Category Archives: Grants

Grant-Proposal

How to Assess Return on Investment for Grant Writing and Management

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As someone involved in the grant writing and management process at your organization, you need to know how to best spend your time and money so that you get the greatest “return” on your investment. You don’t want to waste your limited resources on activities that are not likely to be successful. But you also want to avoid being so shortsighted that you miss the bigger picture.

You may be tempted to think that the return on your grant writing investment is simply the amount of money a specific grant application brings in. You might wonder if the time and money you spent to procure that particular grant was worth it. Right? Not so fast …

We need to look at the return on your investment in both the short term and the long term. Yes, the easiest way to assess success is the “check in the mail.” But what else should we consider?

Find Value in the Writing Process

The good news is that the grant writing process itself can be extremely valuable to your organization — and to your own understanding of your organization’s work. For starters, collecting all of the information you need to prepare a strong application can be a great strategic planning exercise. You will have to think through many needs, assumptions, activities, and intended outcomes of your program — including why you think it will work. In a related process, you will need to create a program budget that may shine a light on expenses you might not have otherwise tallied up.

If you are writing a general operations proposal to keep your entire organization running, you may start to see more clearly how the many pieces fit together well and could support each other even more. On the other hand, you may discover some weak, extraneous, or even contradictory parts that previously had gone overlooked.

I have seen many organizations — and staff — benefit in these ways from the grant writing process for nonprofits. And that happens regardless of whether or not they win a specific grant.

Build Once and Tweak Many Times

Another piece of good news: Once you have invested the time and effort in creating a solid, comprehensive grant writing proposal template, subsequent versions take a lot less time. You will have created a document that can be tweaked and updated for months, even years, to come. You’re about to get a lot of traction out of it!

Customization tweaks (additions, deletions, and other modifications) are usually pretty minor. In fact, some funders specifically encourage you to submit applications you have developed for other funders and just customize the cover letter.

Your proposals will also contain valuable gems that can be excerpted and repurposed for many other fundraising or marketing materials. For example, the success stories you collect for your grant proposal can also go on your website or social media. The program information you hash out might also inform a promotional video or show up as talking points for meetings with individual donors.

Learn Lessons from Funders

Sometimes things happen at funding institutions that we can’t control and may not even be aware of. While we do our best to create the most compelling grant proposal packages, sometimes we just have to accept that we can’t win ’em all. (Yup, I know, this is frustrating.)

Funders consider many factors, and (I dare say) the quality of your proposal is only one of them. The organization’s reputation or history in the community, changing funder priorities or staff, limitations on funds, and a perceived mismatch with a proposal’s programmatic emphasis are just a few. Sometimes the sheer amount of competition simply crowds out your proposal!

But an initially declined proposal can actually be a blessing in disguise. Sure, you may just need to try again — especially if the funder gives you an indication of future interest. However, frequent rejection of a proposal often means you’re doing something wrong. It could be a sign that you need to learn more, get better advice, do more research, ask more questions. It might also be a sign that your project just isn’t very fundable right now (for whatever reason). All of this information is very valuable to you (i.e., a good return on your investment).

For instance:

  • Maybe your organization or proposal has some weaknesses that you couldn’t see but the funder could?
  • Maybe you just need a few more years under your belt to get a little better known in your field.
  • Perhaps you’re showing potential, and the funder is able to share nonmonetary resources that are actually more beneficial to you right now?
  • And sometimes funders can connect you to collaborators that will make your proposal more attractive next time.

These are just a few examples of the many lessons you may learn that can lead to long-term grant writing success.

Know Thy Funders

Remember that not every funding opportunity is a good or appropriate one for your organization. I strongly believe that it is NOT a good idea to apply to any and all foundations, corporate grantmakers, government agencies, and other funders you can think of. That “shotgun” approach is a total waste of time, money, and energy — otherwise known as a bad investment.

