developing a strong grants program
DESCRIPTION
A strong grants program can be the key to a sustainable nonprofit organization. Grants are the funding of many organization's operating expenses and special programs, allowing donors to donate to funds that are critical to the expansion of your mission. So how does your organization find, and keep, these types of grants? Cindy Adams, CEO of GrantStation.com joins Jeffrey Sobers, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Blackbaud's Financial Solutions to discuss how you can create a strong grants program at your nonprofit. This discussion will include recent trends from GrantStation's State of Grantseeking Survey, tips to writing award winning proposals, and how to leverage GrantStation and The Financial Edge to develop a strong grants program.TRANSCRIPT
Developing a Strong Grants ProgramTips, Trends, and Two Very Good ToolsCynthia M. Adams, CEO, GrantstationJeffrey A. Sobers, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Blackbaud Financial Solutions
AGENDA
Knowledge-based Grant Seeking
Grant writing: Blending Trends Into Your Proposal
How GrantStation and Blackbaud Can Help You
AGENDA
Knowledge-based Grant Seeking
Grant writing: Blending Trends Into Your Proposal
How GrantStation and Blackbaud Can Help You
AGENDA
Knowledge-based Grant Seeking
Grant writing: Blending Trends Into Your Proposal
How GrantStation and Blackbaud Can Help You
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Build Leading Edge Grant Requests
2. Capture the Grantmaker’s Attention
3. Discover New Work Tools
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KNOWLEDGE-BASED GRANT SEEKING
ATTITUDE
DATA
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Like all technology, social media is neutral but is best put to work in the service of building a better world. - Simon Mainwaring
Social media – be it Facebook, blogs, Twitter, RSS feeds, You Tube or the multitude of other information sharing methods are a key element
in doing research today!
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
New Music USA’s project grants will help our funded artists to promote themselves, and help us to promote all the projects we fund. Instead of filling out a grant application, you’ll create a simple project page on this site with all of your work samples and project information. Pages will remain invisible to the public through the course of the review and decision process. If your project is awarded, we will make your project page public on our website. Once that happens, you’ll be able to post updates as your project unfolds.
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Someone who knows technology is now participating in the
review process.
ATTITUDE
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Today we think of scale = big
Tomorrow we will think Of scale = networked
“. . . you can form consortiums and apply for grants as it is more attractive to go after these funds as a group. I have formed consortia as small as two districts and as large as 21 school districts. It works!”
- Jane EricksonDEVO Consultants /Detroit
ATTITUDE
Impact
Efforts
Outcomes
Process
ATTITUDE
The outcome of your project or program becomes a community asset.
Integrate this
thinking into your request
ATTITUDE
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“Philanthropy is reinventing itself . . . to be bolder and more investment oriented.”
Nancy Roob, President & CEOEdna McConnell Clark Foundation
Evidence building is key!
DATA
Markets for GoodConnect, align and accelerate
Financial SCANUsed by organizations &
grantmakers. Up & running!
PerformWellIdentify & share common metrics.
Up & successfully running!
Strategy Landscape
Mainly used by grantmakers.
Still in development
DATA
Find the data
Interrogate the data
Visualize and “mash
up” the data
TIPYou can become an expert at observing and illuminating
what is happening in your community and learn to effectively share that information with grantmakers.
AGENDA
Knowledge-based Grant Seeking
Grant writing: Blending Trends Into Your Proposal
How GrantStation and Blackbaud Can Help You
DEFINING THE NEED Data will dictate what your
next steps should be. Current conclusions will be
examined allowing you to explore new solutions.
Using reliable data speaks to your credibility, and the credibility of your proposal.
If you survey stakeholders,
be sure to include at least one open ended
question to unearth new
issues.
TIP!
DEFINING THE NEED
OUR VIEW THEIR VIEW
Your goal is to reach agreement that this is
a true need.
Data must be objective & compelling
Is this need something we must address immediately?
This problem is just growing worse. We need support today.
DEFINING THE NEED
Your statement of
need is objective.
Your project is the right response.
Cast a wide data collection net
Look at both internal and external data
Run that data through a sieve
DEFINING THE NEED
Get to know your data sources!
Find good resources that deliver excellent data – and use them regularly.
Consistency of use instills confidence in your writing.
There are a number of high quality, peer-reviewed subject directories on line.
DEFINING THE NEED
INFOMINE is a comprehensive virtual library and reference tool for academic and scholarly Internet resources, including Web sites, databases
Searchable by Author, Title, Key Word, Subject, and many other areas.
INFOMINE offers an email alert service so if new data arrives you’ll be the first to know.
DEFINING THE NEED
Stateline is an editorially independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting
and analysis on trends in state policy.
Searchable by state, issue, and date.
Stateline offers an RSS feed so you’re always getting the latest
news coverage.
DEFINING THE NEED
Archives and distributes child abuse data sets to researchers.
Find several resources that
speak directly to your work. Use this data with
the data development tools already discussed.
GENERATING A SENSE OF URGENCY
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Urgency of opportunity
Discontent with the
status quo
Every delay causes harm
You can incorporate one or more of these
approaches.
GENERATING A SENSE OF URGENCYEvery year the Jennifer Perkins Literacy Project
works with hundreds of young people, ages 17 to 23, and their families in the inner city to promote literacy and the pursuit of knowledge.
Every month we graduate several dozen young adults from this program – moving them into jobs throughout the community where recruitment of good workers continues to be a challenge for local employers.
Every week the Literacy Project turns away 9 to 15 youth and their families who have asked for our help because we don’t have the staff to open our doors any wider.
Every day is a challenge for the employers in our community who struggle to find well-educated workers to help build their businesses.
Discontent with status
quo
Every delay
causes harm
GENERATING A SENSE OF URGENCY
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Establish a window of
opportunity
Scarcity of product or
service
Note genuine deadlines or emergencies
Be selective in your use of writing
techniques
AGENDA
Knowledge-based Grant Seeking
Grant writing: Blending Trends Into Your Proposal
How GrantStation and Blackbaud Can Help You
APPLY A CONSISTENT RESEARCH METHOD
Look for government & private sources
Review background materials
Determine questions
Create a script
Contact funder
Build strategy
Six specific, easy to do steps
Unlock the door to the right grant
makers
APPLY A CONSISTENT RESEARCH METHODCheck out all government fundingFederalStateLocal government(s)
Research private grantmakersFoundations (regional, national, global)
Family Trusts, Community Foundations
Corporations (local business, regional, national, global)
Religious grantmakers (cross denominations)
Associations and clubs (local, statewide, national)
APPLY A CONSISTENT RESEARCH METHODReview and eliminate
First Cut
Deadline date(s)
Average grant award
Geographic focus
Areas of interest
Types of support
Second Cut
Who have they given to in the past year?
Have they funded a project similar to ours?
Develop questions• Can they share with you the
review process?
• Should the proposal be written for reviewers with technical or non-technical backgrounds?
• As a first time applicant, should you ask for a less amount then average?
• Can they tell you the probable award announcement date?
• Are there unannounced programs or unsolicited funds available to support your project?
APPLY A CONSISTENT RESEARCH METHODCreate a scriptLet the funder know, right up front, that you have done your homework Don't ask questions that are
already answered in their published materials.
Do introduce yourself, your role, and one or two sentences about your organization.
Don’t give them a lot of information about your organization or project at this juncture.
Engage the grantmaker
Contact via email or phone
Don’t go off script!
If you are writing an email, make it short and easy for them to answer specific questions.
If you are calling, tell them exactly how much time you need (5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.) and stick to it.
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GrantStation is a terrific "one-stop" for comprehensive information about grant opportunities... Federal, State and Foundation. I have found it to be a better resource than any of the other "directories."Dr. Mary C. HokeNon-Profit Administrator and University FacultyJewish Family & Children’s ServiceSt. Louis, MO
Comprehensive, searchable databases of private and public sector funding in the U.S. and throughout
the world.
Here’s what we offer to help you in your good work!
On-going, on-line education to help in
every aspect of grants research, grant writing,
and grants management.
ABOUT BLACKBAUDServing the nonprofit and education sectors for 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) combines technology and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more than 28,000 customers in over 60 countries that support higher education, healthcare, human services, arts and culture, faith, the environment, independent K-12 education, animal welfare, and other charitable causes. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and on-premise software solutions and related services for organizations of all sizes including: fundraising, eMarketing, social media, advocacy, constituent relationship management (CRM), analytics, financial management, and vertical-specific solutions. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company by Forbes, InformationWeek, and Software Magazine and honored by Best Places to Work, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
ARE YOU MAXED
OUT?
The #1 reason you lose your funding is
inefficiency
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What should you do about it?
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THE FINANCIAL EDGE FOR GRANT FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS
CYNTHIA ADAMS
@GrantsCEO
For more information, resources, and conversations, visit:
GrantStation.com
JEFF SOBERS
@jeffsobers
For more information, resources, and conversations, visit:
npEngage.com
Blackbaud.com/fund-accounting/financial-edge
Save the Date!
October 6 – 8, 2014, Gaylord Nashville, TN