Grant Writing For Dummies. Beverly A. Browning
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In the past, some private-sector funders have been swamped daily with large volumes of unsolicited grant proposals. To circumvent this influx of steady reading and decision making, more and more private-sector funders have moved toward requiring an initial letter of inquiry, which is a brief letter asking about the foundation’s interest in your project. If the organization is interested, it then asks you to submit a full grant proposal. If you fail to submit the letter of inquiry, you may find the door closed to your unsolicited grant proposal. I give you a link to an online letter of inquiry template at the end of Chapter 2.
Whether the private-sector funder is large or small, the attachments are a major portion of what counts with this group of grantors. The private-sector funder may ask for a copy of your organization’s IRS letter of tax-exemption, a board of directors roster, organizational and project budgets, a copy of the nonprofit’s tax return, Form-990, an organizational chart, and an audited financial statement.
Your organization’s executive director or a member of your governing board’s executive committee should build a relationship with any potential private-sector funder before you start begging for a grant. Courtesy and protocol mean everything in the private-sector funding environment, so always establish communications via email, a letter of inquiry, or a face-to-face meeting before sticking your hand out. In Chapter 22, I give you lots of tips on how to build relationships with potential funders.
Making a List and Checking It Twice
Read the guidelines three times: one time to understand the general instructions, a second time to focus on the technical formatting requirements, and a third time to note the narrative content requirements.
Highlight all technical and content requirements.
Call the funder (if permissible) to clarify any conflicting instructions and ask questions in general.
Write the grant in chronological order (the same order that the funder asks for the information in its guidelines).
Get a second and third set of eyes to read the guidelines and check your application document line for line. Your readers should be looking at grammar, punctuation, formatting, content, clarity, connection between the narrative sections, budget accuracy, and inclusion of all mandatory attachments.
Tracking Your Submission Status
After you submit all your funding requests, you need to develop a tracking system that helps you keep up with their progress and cues you when the period of silence from grantors has been too long. Most public-and private-sector grantors specify a timeframe for when they will announce grant awards somewhere in the application packet or in the published description of their application process. At the federal and state levels, you can even enlist tracking support from your legislative team. To do this, you can directly call or write. However, at the corporate and foundation levels, you’re on your own (unless, of course, members of your board of directors have friends and associates on the grantor’s board of trustees).
The old-school approach is to develop a manual or electronic tracking system to monitor what you’ve written, who received it, and the status of your funding request (pending, funded, or rejected). However, the new and easier way to keep track of submitted requests is to purchase grant management or tracking software. Look at lots of cloud-based grants management options to meet your needs. You can find out what’s available by typing “grant management systems” into your favorite web browser. These systems can cost thousands of dollars. However, many offer a free trial or demonstration, so you can see whether the program suits your needs before you buy.
Jumping for Joy or Starting All Over?
When you win, you celebrate, right? Well, yes, you celebrate, but you also notify your stakeholders of your success in winning a grant award. And you prepare for the implementation phase now that monies are on the way.
When you win a grant award, it’s important to remember to thank the funder (by a letter, a resolution, an invitation to your board meeting to acknowledge their monetary gift, and so on) and determine if you can issue a press release or if their contribution is confidential.
1 Contact the funding agency and ask why your grant application wasn’t recommended for funding. Ask for a review of your application or for the reviewer’s remarks.You may have