Three Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Wrote My First Grant Proposal
Right out of college, I worked for a small nonprofit for about six months, then transitioned to a university performing arts center that essentially functioned as a nonprofit. In both positions, grants fell to me – a green employee and brand new “adult.” My undergrad degrees were in music and business management. Not a single one of my professors had ever talked about nonprofit business structure or grants. In short, I had no idea what I was doing!
Now, I’ve got a decade and a half under my belt, focused on nonprofits (and grants) in my master’s program, and have based my entire business on this part of the nonprofit industry! If you’re stepping into the grant space for the first time (no matter your age or experience), here are three things I remember from that early time that might help you.
Grant lesson #1: You’re not alone
Even if funders can sometimes be frustrating, they aren’t there to enforce scary rules or tell you that you can’t apply. Their staff usually do want to help! The first thing you should do for a new grant application is review the guidelines and make sure you’re eligible and competitive. The very next thing you should do is call the appropriate program officer to introduce yourself. (I prefer phone calls over emails every time it’s possible. You’ll end up with a more authentic relationship when you don’t have to rely on text on a screen to carry across your personality.)
Lean on your organization’s program staff and your finance department. Don’t attempt to complete the entire application or report yourself – grants are a collaborative process and you don’t (and shouldn’t!) have all the answers.
Grant lesson #2: Don’t reinvent the wheel
If your organization has applied to this funder before, hopefully someone kept decent records for you to reference. Assuming the last application was funded, use those records to start your first draft (if it wasn’t funded, read the old application critically to determine what weaknesses might have led to the application being rejected). Then start your own institutional language document.
Grant lesson #3: Get organized – and stay that way
I had the good fortune of coming into a university position where my predecessors had been very organized, but you may not always find that to be the case. Figure out where all your organization’s past applications live (digitally and/or physically). What grant checklist items can you locate? In the long term, what systems and processes can you put in place to help you stay organized in the future?
Conclusion
We’re all beginners sometime, and it was fun for me to reflect back on how I felt about grants when I first started. And, these lessons are still true for me today! I regularly learn (and relearn) how to do these things, especially when I’m onboarding a new client. No matter where you are in your career lifecycle, I hope these grant lessons will be helpful for you.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your young self?
Cover photo is me at my graduation from The University of Georgia. What a baby!