archived for listening at your leisure.  Some of the many grant writing topics covered in these shows include:

  • The Art and the Science of Grant Writing
  • Tips for Effective Collaboration
  • Budget Development
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Writing: The Basics
  • Grant Seeking
  • Developing a Logic Model
  • Selecting Evidence-Based Programs and Practices

Grant Writing Resources Page. This page has quite a selection of great FREE grant writing resources and tools, including articles and links to other sites with good grant writing resources.

Past Blog Posts. Take some time to go back through the archive of blog posts here.The posts you find are different than the articles we put on the Grant Writing Resources Page. With the exception of news posts, most of our posts are about grant writing tips and techniques that you can still use long after they were initially published.

Grant Tips iPhone App. We took the time to put together an iPhone application with 101+ grant tips to help you succeed with your grant writing.  Currently, the app is available for 99 cents in the App Store. You can get more information here. Pretty soon, the FREE version of the app (Grant Tips Lite) will be available.  It will have only 50 tips, rather than over a hundred, but the other features will all be the same. Stay tuned for more information as we release the new app.

Membership at GrantGoddess.com. Everything I’ve told you about so far has been free (or very inexpensive). A membership at GrantGoddess.com costs only $9.95/month (or you can save some money and get an annual membership for $99/year). On the member site, you’ll have access to the largest collection of grant seeking, grant writing, program evaluation, and non-profit development resources available on the web! The content is not duplicated from the free site; it’s all developed just for members. We launched the member site in January 2010 and it’s growing every day.  But here’s the rub — the early bird rate of $9.95/mo is only good until the end of May.  On June 1, the price will go up to $19.95/month.  Lock in your lower membership rate now!

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Writing good grant objectives is not rocket science, but I have seen it trip up more than a few writers. Think of your objectives as the cornerstone of your project design.  They are linked to your needs and your solutions, and they play a prominent role in the evaluation section. It is definitely worth the time to make them as strong as possible.  Here are a few tips to help you out:

  1. Make your objectives SMART. That stands for Specific, Measurable Achievable, Realistic (I’ve also heard Relevant used here, but I prefer Realistic) and Time-bound. 
  2. Use measures that are available to you. Unless there are specific measures that are required by the funding source, write your objective with measurement tools that you have available at your site.  While you should use existing assessments whenever possible, this might be the opportunity to add new assessments you have been considering using anyway. Just be careful not to commit yourself and the organization to the implementation of a new battery of assessments in addition to the implementation of a new program.
  3. Make sure each objective has all its parts. The most effective outcome objectives are written as standard behavioral objectives.  Each should have four parts:
    1. What will be measured?
    2. When will it be measured?
    3. How much growth do you expect?
    4. How will you know that the objective has been achieved?
  4. Distinguish implementation objectives from outcome objectives. Implementation objectives define your targets for implementing the program (e.g., Fifty program participants will be enrolled by June 30, 2011, as measured by intake records.) and outcome objectives define your ultimate achievement targets (e.g., Forty students will complete the program each year, as measured by achievement of a passing score on the XYZ exam.). Think of it this way: the achievement of an implementation objective proves that you are implementing the program (doing what you said you would do).  The achievement of outcome objective proves that the program works.
  5. Review the formal evaluation requirements of the funding source before finalizing your objectives. Since you will be required to demonstrate the degree to which you have achieved your objectives and you will be required to provide specific data to the funding source as part of a national, state, or organizational (if you have a private funding source) evaluation, it makes sense to try to tailor your objectives to the data that will be required for the formal evaluation.  Not only does this streamline your planning and help with implementation, it also demonstrates your understanding of the needs and requirements of the funding source.

———————————–

For more grant writing tips, check out the Grant Writing Resources at GrantGoddess.com or download our Grant Tips iPhone App.  You can also text the word GRANTS to 313131 to receive grant writing tips 2-3 per week on your mobile phone (Tips are free, but standard text message rates from your mobile carrier may apply if you don’t have an unlimited text plan.).

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Writing good grant objectives is not rocket science, but I have seen it trip up more than a few writers. Think of your objectives as the cornerstone of your project design.  They are linked to your needs and your solutions, and they play a prominent role in the evaluation section. It is definitely worth the time to make them as strong as possible.  Here are a few tips to help you out:

  1. Make your objectives SMART. That stands for Specific, Measurable Achievable, Realistic (I’ve also heard Relevant used here, but I prefer Realistic) and Time-bound. 
  2. Use measures that are available to you. Unless there are specific measures that are required by the funding source, write your objective with measurement tools that you have available at your site.  While you should use existing assessments whenever possible, this might be the opportunity to add new assessments you have been considering using anyway. Just be careful not to commit yourself and the organization to the implementation of a new battery of assessments in addition to the implementation of a new program.
  3. Make sure each objective has all its parts. The most effective outcome objectives are written as standard behavioral objectives.  Each should have four parts:
    1. What will be measured?
    2. When will it be measured?
    3. How much growth do you expect?
    4. How will you know that the objective has been achieved?
  4. Distinguish implementation objectives from outcome objectives. Implementation objectives define your targets for implementing the program (e.g., Fifty program participants will be enrolled by June 30, 2011, as measured by intake records.) and outcome objectives define your ultimate achievement targets (e.g., Forty students will complete the program each year, as measured by achievement of a passing score on the XYZ exam.). Think of it this way: the achievement of an implementation objective proves that you are implementing the program (doing what you said you would do).  The achievement of outcome objective proves that the program works.
  5. Review the formal evaluation requirements of the funding source before finalizing your objectives. Since you will be required to demonstrate the degree to which you have achieved your objectives and you will be required to provide specific data to the funding source as part of a national, state, or organizational (if you have a private funding source) evaluation, it makes sense to try to tailor your objectives to the data that will be required for the formal evaluation.  Not only does this streamline your planning and help with implementation, it also demonstrates your understanding of the needs and requirements of the funding source.

———————————–

For more grant writing tips, check out the Grant Writing Resources at GrantGoddess.com or download our Grant Tips iPhone App.  You can also text the word GRANTS to 313131 to receive grant writing tips 2-3 per week on your mobile phone (Tips are free, but standard text message rates from your mobile carrier may apply if you don’t have an unlimited text plan.).

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Is Grant Writing Success Really Just About Luck?

As a successful grant writer, I’ve actually had people say to me, “Wow! You sure are lucky!”  My first thought is, “Gee, that luck sure did take a lot of work!”

I’ll admit it.  There is a certain amount of luck in the formula of grant success, if you define luck as the impact of factors over which you have no control.  There are many things you can’t control in the process. You can’t control the readers.  You can’t control if your readers are well informed about your field or not.  You can’t control if your readers are tired, alert, happy, sad, cranky, or enthusiastic when they read and score your proposal.

In spite of that, there are many things you can control. The better your proposal, the more likely you are to be “lucky.” And a better proposal is all about skill and hard work. The more you refine your skill, the less vulnerable you are to luck.