Instead, you need to look carefully for a strategic role that your organization can play in each funder’s world. If you find it, great! If you don’t, move on to the next one. Make sure that you are doing solid funder research, strategizing, and planning. You are looking for funders whose current priorities and strategies align best with your organization’s work. Identifying them and developing appropriate cultivation strategies will ultimately lead to the grant success you are seeking.

So, while a simplistic (but welcome!) return on your investment in grant writing and management is a grant award right now, don’t discount the long-term value of this work. Both your organization and your ongoing fundraising work will continue to reap the strategic benefits.

TechSoup – Grant Writing and Management Course

This article is a part of a three-part series, including What Do Funders Look for in a Grant Proposal? and 5 Key Priorities to Include in a Grant Proposal.

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Managing Grant Reporting at Your Nonprofit

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When your organization won that institutional grant, did you celebrate — at least a little? Most likely! You put in a lot of hard work and it finally paid off.

The grantmaker’s award letter likely documented the grant amount, grant period, grant report writing requirements, and other important details. You probably recorded that information and told all relevant staff about these requirements — including the grant reporting format and due dates.

And then folks got busy implementing the funded program. As things hummed along, you all kept in touch about how it was going.

Then, several months later, you found yourself at what we call Step 11 along the “Grant Roadmap” in the TechSoup Courses Grant Writing and Management course track: the reporting phase.

One of the best ways to continue building a good relationship with your funder is to submit thorough and useful grant reports, on time, and in the requested format. Here’s how.

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What to Expect

Your funder is going to want to know if they made a wise investment when they funded you. Essentially, they will want to know four things:

  1. What’s working and what’s not
  2. What needs are going unmet
  3. How you can improve in the future
  4. How you are spending their money

Almost all funders expect at least one report showing how you used the grant to further your program. That is, you are often asked for both narrative reports and financial reports. These reports are often due sometime during the grant period (called “progress reports”), at the end of the grant period (“final reports”), or both. Some funders will withhold part of the grant until they receive the required reports.

Not only do you want to show what you’ve done, what difference that has made, and what you are learning for the future, you also want to position yourself as a strong candidate for a possible grant renewal down the line.

Each funder has a specific grant reporting format in mind. Some have detailed requirements or provide grant report templates, and others are very general in nature. You will need to develop funder-specific formats, and you will most likely need to cover the following topics in your narrative reports and financial reports.

Narrative Reports

Accomplishments: Of course, you will want to recount all of the relevant results you achieved during the funding period. Look back at the grant proposal’s measurable goals and objectives. How many of them did you meet or exceed? Maybe you even accomplished some unanticipated things! If so, describe, explain, and highlight.

Client profiles, success stories, testimonials: Tell a couple of stories of people who benefited from the grant-funded work. Show how their lives were improved because of your project, using their words as much as possible. Of course, the stories you choose should be especially relevant and interesting to the specific funder at hand.

Lessons learned: What did you learn from doing the project? Funders are interested not only in your successes but also in how you modify your work to address any challenges you encountered along the way. For example, you may have found that you needed to work with unexpected collaborators and that the new coordination demonstrably improved your project’s outcomes. By sincerely showing how you analyze your effectiveness and strive to learn how to maximize it, you demonstrate that your organization is dynamic and responsive to changing realities.

Your partnership with the funder: Think back to the foundation’s goals, objectives, and priorities. Write about how your work addressed those things. Demonstrate how your partnership with the funder made that possible.

Plans for the future: Unless your project was a one-shot deal that is now banished to the dustbin of history, tell the funder how you intend to build on it. This will help show that the funded project was part of a sustained effort. You may want to share emerging trends or shifting contexts impacting your work.

Financial Reports

You will need to account for all of the expenditures you made with the grant money. Some funders will require receipts, invoices, or other documentation. Others are less stringent. In either case, be prepared by tracking your actual expenses versus your proposed grant budget.

