Grant Writing Success Starts with Doing Your Homework

In teaching grant writing, I always start with the quote below. I think is summarizes perfectly what any prospective grantee needs to know and to do for any chance of success...

“The best grantees know themselves, they know their organizations really well…they have already done their homework to try to figure out what elements or parts of their organization might fit with what the foundation is funding.” Latonya Slack, Senior Program Officer James Irvine Foundation

As Ms. Slack suggests, to prepare a successful grant request you must know yourself (what’s your mission and what are you really good at) and know your organization (what’s your capacity, your priorities, your systems). You must have done your homework to ensure that your organization and your proposed project fit with what the funder’s interests.

I see it time and time again. Nonprofits will learn of a grant opportunity and without a moment of reflection they jump right in preparing their response. They will invest the time and energy (blood, sweat and tears) to prepare a grant proposal that was often doomed before they got started.

Why? Because more often than not, they are starting from scratch and figuring things out along the way.

They hope to go from “idea” to a fleshed-out, well-written project narrative with a realistic timeline and budget – and let’s not forget about all of the required attachments!

Preparing a high-quality and competitive (yes, this is a competition!) grant request, requires planning and preparation that starts long before you learn of a grant opportunity.

As Ms. Slack states, “The best grantees know themselves, they know their organizations really well…” In other words, you already determined the problem, validated it with third-party data, and outlined a plan or strategy to address the problem before you embarked on responding to a grant opportunity. You already know the resources that are needed (cash and non-cash) and the time it will take to achieve your intended goals and objectives. You already did your homework.

New to grant writing? Attend my Grant Writing for Beginners breakout session at the Maryland Nonprofits 2016 Annual Conference, September 29, 2016 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Learn more at marylandnonprofits.org

Street Corner Fundraising Success Requires More Than a Sign and a Bucket

There are many organizations that take to the street corner to raise funds for their cause or special project. I recently found myself stopped at a busy intersection near The Avenue at White Marsh Mall in Baltimore County, MD. If you've ever been there, you know busy is an understatement. So it's an ideal location for fundraising. So it was not surprise to see a group of young men in basketball jerseys and their chaperone out on each corner. They were each carrying a red bucket.

One young man walked down the median in my direction but never looked my way or uttered a word. So I motioned for him to come over and asked, "What are you doing?"

He said, "We're raising money for a trip to Myrtle Beach."

Knowing that was not the full story, I asked, "Why are you going to Myrtle Beach?"

He said, "We're going to play in the tournament."

Being a professional fundraiser, my heart went to this young man who clearly had not been prepared to fundraise. I reached into my purse and handed to him the first cash I found --  a five dollar bill.

His face lit up with a huge smile. He thanked me for my donation and wished me a good day. I wished him and his team good luck and drove away.

As a Do-Gooder and a fundraiser, I was predisposed to the idea of supporting his team. But what if I wasn't? Like the other drivers, I would have tried not to make any eye-contact and anxiously wished that the light would hurry up and change. 

It isn't easy to walk up to anyone, but especially a stranger, and ask for money. A sign and a bucket are not enough to prepare volunteers (of any age) to effectively engage motorists who likely have little or no direct connection to your cause. Whether you're a basketball team, soup kitchen or other group who takes to the street corner to raise money for your cause, training and coaching is critical to your fundraising success. You do your front line solicitors a disservice by sending them out ill prepared. The would-be donor sitting behind the wheel wants to hear a succinctly stated case for support. Your solicitors should be trained on what to say and on how to say it (with a smile, of course).

Perhaps if that young man had walked up to me and told me the name of his team, that they had played hard and made it to the tournament in Myrtle Beach, and given me specific reasons why they needed to raise money (i.e., charter the bus, certain members don't have support from home), I may have dug a little deeper into my purse.

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grant writing and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984

Was Your Nonprofit Program Designed to Fail?

The founder of a new nonprofit recently engaged my help with improving how her organization’s mission, vision and programs were presented in their marketing materials. She had been told by potential funders that they were unclear. My approach in this situation is not to immediately look at the materials (in this case the website) but to first have a conversation with the client.

I asked her to share with me the purpose of her organization. She began with a one-sentence generic goal and immediately began explaining the organization’s activities. I quickly interrupted her and explained we were not finished discussing the purpose.

I tried a different approach and asked her to explain the problem her organization addresses. Again, she gave me a general description of broad issues that were not specific to any group of individuals. Her description was full of jargon and catch phrases but no substance. I asked, “Where do the people you serve live?” Again, her answer was general – the city and county. I kept pushing, “I’m sure there are specific neighborhoods where a significant number of your target population live. What are they?” She couldn’t answer.

Her passion for helping is real. Her intentions are good. But passion and good intentions are not enough to design impactful programs.

 

Impactful programs are designed around a well-defined problem that is proven by third-party data. Further, those to be served are clearly defined, including who they are, where they are, what they have and what they need, how to their needs will be met, and ultimately what will change (long-term impact) as a result of the service they receive. This information is the foundation for a program designed to succeed. It is only after these key elements are defined that a nonprofit can determine what resources are necessary to carry out the program.

 
Individual donors and grant makers invest in long-term impact (outcomes) and not activities. Are you in the middle of developing a program? Are you having trouble raising funds to support your program? Is what you intended different from what you are seeing from your program? The Word Woman LLC can help. Contact us at info@thewordwomanllc.com to schedule a free consultation.

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grant writing and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984

3 Signs Your Newly Formed Nonprofit’s Board is in Trouble

      1.  Your board members are unable to share your nonprofit's mission and vision without reading notes. 

      Collectively, board members are responsible for providing strategic leadership to a nonprofit organization. Individually, they are responsible for personally supporting the organization, engaging prospective supporters, and acting as ambassadors to help elevate the organization’s reputation in the community. To successfully accomplish these individual responsibilities, each board member should be keenly aware and personally committed to the organization’s mission and vision and be able to explain the organization’s strategies to achieve its mission. Board member recruitment should center on the mission and vision.  Until a board member can express in his/her own words the mission and vision and why the board members connects with them, they are not fully ready to fulfill the role and responsibilities of a board member.

2.      Your board members are all close friends or family members of the founder. 

      When starting a nonprofit, it’s natural to seek board members within your immediate circle. Though there are exceptions, in most cases, friends and family who agree to serve on the board are not properly recruited and decide to do so with the mindset of doing a favor. My experience has taught me that boards comprised of family and/or friends of the founder are occupied by well-meaning people whose support and engagement is limited and in some cases nonexistent. Because these board members agree without fully understanding their responsibilities, they give little or no support financially; do little or no fundraising to support the organization; and attend board meetings  only as a formality and leave the decision making to the founder.  Unless you have founded a family foundation, your close friends and family are better suited to serve as program/project volunteers and donors. Should you choose to recruit close friends or family to serve on your nonprofit board, recruit them the same way you would an associate who has the professional or technical skills your board needs. Schedule a meeting with the family/friend specifically to discuss your interest in having them serve on your board. During the meeting, discuss your organization’s mission and vision (purpose if your mission and vision statements haven’t been formalized), and any goals for the next six months to a year. Provide your family/friend with a written copy of your Member-At-Large board member job description and answer any questions or concerns they may have. If your family or friend has any hesitations, give them the courtesy of an out.

3.     Your board members want to be paid. 

      Though large nonprofit organizations such as hospitals may compensate their board members, new organizations should limit compensating board members to reimbursement for reasonable and necessary costs related to your nonprofit’s business.  After you, your board members should be the organization’s first donors. Your goal is 100% of your board members financially supporting your organization.

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grantwriting and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984

Saying "that's not my job" when you work for a nonprofit

If there is one thing that will get under my skin it is hearing someone in the nonprofit sector utter the words “that's not my job”.  It takes everything in me not to say, “Pack up! You’re in the wrong job!”  

I’m the first to agree that it isn’t fair to put too much on anyone or for any one person to be doing the work of many while others are hardly doing the work they actually signed on to do. But when you work for a nonprofit, it goes without saying that there will be times (in some cases more often than not) when there is far more work than there is capacity to get it done. This is especially true when you work in a small shop where it is necessary for the staff to wear many hats. But if you are there because you genuinely care about the mission, you understand that it’s an “all hands on deck” operation and together you move the mission forward.

I have held numerous positions at nonprofits large, small, and in between. I’ve been the chief executive who walked pass a janitor to secure the mop and bucket from “his” closet to clean up a spill when I saw he was busy working on something else. Sure, I could have said “that's not my job” and asked him to stop what he was doing and focus on the more urgent issue; but I chose to demonstrate two things: (1) his work was not beneath me and (2) teamwork makes the dream work.

If as a nonprofit staff you have found yourself becoming agitated when ask to complete tasks not in your job description or stating “that's not my job” and refusing to do the work, I urge you to do some self-reflection. If you determine you are fully committed to the organization’s mission, change your attitude. If you determine that you are not, change your career path.