Category Archives: grants

Top 3 Things I Love about Grant Writing

Grant writing is definitely not a boring profession.  There are challenges, but there are also some big benefits.

Here are the top 3 things I love about grant writing:

  1. Creativity – I love the who process of taking a few ideas, fleshing them out, and creating a detailed program design.  In fact, for the me the process is a lot like staring at one of those abstract holographic pictures.  At first, it just looks like colors and shapes – no order, nothing else there.  Then, after you have started at it for a while, a 3-dimensional image leaps from the background and you see it.  At that point, it is so clear to you, that it’s hard to even see the picture without the 3D image anymore.  That’s what grant writing is like for me.  At some point in the process of planning, reviewing research, collecting data, and talking to the client, the picture of a solid design clarifies.  At that point, putting it in writing is the easy part.
  2. Making a Difference – I have written about this before.  I also provide program evaluation services.  There are very few things in this life as satisfying as going to conduct some evaluation activities and meeting the people who get a direct benefit from the grant you wrote.  At one time there was nothing but an idea in your head, and then there are real people whose lives are better because of your work.  Wow!  It doesn’t get much better than that.
  3. Time Flexibility – Make no mistake about it, grant writing is work, but if you work for yourself, you can manage your time as you choose.  For example, this is a really busy time of year and I have lots of writing projects to work on, but I didn’t want to work today.  I wanted to stay home with my son, take care of some blogging. do some recreational reading.  So I did.  If I want to take off during the middle of the week to go to a baseball game during the day, I can.  I know this is a benefit that self-employed folks in many fields can claim, but I really like it.

There are lots of other things I like about my work, but those are the big three.

What about you?  What do you like most about grant writing?

—————————————-

Check out the new GrantGoddess Channel on YouTube! It’s new, but there will be more and more instructional videos added, so subscribe to it and you’ll be notified whenever new content is added.

Have you become a member yet?  If not, check out the member benefits and sign up soon.  The early bird rate will expire soon. Joining now will give you access to some exclusive member trainings coming soon – not to mention all the cool multimedia resources that are being added daily.

Top 3 Things I Love about Grant Writing

Grant writing is definitely not a boring profession.  There are challenges, but there are also some big benefits.

Here are the top 3 things I love about grant writing:

  1. Creativity – I love the who process of taking a few ideas, fleshing them out, and creating a detailed program design.  In fact, for the me the process is a lot like staring at one of those abstract holographic pictures.  At first, it just looks like colors and shapes – no order, nothing else there.  Then, after you have started at it for a while, a 3-dimensional image leaps from the background and you see it.  At that point, it is so clear to you, that it’s hard to even see the picture without the 3D image anymore.  That’s what grant writing is like for me.  At some point in the process of planning, reviewing research, collecting data, and talking to the client, the picture of a solid design clarifies.  At that point, putting it in writing is the easy part.
  2. Making a Difference – I have written about this before.  I also provide program evaluation services.  There are very few things in this life as satisfying as going to conduct some evaluation activities and meeting the people who get a direct benefit from the grant you wrote.  At one time there was nothing but an idea in your head, and then there are real people whose lives are better because of your work.  Wow!  It doesn’t get much better than that.
  3. Time Flexibility – Make no mistake about it, grant writing is work, but if you work for yourself, you can manage your time as you choose.  For example, this is a really busy time of year and I have lots of writing projects to work on, but I didn’t want to work today.  I wanted to stay home with my son, take care of some blogging. do some recreational reading.  So I did.  If I want to take off during the middle of the week to go to a baseball game during the day, I can.  I know this is a benefit that self-employed folks in many fields can claim, but I really like it.

There are lots of other things I like about my work, but those are the big three.

What about you?  What do you like most about grant writing?

—————————————-

Check out the new GrantGoddess Channel on YouTube! It’s new, but there will be more and more instructional videos added, so subscribe to it and you’ll be notified whenever new content is added.

Have you become a member yet?  If not, check out the member benefits and sign up soon.  The early bird rate will expire soon. Joining now will give you access to some exclusive member trainings coming soon – not to mention all the cool multimedia resources that are being added daily.

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

Grants for Individuals – A Funding Sasquatch?

Non-profit consultant and grant writing expert, Derek Link, provides some clarity about the availability of government grants for individuals:

I get phone calls, emails, and tweets from people who need a grant for something they want to do like open a coffee shop. These contacts come from individuals, private citizens, who are not affiliated with a non profit organization. These well-intentioned folks just have an idea and need some money to implement it.

The problem is that grants for individuals are kind of like Sasquatch – Many people believe they exist, but nobody I know has ever seen or captured one. Because of this I put grants for average individuals into the “myth” category, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist, it just means I’ve haven’t seen any that give money to start a business. The two individual grants I am aware of are, 1) college grants that you apply for through a college financial aid office, and 2) grants for high level research scientists.
I know there are people who would argue with me and they’d probably take me out to their garage to show me plaster impressions of RFP’s and/or whip out a photo album with fuzzy pictures of big hairy grant checks. But until I see the beast for myself, I will remain a skeptic.
The main reason I am hesitant on this subject is that I have a suspicion the people perpetuating the myth are making money from it. I suspect these people are the unsavory characters I’ve seen on television who work hard at selling books full of free government information.
I know I am sounding a little like Simon Cowell after a weak American Idol performance, but that’s because I don’t like snake oil salesmen. It bugs me when people are misled by a false promise of easy money. Good opportunities take hard work in my experience, and they’ve only come knocking after I was well-prepared for them.
If you want to be a business owner, prepare yourself. Go to classes about being an entrepreneur, read blogs about business, read the Wall Street Journal, join the chamber of commerce, etc. And while you’re preparing, save some money so when you go and ask for help, you’ll have credibility because you have some skin in the game.
If Sasquatch is out there, it’s going to take some looking. Get online and do some research on government websites where they have free information about grants. Try grants.gov where all the federal grants available are listed, go to a federal business assistance center, go to the chamber of commerce, and if all of these sources don’t turn up an individual grant for you then, write a business plan and look for investors.
Having a dream is great! Finding someone to finance the dream is almost as hard as finding Sasquatch.

