I recently presented a webinar entitled “Grantwriter as Strategic Leader: Your Crucial Role.” It covered a topic not often discussed in the nonprofit world: how can grantwriters assume a leadership role in their organizations? Grantwriters are actually perfectly positioned to be inspiring, confident, and competent leaders who can help their organizations plan strategically for their grantseeking futures.

I got so many great questions, I thought I would share some of them here. Following is Part 1 of this article (Part 2 appears tomorrow).

Q: How do you communicate to your Executive Director and board that it’s not just about the quantity (number) of grant proposals you send out. But the quality too?

 A: This is actually common, especially among folks with limited experience in grantseeking. You can compare grant proposals to resumes. It’s not a good strategy to send them out in scattershot fashion, in the blind hope that something will stick. It’s a better use of your time to really do your homework, and then plan out and customize each one. Competition for funds is stiff, and the better targeted your proposal the more likely it will get a second look.

Q: How do you lead a grantseeking team that has constantly shifting program/vision priorities?

A: This says something about your organization. Without a clear programmatic strategy, your fundraising efforts will suffer. It’s o.k. to want to get a full picture of a situation, especially for new or transitioning organizations. But at some point you will have to clearly tell your colleagues that program plans need to stabilize so that fundraising can happen. In fact, grantseeking usually takes several months (or even a year) before the funds come through. So you will need a solid strategic plan or Logic Model  to work from.

Q: To what extent should the grantwriter be responsible for evaluations and client feedback, vs. the program manager who designs/implements the program?

A: While the grantwriter should not be designing the programs, he/she is serving as the eyes and ears of a funder snooping around.  A grantwriter knows that evaluation is always going to be important to funders. That means that whoever is designing/implementing the program needs to find a way to measure results – in the short term and long term. A grantwriter can offer suggestions on how to go about that, but s/he is not in a position to make the final plans for evaluation (let alone carry it out). A grantwriter should also be asking how the evaluation results will be used to improve the program over time.

Client feedback and stories are also important to funders. They will want to know exactly how people have benefited from the program…and what difference that has made in their lives. Stories collected from throughout the organization should then make their way back to the grantwriter, as proposals should include some of that information.

[Stay tuned for Part 2]

(By the way, you can find answers to many more grant-related questions right HERE.)