In order to position your organization as grant-ready, this article offers two core ideas. First, criteria are identified that a fundraiser can use to assess an organization’s capacity for grant seeking and readiness. Second, steps are discussed to identify ways for implementing organizational practices that enhance grant-readiness. These core ideas are reflected in the Grant Professionals Association’s (GPA; www.grantprofessionals.org) Grant…

Fundraising and grant seeking are challenging, especially in this economy. David Rubenstiein, one of the wealthiest people in the world and the co-founder of The Carlyle Group, a major U.S.-based global asset management company, said:

Raising…

Today I received a link to the 2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report from Kivi Leroux at Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com. I look forward to reading this report every year because I know the treasures within will help nonprofit leaders I work with position their nonprofits against…

Where I Get My Grant News (and everything else)

I just read 3 Steps to Using Twitter to Gather Nonprofit News by Joe Waters.  Like Joe, this Jo gets the same question, “Where do you get all of this stuff?”   My answer is…

You grant got approved!  Hurrah, it’s time for celebrating. And, it’s time for a plan of action for keeping your funder in the loop about how you are spending their money, and how successful your project is.  All funders want to know the unvarnished truth and explicit details on the management of your project, and if you are accomplishing what you set out to do.  

Here are 4 actions to follow to make your grant reporting a breeze, and to keep your funder in the palm of your…

At an early age, I learned how misplaced a focus on money, property, and status over all else can be. When the Nazis occupied my home in what is today the Czech Republic, my very courageous and astute father had the guts to drop and give up everything on a moment’s notice, home, business, cars, a very comfortable lifestyle, to get me, my mother and himself, out of there in a very short window of opportunity. His belief was that money was to be enjoyed, but not clung to, not worth one’s life.…

Writing the grant proposal is only one part of the grants process. Comprehensive grant prospecting is crucial to the success of your grants program, and it’s all about approaching the right foundation at the right time with the right request. With thousands of private, community, and corporate foundations as well as countless opportunities through local, state, and federal governments, how do you find the needle in the haystack? How do you find grants?

Knowing is Half the…

Most non-profits are always on the lookout for novel ways to grow their asset base. One that often gets overlooked is in-kind gifts. Organizations use these types of gifts instead of a cash grant. In the technology world, these goods can include new and refurbished computers, printers, hardware of all kinds, software, and educational materials. Corporations are delighted to donate spare items because their “giveaways” are only the small cost of the products.

The advantages to…

Race to the Top – District: Applying as a Consortium, on Thursday, August 30, 2012 from 2:00-3:30 PM EST. Find the slides and register here: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/resources.html 

Race to the Top has an overview webinar today from 12:00PM to 3:00PM EST. You can find the slides for the webinar and register at: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/resources.html.

If you are a data junkie like me, you were ecstatic to hear that HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) released the 2011-2012 Area Resource File. They call it “a database containing more than 6,000 variables for each of the nation's counties” and say it “is designed to be used by planners, policymakers, researchers, and others interested in the nation's health care delivery system and factors…

When you’ve been in any business for more than a few years, you begin to realize that “old” ideas are often recycled and given new labels. You chuckle to yourself and think, “I did that 10 years ago and we called it something else—this isn’t anything new—but I’ll go with it."

Well, meet today’s current recycled trend: tribes.…

The grant process is complex, worrisome, and daunting at times.  All organizations want the process to be easier, with less stress.

We know that funders are an all-important part of the development, ongoing effort, decision, and (after winning a grant) part of the evaluation process. In other words, they are vital to a grantee’s success. Contrary to what you might think funder relationships can a real blessing instead of something to be feared. Here are 3 tips for building a…

As faith-based organizations struggle to meet their financial needs while also meeting the needs of the community they serve, many are beginning to explore the possibility of grant funding. To be successful in grant seeking efforts, faith-based organizations need to recognize that there are special considerations for faith-based organizations.

Many faith-based nonprofits rely on a variety of funding sources to meet their fiscal needs. Faith-based organizations, while fulfilling…

In my experience as a grant reviewer, I have observed that the evaluation section is often the section most commonly fraught with problems. Generally, evaluation plans are either under-developed or do not align with the project goals and objectives. This is terribly problematic for organization as it is a key review point: do all your sections tie together? Are all the elements described in the implementation section represented in the evaluation plan? Unfortunately, the answer, more often…

If you are like most people, you are spending approximately one third of your life working, to support the other third enjoying your family, your friends, your free time, your relaxation. The last third is for sleeping and gathering strength for all the other efforts. It would be a sad thing indeed, if you did not enjoy that third that is your working life, and a blessing if you really love it.…

Just like any project, a grant or a proposal must be managed. What’s different about grants and proposals is that they usually need to be completed in a short time period that will keep your team hopping, and stressed out because there’s such a short window for completing the application. 

You’ll see that I use grant and proposal interchangeably in this post.  The post applies to both funding opportunities.

Who’s In the Line-Up? (Who are the members of your…

While the human element (i.e. the story) is critical in grant proposal writing, evidence is also essential. Our job as writers is to use data to support both the need for our work and our specific solution to the stated problem.

That’s easier said than done. How do you know which data will best support your application?

We live in a world of information overload. Estimates from the National Science Board and others suggest there were nearly 1.5 million peer-reviewed articles…

Nonprofit acquisition of technology often follows an all-too-familiar pattern. An agency identifies a grant opportunity for one of its programs, realizes that a portion of the funds can be used to purchase technology and includes a couple of new laptops in the proposal budget. The agency repeats this process a few times each year for several years, and eventually it has a collection of laptop and desktop computers that collectively operate on four different operating systems with at least…

Partnering, collaborating, and working together have become synonymous with vibrant, successful organizations. While such partnerships can be beneficial to all involved, it is essential that organizations understand the expectations of the partnership as well as the benefits.


As an organization looks to begin building collaborative relationships with others---non-profits, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and for-profit businesses, testing the waters with less…