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Interested in grants for your non-profit organization of school?  Contact us at GrantGoddess.com!

Grants for Individuals – A Funding Sasquatch?

Non-profit consultant and grant writing expert, Derek Link, provides some clarity about the availability of government grants for individuals:

I get phone calls, emails, and tweets from people who need a grant for something they want to do like open a coffee shop. These contacts come from individuals, private citizens, who are not affiliated with a non profit organization. These well-intentioned folks just have an idea and need some money to implement it.

The problem is that grants for individuals are kind of like Sasquatch – Many people believe they exist, but nobody I know has ever seen or captured one. Because of this I put grants for average individuals into the “myth” category, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist, it just means I’ve haven’t seen any that give money to start a business. The two individual grants I am aware of are, 1) college grants that you apply for through a college financial aid office, and 2) grants for high level research scientists.
I know there are people who would argue with me and they’d probably take me out to their garage to show me plaster impressions of RFP’s and/or whip out a photo album with fuzzy pictures of big hairy grant checks. But until I see the beast for myself, I will remain a skeptic.
The main reason I am hesitant on this subject is that I have a suspicion the people perpetuating the myth are making money from it. I suspect these people are the unsavory characters I’ve seen on television who work hard at selling books full of free government information.
I know I am sounding a little like Simon Cowell after a weak American Idol performance, but that’s because I don’t like snake oil salesmen. It bugs me when people are misled by a false promise of easy money. Good opportunities take hard work in my experience, and they’ve only come knocking after I was well-prepared for them.
If you want to be a business owner, prepare yourself. Go to classes about being an entrepreneur, read blogs about business, read the Wall Street Journal, join the chamber of commerce, etc. And while you’re preparing, save some money so when you go and ask for help, you’ll have credibility because you have some skin in the game.
If Sasquatch is out there, it’s going to take some looking. Get online and do some research on government websites where they have free information about grants. Try grants.gov where all the federal grants available are listed, go to a federal business assistance center, go to the chamber of commerce, and if all of these sources don’t turn up an individual grant for you then, write a business plan and look for investors.
Having a dream is great! Finding someone to finance the dream is almost as hard as finding Sasquatch.

————————–
 
Interested in grants for your non-profit organization of school?  Contact us at GrantGoddess.com!

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

Move Beyond the Low Hanging Fruit of Funding

Something that is easy to obtain in business is usually called the low hanging fruit. Of course these days, there’s not much fruit left on the trees and the low hanging stuff is always the first picked. This post is about how you reach the fruit that’s higher up and harder to harvest.

It’s easy to pick low hanging fruit because it’s there within easy reach, you don’t have to seek it out. These are the volunteers that give lots of their time, the donors who write regular checks, the agencies that give you grants every time you ask, and the corporations in your area that give you regular donations. These are you low hanging fruit, and it’s good. You don’t have to climb any trees to find it.
 
But how can you move beyond the low hanging fruit?
  • Get a ladder – Sometimes you need to go where the fruit is. Meet with people, get out there, network, shake hands, kiss babies, be known.
  • Don’t pick one side of the tree – Fruit grows all over the tree. Remember that there are companies, associations, foundations, wealthy private donors, and online fund raising functions. Get all the way around the funding tree.
  • Don’t forget to care for your trees all year – Care and feeding is crucial to ensure there’s a good harvest each year. Feed them, fertilize them, prune them, try to keep pests away.

So, to wrap up this long-winded metaphor…..when you are tending an orchard of donors, there’s more than just low-hanging fruit to be picked during your campaigns, but harvesting it is going to take some extra work!

———————–

This post was written by non-profit consultant and grant writing expert, Derek Link.
 
———————–
 
Have you seen our free grant writing and program evaluation webinars?

Move Beyond the Low Hanging Fruit of Funding

Something that is easy to obtain in business is usually called the low hanging fruit. Of course these days, there’s not much fruit left on the trees and the low hanging stuff is always the first picked. This post is about how you reach the fruit that’s higher up and harder to harvest.

It’s easy to pick low hanging fruit because it’s there within easy reach, you don’t have to seek it out. These are the volunteers that give lots of their time, the donors who write regular checks, the agencies that give you grants every time you ask, and the corporations in your area that give you regular donations. These are you low hanging fruit, and it’s good. You don’t have to climb any trees to find it.
 
But how can you move beyond the low hanging fruit?
  • Get a ladder – Sometimes you need to go where the fruit is. Meet with people, get out there, network, shake hands, kiss babies, be known.
  • Don’t pick one side of the tree – Fruit grows all over the tree. Remember that there are companies, associations, foundations, wealthy private donors, and online fund raising functions. Get all the way around the funding tree.
  • Don’t forget to care for your trees all year – Care and feeding is crucial to ensure there’s a good harvest each year. Feed them, fertilize them, prune them, try to keep pests away.

So, to wrap up this long-winded metaphor…..when you are tending an orchard of donors, there’s more than just low-hanging fruit to be picked during your campaigns, but harvesting it is going to take some extra work!

———————–

This post was written by non-profit consultant and grant writing expert, Derek Link.
 
———————–
 
Have you seen our free grant writing and program evaluation webinars?

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

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.

——————————
This post was written by non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link.
 
——————————
 
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 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.

——————————
This post was written by non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link.
 
——————————
 
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?

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!

——————————

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

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!

——————————

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