Submitting

This should go without saying, but I will emphasize it: Don’t miss the reporting deadlines! Doing so will leave a bad taste in your funder’s mouth. If you find that you absolutely cannot meet the deadline, ask for an extension at least a week before the due date. Many funders have a little wiggle room, but you should not assume that.

Once you have submitted a grant report, make sure to store it appropriately and record the date you sent it.

Post-Reporting

As you approach the end of your grant period, you will want to take the final step along the Grant Roadmap we use in the TechSoup Courses Grant Writing and Management course track. That is, Step 12: exploring opportunities for renewing the grant or possibly applying for funding for a different program of interest to the funder. If your reports were solid and demonstrated success, learning, and good nonprofit financial management, you may be eligible for future funding.

(Of course, a tarnished relationship with the grantmaker is a good way to NOT get renewed funding.)

But grant reports also serve an important purpose for your organization itself. Clearly, they can help you track your progress, measure your success, and learn from challenges. In addition, if you share them internally, grant reports can be repurposed for a variety of fundraising and marketing material. Annual reports to the public, newsletter or website articles, social media posts, appeal letters, and presentations are just a few ideas.

By the Way …

If a funded program reaches a major milestone or needs to make a significant direction change during the grant period, your funder needs to know that. While these contacts are not technically the requested “reports,” it behooves you to make sure your funders are aware of both major successes and modifications you are making.

Grantmakers do not like last-minute surprises that they should have known about beforehand. Show that your organization is a responsible manager of grant funds with a commitment to a partnership with the funder.

Keep your funders abreast of the work their grants funded — with the right grant reports — to help strengthen your relationship. The good news is that your organization overall — and the specific funded programs — can also benefit directly from the information you collect.

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Additional Resources

New 5-Course Online Series: Grant Writing & Management

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Announcing…my new online, on-demand course track, “Grant Writing & Management.”

Co-created with TechSoup, this 5-course interactive resource will help launch or improve your grant seeking work.

**See below for a special discount code.**

I know that many nonprofits and libraries want to attract grant funding but navigating the grant world can seem mysterious and overwhelming.

Grant Writing & Management consists of 5 comprehensive courses that will set you up for success. We will travel step-by-step along the “Grant Roadmap” that covers the entire process. You’ll also find dozens of samples, templates, activities, checklists, etc.

You’ll learn to:

  • Assess your organization’s readiness for grant seeking
  • Plan and draft your entire grant proposal package
  • Perform a mock review before you send it off
  • Research and then approach your most likely funders

Check out the welcome video from the first module:

Then grab your 20% discount with the coupon code: 20OFFGRANTS. Hurry! The code expires 12/31/20.

Remembering Rebecca Vermillion Shawver’s Contributions

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Well-known grantwriter and teacher Rebecca (Becki) Vermillion Shawver recently passed away, and I wanted to be sure to share her story and some articles she wrote for CharityChannel. I only worked with Becki a few times but quickly saw that she was obviously a true professional in the field; she will be missed!

Rebecca Vermillion Shawver was the Director of Grant Administration at Brazosport College. She was an active member of the Grant Professionals Association and earned her GPC. Additionally, she was a member of the Council for Resource Development (CRD) for community college fund development professionals. Rebecca was a past CRD Director for Region VI and a past member of the CRD National Board. She presented numerous workshops at multiple regional and national CRD conferences.

A native-born Hoosier, Rebecca continued to serve as a consultant for agencies located in the State of Indiana. Additionally, she was the author of What Funders Want: Developing Evaluation Plans to Support Your K-12 Grant Applications (LRP Publications).

Rebecca was a dedicated volunteer working with the AFS Intercultural Programs. As the Volunteer Chair for the AFS Cradle of Texas Team, she was responsible for implementing and coordinating the AFS high school exchange program in part of Harris and all of Brazoria County, Texas. She hosted 22 exchange students over the past 25 years!

I want to share a few of Rebecca’s outstanding articles, which are among the dozens she authored for CharityChannel: Continue reading →