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 process. In spite of everything, 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 keep in mind that grant writing is basically 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 right 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 task—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 companies on the native, state, and federal ranges, and firms are the first sorts of organizations that present grants to nonprofits.
- Funding buildings. Grants are available in a number of completely different styles and sizes. Funding may be restricted to the precise challenge specified by your proposal or unrestricted for basic use. Payouts could be given or offered in installments. The entire worth could be a flat sum of money or matched, which means the grant offers a sure portion of your challenge’s complete prices (typically 50%). Every of those classes can deliver completely different reporting issues that you simply’ll want to know forward of time, as effectively.
- The levels of the grant lifecycle. There’s extra to grant looking for than writing a proposal and profitable funding, most notably the post-award steps of grant administration and reporting. Intently following your funder’s reporting pointers not solely ensures compliance and easy payouts but additionally units you up effectively for future partnerships.
- The elements of a grant proposal. In case you’re model new to grant looking for, you’ll want to know the completely different sections and paperwork that make up a typical proposal. The precise necessities and order will fluctuate from grant to grant, however you may typically anticipate to see these sections:
Take a look at Be taught Grant Writing’s introductory information for a breakdown of those widespread elements and paperwork.
Step 2: Assessment Your Nonprofit’s Mission.
What are you looking for funding for? The overwhelming majority of grants are restricted, which means they’re supposed to fund particular initiatives, packages, or initiatives.
Ideally, your nonprofit already is aware of the brand new initiatives 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 give you new initiatives 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 searching for your first (or subsequent) grant to use for.
There are various 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 effectively.
Memberships and paid platforms are additionally out there and supply further options that may enable you to construct a constant grant funding pipeline. Instrumentl and GrantStation are each widespread selections on this class.
Begin your analysis by discovering alternatives that align together with your mission, supposed challenge, worth, and timeframe. Don’t be afraid to place collectively a protracted checklist at this stage.
Step 4: Prioritize Your Choices.
Subsequent, start narrowing down your checklist of grant alternatives to those who will give you the best likelihood of success. A number of standards might help you prioritize your alternatives, together with:
- Mission alignment between your nonprofit and the funder
- Mission alignment with the grant’s said function and objectives
- Any present connections you may need with the funder
- Applicant success charge, or the variety of awardees over the full variety of candidates for previous grants offered 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 challenge
There’s nobody excellent option to measure competitiveness, and your consolation zone will fluctuate relying on the precise circumstances. One useful rule of thumb we suggest is to prioritize grants with applicant success charges of 20% or better.
Bear in mind, too, that you would be able to (and will) attain out on to funders to study extra in the event you can’t discover related info on-line or by any databases you employ.
Work by your checklist a number of occasions, narrowing it right down to a handful of the very best alternatives. Whenever 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 the whole lot that comes subsequent. Take your time to learn, learn, and reread them.
Actively search clarification from the funder and skilled staff members as wanted. Higher to speculate the time in understanding the rules now than battle by the applying course of later and understand you’re off-target!
Step 6: Put together a Narrative Skeleton.
Start by giving your self a stable construction to construct on, one which’s constructed immediately from the said necessities of the grant. This may maintain you on monitor, save time, and lead to a more practical proposal.
We name it the “narrative skeleton.” Work your method by the grant’s pointers and necessities and compile them into a top level view.
Use the precise language from the rules because the part headings—this can 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 solely to put the groundwork with an easy-to-use template that you simply’ll later fill in and polish right into a completed product.
Step 7: Kick Off the Mission and Accumulate the Crucial Information
Grant proposals comprise info gathered from throughout a company, so that they often require enter from a number of staff members and departments. Earlier than you start drafting your proposal, it’s a good suggestion to sync up with the people who’ll enable you to alongside the best way.
Whereas making ready your narrative skeleton, you recognized info that you simply’ll want to your proposal, like impression knowledge about previous packages or projections to your proposed challenge. Put together an agenda and invite the people who might help you collect this info to a grant kickoff assembly.
Throughout your assembly, assessment the next necessities:
- The grant, the funder, and the rules
- Your timeline and supposed submission date
- The information you want, from whom, and by when
- Methods to share info and paperwork with the grant staff
- Anecdotes and constituent suggestions that may be useful to collect
That is additionally the time to debate some essential logistics. Your group ought to finalize the funds to your proposed challenge as quickly as potential (particularly for matching grants) as a way to embrace it in your proposal. Focus on any further documentation required by the grant, and get the ball rolling on securing it quickly. For some organizations, it could actually take fairly some time to safe official board resolutions, as an illustration.
Reply questions, thank everybody for his or her time, and comply with up as wanted. The hot button is to be organized—nobody needs to be roped right into a challenge 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 primary grant proposal. Think about these finest 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 complicated 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 contemporary in your thoughts as you draft the sooner, extra narrative-driven sections.
- Observe storytelling finest practices. Energetic language, use of the primary particular person, 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 best steadiness of delicate however emotionally compelling storytelling.
- Steadiness your narrative with laborious numbers. Funders are moved by tales, however they’ve to make use of numbers to make choices. Ensure 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 to date, and the way a lot additional your new challenge will push you towards success.
- Keep targeted and impact-forward. Write from a place of power quite than shortage; that’s, whilst you ought to clearly illustrate the issues at hand, maintain the concentrate on the way you’re shifting ahead urgently and deliberately. Tie your primary speaking factors again to measurable impression every time potential and illustrate them with tangible examples and particulars.
We suggest tackling this step quick and furiously.
In case you’ve deliberate out your timeline effectively, you’ll have loads of time to assessment your proposal, get suggestions, and make revisions, however for now, you need vitality and momentum. For many grants, it is best to purpose 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 simply’ve combed by and tightened up, it’s time to compile all the extra documentation it’s essential to present the funder. These mostly embrace budgets, resolutions, and letters of help. Bear in mind, it’s by no means a foul concept to carefully assessment your grant pointers one final time to ensure you’re not lacking something.
At this stage, you’ll additionally possible need to create a canopy sheet to your proposal that outlines the contents and supplemental supplies.
Step 10: Assessment, Submit, and Take a Breather.
Lastly, ask a teammate to fastidiously assessment 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 closing revisions and submit the grant in keeping with the funder’s directions (ideally at the very least 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 vitality. We suggest taking a stroll, bike experience, or simply taking an early afternoon to fulfill up with a buddy. No matter works for you!
This 10-step course of has served us and our grant writing college students effectively, and it ought to function a useful framework to 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 supply acknowledged certification!
Bonus factors in the event you go the additional mile to your group—keep in mind the checklist of prioritized checklist 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 may maintain your present and upcoming initiatives. This easy train can go a really lengthy option 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, Methods to Write a Grant: Turn out to be 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 prime publications. She has secured over $45 million in grant funding, and her college students have secured over $627 million – a quantity that grows day by 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.
