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
