Tips for Successful Grant Writing
Funding Basics
If you want to develop a powerful funding
strategy for your organization or a specific project, you must first
become familiar with giving patterns,, funding sources, and fundraising
methods. Knowing and understanding each of these is essential to creating
a fundraising strategy.
Before you begin, assemble the following
reference documents:
- Current operating plan and budget with
identified income sources and itemized expenses
- Current fundraising plans
- Description of new initiatives or
programs with estimated costs
- Projected operating plan and budget
A typical fundraising plan establishes
objectives, an action plan for each of these objectives, and a timeline
for completing the action plan. These defined and measurable objectives
will allow everyone, including staff, board members, and volunteers to see
the mission and ambition of the plan, and mark its progress along the way
to completion.
Strategies
Strategies are the steps that must be attained to accomplish fundraising
objectives. To get started with your plan, you first set up the basic
structure of the strategy development process.
These questions will help you make some
initial decisions:
- Is the funding strategy for general
operating support, a special project or new program, an endowment or
capital campaign?
- What will be the duration of the
fundraising strategy, and what is the start date? (We don't advise
projecting more than two years out.)
- Who will prepare the fundraising
strategy, and when?
- Who will review and approve the
fundraising strategy, and when?
Start by answering these questions and you
will have a basic structure within which to work.
Fundraising Methods
Think about the following suggestions to help develop strategies for the
different methods of fundraising you will use. Develop a strategic plan
that covers the entire two-year period. This longer-term approach helps
justify sustained involvement by volunteers, eases the approval process
for budget expenditures, and ensures more careful cost planning. You may
want to adopt several new methods of fundraising and expand on existing
methods, incorporating these into the overall design of the two-year plan.
There are numerous methods for raising
funds:
- Membership Development (or individual
gifts)
- Major Donors Program
- Corporate Giving Program
- Earned Income
- Special Events
- Planned Giving Program
- Grants Development Program
Once the fundraising strategy is reviewed
you will need to develop a detailed budget to accompany your plan. This
budget document should accompany the finalized strategic fundraising plan
and be approved by the board of directors.
It is very important to remember that once
you have developed a fundraising strategy - it will undoubtedly change. It
has to change, or it will never work! You will add, reschedule, and
recalculate all of the time.
But
remember: a good strategic plan will provide you with a road map to
achieving your fundraising goals, and should never be ignored unless there
is a compelling reason to do so.
Conducting a
Search
There are six easy steps to funding
research. If you complete them all, your success rate for securing grants
will increase dramatically.
Step 1. Begin with a literature search.
This is relatively simple now that most of this information is available
online.
Next, identify - or eliminate if not
applicable - government sources for your need. You should also obtain a
copy of your local municipal directory to identify potential local
programs for funding.
Step 2. Once you have accumulated a
comprehensive list of potential funders, write, call, or email to request
the latest application guidelines and annual report. Also try to review
the funder's IRS Form 990 - contact the funder directly to request a copy.
For federal and state sources, request application packets and a copy of
the enacting legislation.
Step 3. Read through the materials as they
arrive and eliminate those that obviously don't fit the proposed project.
Your list will shrink considerably. Remember: one strong lead is worth 20
weak ones!
Step 4. Create a brief description of the
project and your organization. Compile a list of questions you want to ask
each funder. Note the contact people with each organization.
Step 5. Call the prospective funder. This
is the crucial step grantseekers often avoid, but it is by far the most
critical element of the funding search process. When you reach your
contact person, let him/her know you will take only five to ten minutes of
his/her time. To make sure you keep your word:
- Keep the discussion brief and focused
- Use your written descriptions from Step 4
- Set a timer or keep track of time to be
sure you take ONLY five to ten minutes
After a few minutes of discussion, you'll
have a clear idea if you should pursue this funder.
Step 6. Complete a final review of your
prospective funders. Eliminate those that won't work. File them for
another project, if appropriate. You should have a list of three to five
solid leads. Incorporate these leads into a funding strategy for the
overall project.
And now you
can begin preparing grant requests!
Federal Government Funding Links
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