Studying grant writing is a ceremony of passage for a lot of nonprofit professionals. Many people first dive into grant writing with minimal (and even no) prior expertise.

Writing a grant proposal would possibly appear to be a giant, scary job. In spite of everything, you’re presenting your group for judgment with actual cash and help on the road throughout a time when many nonprofits are seeing drops of their donation numbers.

Whereas that is all true, it’s vital to do not forget that grant writing is de facto only a collection of steps, not a mysterious course of that leads to cash for some fortunate nonprofits and rejections for others.

Profitable grant writing comes all the way down to group, cautious decision-making, and expertise. The extra you attempt, the extra classes you choose up and the higher you turn into (which is why many organizations depend on grant writing freelancers who focus solely on the craft).

However let’s say you’re working in-house and simply acquired handed your first grant writing project—what subsequent? We break it down into an approachable 10-step course of.

Step 1: Perceive the Grant Panorama and Course of.

First, you’ll want some context to make extra knowledgeable selections. Spend a while studying extra about these key areas of the grant panorama:

• Funders. Personal foundations, public foundations (technically known as public charities), authorities businesses on the native, state, and federal ranges, and companies are the first varieties of organizations that present grants to nonprofits.
• Funding constructions. Grants are available in a number of completely different styles and sizes. Funding might be restricted to the precise mission specified by your proposal or unrestricted for common use. Payouts is likely to be given or offered in installments. The full worth is likely to be a flat amount of cash or matched, which means the grant offers a sure portion of your mission’s complete prices (typically 50%). Every of those classes can convey completely different reporting concerns that you just’ll want to know forward of time, as nicely.
• The phases of the grant lifecycle. There’s extra to grant searching for than writing a proposal and successful funding, most notably the post-award steps of grant administration and reporting. Carefully following your funder’s reporting tips not solely ensures compliance and clean payouts but additionally units you up nicely for future partnerships.
• The elements of a grant proposal. For those who’re model new to grant searching for, you’ll want to know the completely different sections and paperwork that make up a typical proposal. The precise necessities and order will differ from grant to grant, however you may usually anticipate to see these sections:

Take a look at Study Grant Writing’s introductory information for a breakdown of those widespread parts and paperwork.

Step 2: Overview Your Nonprofit’s Mission.

What are you searching for funding for? The overwhelming majority of grants are restricted, which means they’re meant to fund particular initiatives, applications, or initiatives.

Ideally, your nonprofit already is aware of the brand new initiatives that want funding as a part of its broader strategic plan and calendar.

Do not put the cart earlier than the horse—solely apply for grant alternatives that align together with your mission and what you already need to accomplish. Don’t provide you with new initiatives and applications solely for the sake of making use of for a grant. It is a recipe for mission drift, disorganization, and in the end, a much less targeted and efficient nonprofit.

Step 3: Analysis Grant Alternatives.

Begin on the lookout for your first (or subsequent) grant to use for.

There are various useful sources to take a look at. For presidency grants, depend on the official grants.gov web site. Candid and The Nationwide Council of Nonprofits present useful directories for all kinds of basis grants, as nicely.

Memberships and paid platforms are additionally accessible and supply extra options that may assist you to construct a constant grant funding pipeline. Instrumentl and GrantStation are each common decisions on this class.

Begin your analysis by discovering alternatives that align together with your mission, meant mission, worth, and timeframe. Don’t be afraid to place collectively an extended record at this stage.

Step 4: Prioritize Your Choices.

Subsequent, start narrowing down your record of grant alternatives to those who will give you the best likelihood of success. A number of standards may help you prioritize your alternatives, together with:

• Mission alignment between your nonprofit and the funder
• Mission alignment with the grant’s said goal and objectives
• Any present connections you might need with the funder
• Applicant success price, or the variety of awardees over the overall variety of candidates for previous grants offered by the funder
• The prominence of the funder or the niche-ness of the grant (as proxy measures of competitiveness)
• The price of pursuing the grant or the trade-off of time spent making use of for and managing it versus its precise worth or impression in your mission

There’s nobody good strategy to measure competitiveness, and your consolation zone will differ relying on the precise circumstances. One useful rule of thumb we suggest is to prioritize grants with applicant success charges of 20% or higher.

Bear in mind, too, which you can (and may) attain out on to funders to study extra in the event you can’t discover related info on-line or via any databases you employ.

Work via your record a number of occasions, narrowing it all the way down to a handful of one of the best alternatives. If you’ve settled in your #1, it’s time to start out making use of.

Step 5: Dive Deep into the Grant’s Pointers.

Your chosen grant’s tips and necessities would be the basis of every thing that comes subsequent. Take your time to learn, learn, and reread them.

Actively search clarification from the funder and skilled staff members as wanted. Higher to speculate the time in understanding the rules now than wrestle via the applying course of later and notice you’re off-target!

Step 6: Put together a Narrative Skeleton.

Start by giving your self a stable construction to construct on, one which’s constructed straight from the said necessities of the grant. This can hold you on observe, save time, and end in a more practical proposal.

We name it the “narrative skeleton.” Work your means via the grant’s tips and necessities and compile them into an overview.

Use the precise language from the rules because the part headings—this may instantly convey relevance to your funder. Start brainstorming speaking factors and varieties of information to incorporate in every part as you consider them, however don’t fear about filling within the particulars and drafting full sentences but. The purpose is solely to put the groundwork with an easy-to-use template that you just’ll later fill in and polish right into a completed product.

Step 7: Kick Off the Mission and Acquire the Essential Data

Grant proposals include info gathered from throughout a company, so that they often require enter from a number of staff members and departments. Earlier than you start drafting your proposal, it’s a good suggestion to sync up with the people who’ll assist you to alongside the best way.

Whereas making ready your narrative skeleton, you recognized info that you just’ll want on your proposal, like impression information about previous applications or projections on your proposed mission. Put together an agenda and invite the people who may help you collect this info to a grant kickoff assembly.

Throughout your assembly, overview the next necessities:

• The grant, the funder, and the rules
• Your timeline and meant submission date
• The info you want, from whom, and by when
• share info and paperwork with the grant staff
• Anecdotes and constituent suggestions that will be useful to collect

That is additionally the time to debate some vital logistics. Your group ought to finalize the finances on your proposed mission as quickly as doable (particularly for matching grants) to be able to embrace it in your proposal. Talk about any extra documentation required by the grant, and get the ball rolling on securing it quickly. For some organizations, it could actually take fairly some time to safe official board resolutions, as an illustration.

Reply questions, thank everybody for his or her time, and observe up as wanted. The secret is to be organized—nobody desires to be roped right into a mission the place they don’t perceive what’s wanted of them or when.

Step 8: Write Your Grant Narrative.

After your assembly, and as information and enter start rolling in, begin drafting your essential grant proposal. Take into account these finest practices to assist make this course of as clean and efficient as doable:

• Begin from the tip and work backward. Most grants finish with the meatier and extra complicated sections, like sustainability plans and budgets. Attempt to deal with these first to each get them out of the best way and to maintain their vital particulars recent in your thoughts as you draft the sooner, extra narrative-driven sections.
• Comply with storytelling finest practices. Lively language, use of the primary particular person, illustrative particulars, actual folks and locations, and a dynamic, constructive tone all assist your readers higher envision their very own roles in your story and people of your group. Attempt to strike the correct stability of refined however emotionally compelling storytelling.
• Stability your narrative with onerous numbers. Funders are moved by tales, however they’ve to make use of numbers to make selections. Guarantee that your proposal makes a balanced case that’s defensible from each the qualitative and quantitative angles. Use information as an instance the issue you’re fixing, your progress thus far, and the way a lot additional your new mission will push you towards success.
• Keep targeted and impact-forward. Write from a place of power somewhat than shortage; that’s, whilst you ought to clearly illustrate the issues at hand, hold the concentrate on the way you’re shifting ahead urgently and deliberately. Tie your essential speaking factors again to measurable impression every time doable and illustrate them with tangible examples and particulars.

We suggest tackling this step quick and furiously.

For those who’ve deliberate out your timeline nicely, you’ll have loads of time to overview your proposal, get suggestions, and make revisions, however for now, you need vitality and momentum. For many grants, you need to purpose to finish a full first draft in 4 days or fewer.

Step 9: Put together the Full Software.

With a whole draft in hand that you just’ve combed via and tightened up, it’s time to compile all the extra documentation you could present the funder. These mostly embrace budgets, resolutions, and letters of help. Bear in mind, it’s by no means a nasty thought to carefully overview your grant tips one final time to be sure to’re not lacking something.

At this stage, you’ll additionally possible need to create a canopy sheet on your proposal that outlines the contents and supplemental supplies.

Step 10: Overview, Submit, and Take a Breather.

Lastly, ask a teammate to rigorously overview your full proposal and examine it in opposition to the grant’s tips. Have them search for any big-picture points, lacking particulars, and clunky language.

Then, make your last revisions and submit the grant in accordance with the funder’s directions (ideally a minimum of a day or two earlier than the official deadline).

As soon as it’s out of your palms, take a breath, let everybody know, thank them for his or her assist, and shake off all of the nervous vitality. We suggest taking a stroll, bike trip, or simply taking an early afternoon to fulfill up with a pal. No matter works for you!

This 10-step course of has served us and our grant writing college students nicely, and it ought to function a useful framework on your first forays into the world of grant writing, too. Comply with its core suggestions and keep extraordinarily organized. If you wish to make your new expertise official, attempt exploring on-line grant writing programs that supply acknowledged certification!

Bonus factors in the event you go the additional mile on your group—keep in mind the record of prioritized record of grant alternatives you developed in Steps 3 and 4?

Revisit them to create a coherent Grant Funding Technique, a yearlong roadmap of grant alternatives that can maintain your present and upcoming initiatives. This straightforward train can go a really lengthy strategy to streamline your future grant writing efforts and set your nonprofit up for long-term success. Better of luck!

Concerning the Creator

Meredith Noble

Meredith Noble is the co-founder of Study Grant Writing, a web based membership for these constructing their careers in grant writing. Her e-book, Write a Grant: Grow to be a Grant Writing Unicorn, is a bestseller for nonprofit fundraising and grants. Her experience has been featured in NASDAQ, Forbes, Quick Firm, Enterprise Insider, and different high publications. She has secured over $45 million in grant funding, and her college students have secured over $627 million – a quantity that grows day by day.  If Meredith’s not biking or snowboarding in Alaska, she might be discovered curled round a steaming cup of green-tea and a very good e-book.