What Exactly Goes in the Agency Background?

In the typical grant proposal, the grant writer tends to spend a lot of time researching and writing specific sections such as the needs statement, goals and objectives and the like. Oftentimes, the Organizational Background ends up being the weaker section, with less time and importance attached to it. At other times, grant writers may even go overboard with this section, thinking that they need to cram every piece of history and details in here. What is a good median here?

The Almost-Perfect Case Statement

Is there really such a thing as a perfect case statement? Most likely, what looks perfect to you may seem otherwise to your boss, or even to your own self reading it again after a year. By definition a case statement must bring out the need for your program or project in such a way that the reader is almost compelled to fund the project. For capital campaigns especially, case statements make or brake the decision itself. While perfect may be difficult to achieve, I contend that hard work, practice and good writing can certainly take your case statement out of the "boring" category to the "must read" one... almost perfect!

Showing the Need Creatively

Deep down each one of us is convinced that the program (or service or organization) we are writing grant proposals for is absolutely and imperatively needed in the community. And we also know that the needs statement of a grant proposal is the ideal venue for a detailed explanation of the need that exists in the community. Yet sometimes it becomes difficult to find the relevant information to adequately explain that need in the most fascinating and urgent of tones. Although the descriptive quality of a needs statement should not be downplayed, the fact remains that the star of this show must always be the quantitative data that proves without a shadow of doubt the gap in services that your organization is trying to fill. The dilemma lies in the fact that data is usually BORING!

Improve Your Grant Writing Skills

I was asked by someone recently on how to improve their grant writing skills while staying on a budget. For all those who don't have the time, money or inclination to take a grant writing refresher course, here are some creative ways to improve your skills:

Prioritizing Grant Projects

Once in a while every grant writer is faced with a unique situation: finding the perfect grant opportunity but not knowing exactly which project to apply for. True, there are always more needs than resources as far as grant funds are concerned, but not every project is fundable by the same grant opportunity. So when funds are available and more than one project or program fits the bill, how does one decide what project to apply for? Here's where prioritizing comes in.

Five Ways to Get Your Proposal Rejected

Let's admit, we all make mistakes from time to time. But when it comes to writing grant proposals, even little errors can end up being very costly. Here are some small mistakes that can push your proposal into the trash can:

Traits of Successful Grant Consultants

There’s a saying in the nonprofit sector: if you’re in this, it’s not to become rich. To prove this saying wrong, many grant writers decide to freelance... perhaps because they think it will allow them the freedom to earn more money than working as an employee at a nonprofit organization. Yet years later they are no better than when they started, searching for high-paying clients, struggling with freaky organizational dynamics of staff and volunteers, and hoping for a vacation. What is it, then, that separates the average grant writing consultant from those few who earn exorbitant amounts of money and recognition in their field? Oh yes, we all know who I am referring to!

Teamwork Really Works!

Grantwriters often tend to work in a vacuum, sometimes due to organizational dynamics and other times because they prefer to. How many times have we wished that our program people were more hands-on, more involved, more knowledgeable? How many times have we wished that we weren't doing everything from A to Z by ourselves? And how many times have we been glad that we didn't have to deal with the drama of the program department who do nothing but delay our proposal writing process? Sounds familiar?

Websites You May Want to Check Out

I thought that today being the unofficial start of the weekend, I would give my readers a list of valuable websites and/or blogs to check out in their spare time. Over the years I have found all of these very valuable to my grant seeking, and I hope that they increase others' skills and knowledge as well. I encourage you to send me more links so that I can update this post in the coming months:

The Needs Statement - Friend or Foe?

Until a few years ago, I used to hate writing statements of need for grant proposals. Even though I knew what the problem was, I could never really explain it well on paper... after all, if high school drop outs are on the rise, need I really sit down and explain why that could be dangerous for not only the students concerned but the entire nation. Everyone gets it, right?

Wrong! Let's explore the many assumptions in this argument...

We Recommend: Purdue Proposal Enhancement Tools

Grant writers often find themselves struggling to define key sections of their grant proposals... who and where is our target audience, what impact do we expect our program or project to achieve, how will we evaluate success? Really, this is the meat of the proposal, yet many don't have enough information to adequately describe it. Program officers don't seem to have time to sit and explain it all to us, and evaluation methodologies are too often outside our area of expertise. If only there were some handy dandy tools to assist us in understanding what information we need, where to find it, and how to craft it into a powerful proposal.

Well, good news, there are just such tools! The Purdue Proposal Enhancement Tools, to be exact.

Prospect Research Need Not be Scary

Many grant professionals feel intimated by prospect research. It's a whole different world, isn't it? Data analytics, real estate records, prospect identification... many of us really don't know what to make of all of it, and whether it really is important for the average grant writer.

Logic Models Can be Easy

I am asked repeatedly by grant professionals and program staff if there is an easy way to create logic models. I wonder why these extremely helpful tools make even the most seasoned nonprofit professional uneasy? Here's a simple way to get started on even the most difficult of logic models: