There are several things your Nonprofit or NGO should have
in place to be in a great position to receive grant funding. I receive calls every week from organizations
or individuals that want to secure my grant writing services. I will not take on a client unless they are
truly prepared for grant funding. If
they aren’t prepared it is really a waste of time and resources. A few things that have to be in place to even
start doing grant research.
1.
501c 3 Status http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Charitable-Organizations/Exemption-Requirements-Section-501%28c%29%283%29-Organizations
2.
Mission Vision
3.
Agency annual budget
4.
Active Board of Directors
5.
Written Program and Service
descriptions and outcomes
Federal grant applications for nonprofits can take 80-200
hours to complete, and hiring a grant writer to prepare one for your can cost
$5,000-$10,000 or more. Nonprofits entertaining the idea of government grants
must first ask, “Is my nonprofit ready to pursue government grants? Private Foundation grants can take less time
to prepare but are very competitive as well.
Competition for all grant funding has intensified
significantly since the recession. Many times when government grants
competitions are announced, deadlines are generally just four to eight weeks
away. That doesn’t give you the time you need to develop a competitive
proposal. This is why preparation is
important, so before you spend your precious time researching
government http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/home.html
http://foundationcenter.org/ grants
and hiring a grant writer make sure your nonprofit is positioned for success.
The most successful organizations have:
1. A history of
successful grant seeking
Government agencies look for evidence
that your organization has already been successful in securing grants from
local and regional foundations, local community foundation, family foundation
and/or corporate philanthropy programs. You
should also have ongoing support from your board of directors -- some funders
require evidence that 100% of your board donates to your organization every
year. Why should the state or federal government support your work if you don't
have the support of your local funders and your own board?
2. Capacity and
credibility
Do you have the right staff with the
right qualifications in place to implement your program?
If you are planning an arts and music
program, for instance, you should have staff in place (or plan to hire) people
who have worked in arts and music. The
head of the program should have a a degree and many years of experience.
Do you have sufficient technological
resources to implement your programs and manage complex government grants? Do
you have the right site or space to run your proposed program?
3.
A history of successful outcomes
Always track your outcomes even if the program
started out with just volunteer support. This will be valuable information for
funders when you submit your first grant.
It will look great to funders if you started out without funding and had
great results and need their support to take your program and services to the
next level. START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!
For grant writing consultant services contact Yolanda Shields at innovationgurus@letsgoinnovate.com
CONSULTANT AUTHOR COACH
FOLLOW
YOLANDA ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK
