“Are grants even worth my time?” (Part 2)
This is the second part of a four-part series about whether grants are worth your time.
Read the first post here. Stay tuned for the next post in this series: Question 3: Do you have the staff you need? Think someone you know might be interested in these newsletters? They can subscribe here.
Question 2: Is your project or program fundable?
Funders want to know you have a track record of carrying out your projects or programs effectively, efficiently, and with care to wisely manage their financial investment.
On the flip side, your organization needs to know that what you propose in a grant application is something you’ll be able to deliver should you be funded.
Take stock
Take one of your current projects or programs. Can you answer all these questions? If not, it’s time to do more work with your team before that grant opportunity is worth your time.
Clearly outline the overarching goal of your project/program, as well as supporting objectives that are reasonable and measurable.
Provide a timeline of how you will carry out funded activities, as well as detailed costs.
Name your collaborative partners in the venture. You might want to ask these organizations for a letter of support, or perhaps your relationship is formal enough for a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Either of those documents will be helpful toward your case for funding.
Most importantly, communicate how you plan to measure your progress toward your goals and objectives. You’ll very likely be asked to report on these at the end of the grant period, so don’t set these without discussing it with your program team and evaluators.
Talk with your team and inventory your documentation
If you can check all those boxes, gather your financial, program, and development teams and discuss the grant opportunity at hand. Have an in-depth conversation about each element that is required. Can your organization live up to your end of the deal?
Once you’ve done all that, it’s easy to ignore lists of required supplemental materials. Don’t miss this step! For instance:
If the funder asks for a strategic plan, do you actually have one that is current? A strategic plan that ended last fiscal year isn’t going to cut it, but if your new strategic plan is in process, the grantor might be able to tell you what you could submit instead.
Is your board member list complete per the grantor’s requirements? Some grantors are now asking for age, race/ethnicity identity, and gender identity of each board member, so it might take you a few weeks to update your current board list.
If you’re applying for a federal grant (or a state/regional grant funded by federal monies), is your SAM.gov registration up to date, and do you have your UEI number? (The federal government is transitioning away from DUNS and to UEI instead.)
You may have gotten to the end of this and thought, “none of this work is worth the small amount of money I might receive from this funder!” I feel your pain. But the fact is, you’ll have to do this same evaluation for every grant opportunity, no matter how small or large. If you can think through these steps ahead of time, you’ll be ready for that last-minute RFP that’s a perfect fit for your program.
What is the last grant opportunity you turned down because your organization wasn’t grant-ready? Join my email list and you’ll receive a free downloadable Grant Readiness Checklist, which will outline the documents and information you need to be ready to apply for a grant.
Cover photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash