Category Archives: Ask Dalya

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What Do Funders Look for in a Grant Proposal?

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Ah — the quintessential question! Wouldn’t it be great to get inside the head of your intended funders to find out what really knocks their socks off? Or how about being a fly on the wall at a meeting where they make their funding decisions?

Unfortunately, I can’t read the tea leaves for you. But I can tell you two very important things to keep in mind.

1. Each Funder Is Unique and Should Be Treated as Such

If you’ve read the first blog post in this series, you already know that each funder has a particular set of funding criteria and specific goals that they are trying to achieve with their philanthropy. They also have certain values or ideas that guide them in making their funding choices. Your grant proposal should demonstrate that your organization and the funder are both on the same page.

As you research potential grantmakers, be sure to read (and reread) their published funding guidelines, priorities, and requests for proposals (RFPs). Find out who they have funded before and if and how your organization could fit strategically into their funding portfolio.

For best results, I recommend also interacting with the funder before you submit your grant proposal (as discussed extensively in the Grant Writing and Management course series). A dialogue of any sort will help you “read between the lines” of the funder information you find online.

2. Familiarize Yourself with a General “Bottom Line”

Before you start your research process, you should know what virtually all funders are looking for. Try putting yourself in their shoes for a moment.

Funders are seeking a strong return on their investment, in terms of the social impact their dollars will help facilitate. Your grant proposal should convince them that your work is worth investing in — because it is both inspiring and structurally sound. Here is a handy checklist of what that looks like.

Organizations

Funders are most interested in an organization that has the following characteristics.

  • Is well positioned to address the community need, either alone or with others in the field
    Grantmakers are looking for assurance that they can trust your organization to competently help solve the community problem you are addressing. You need to show that you can lead this work because you have strong internal capacity or can play a unique role in collaboration with others in your field. They also need to know that you are a reliable and respected presence in your field.
  • Has sustainable community support
    Funders want to support organizations that have a variety of strong investors. They want to see that you have other grantmakers on board, as well as individual donors, volunteers, or contributions of goods or services. They are looking for financial sustainability.
  • Is a learning and growing organization
    You may think that you need to have all the answers for how to turn grant money into nothing but stellar results. (Actually, maybe you do hold the magic bullet the funder has been looking for. If so, by all means go for it!)

    But you don’t actually have to be 100 percent successful 100 percent of the time to be of great value to grantmakers. While they want to see their grantees succeed, they also know that sometimes what we learn from “mistakes” can be even more valuable. Grantmakers rely on nonprofits to show them what works and what doesn’t work. They especially like to fund organizations that are actively addressing their weaknesses and finding new and better pathways to success.
  • Uses transparent and accountable internal processes and procedures
    This is true about your entire organization, including finances, administration, human resources, and other “back office” work. Your internal operations are very important to funders and should not be overlooked. Your integrity is on the line here!

Programs and Projects

Funders are most interested in a program or project that has the following characteristics.

  • Focuses on a pressing community need of concern to the funder
    First, the affected community has to express its need in clear terms. That need will be related to its specific realities and issues. If you can show that the need simply can’t wait to be addressed, and the funder agrees, you’re on to something.
  • Aligns with your mission and is a high priority for you
    You should only propose work that is centered on your strengths or core competencies. That is, stay aligned with your mission and make sure that you only pursue grants to support priority programs, projects, or operations at your organization.
  • Has a specific, realistic plan for implementing a new or proven solution
    Funders need to know that your proposed work has a good chance of successfully delivering results — within the grant period (usually one year). So they need to see a solid work plan with a well-aligned budget that leads to accomplishing your goals in a timely manner. While your work doesn’t necessarily have to break new ground, you do need to show that it will build on past success or serve an otherwise unserved or underserved community. If you can feature some unique aspects, all the better!
  • Is likely to have a clear, measurable impact
    The funder has to be convinced that your plan shows promise in effectively addressing the community need in the short term and is also part of a long-term strategy. Your method of regularly evaluating your success should use both numbers and narrative, aiming to show an appropriate level of impact. Of course, once you get the feedback you need, funders want to know that you will use that information to continuously improve.
  • Involves the beneficiaries in planning or implementation
    Funders know that the people who could benefit the most from your program are the experts on their own community issues. Community members also know what works and doesn’t work for them. The most successful programs were not designed by an outsider, but grew organically out of the communities they are supposedly helping.
  • Is planned to be replicable or will produce data to share with others
    As you know, nonprofit resources are always scarce. Funders want to support successful programs that can fairly easily and inexpensively be adapted and replicated in other communities. Sharing successful models leverages their grant dollars and helps spread good ideas: two things funders love.

So I recommend trying on your intended funder’s hat whenever you are writing a grant proposal. You may even want to do a mock review of your grant proposal draft to help you see it from the funder’s point of view — something we do in the Grant Writing and Management course series. Once you know what funders are looking for, you are geared up to travel along the road to grant writing success!

Grant Writing and Management Course

This article is a part of a three-part series, including How to Assess Return on Investment for Grant Writing and Management and 5 Key Priorities to Include in a Grant Proposal .

Ask Dalya: ‘We’ vs. ‘You’ in Appeal Letters

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Q: We are writing an appeal letter and we’re trying to figure out what pronouns to use. You see, we’ve taken your advice to heart that we should include our readers in a “conversation on paper.” That means using the words “you” and “your” as much as we can. But sometimes we have to talk about what the organization is doing. It gets confusing. Help!

A: Yes, it can be a bit tricky at times, if you’re not careful.

A simple switch from the “we” of the organization to the “you” of your reader goes like this:

Original: We want to bring native plants back to our community. But we need your help!

Suggested revision: You can help improve our city’s environment by planting and saving native plants. They bring many benefits to our community and help us avoid eco-trouble down the line.

Did you see what I did there? Changing the perspective like that is pretty clear.

But did you also notice that in the suggested revision there’s a “we” also — and it now includes the reader? That second sentence is now talking about “our city’s environment” and “our community”. No longer is it “we” the organization needing “your” help.

The rule of thumb operating here is this: Continue reading →

Ask Dalya: How can a nonprofit CEO, Director, or Board member facilitate successful grantseeking?

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Q: How can a nonprofit CEO, Director, or Board member facilitate successful grantseeking?

A: Grantseeking is a team sport. As a nonprofit CEO, Director, or Board member you can help guide your team to victory — but you can’t do that if you hang back on the sidelines.

If your nonprofit is like the vast majority out there, you need (at least some) grant income to advance your mission in your community. Your role as a leader is to marshal the right strategy and resources so your grantseeking team can succeed.

Whether your team consists of staff, consultants, and/or volunteers, you need to help set (or at least know) the game plan so you can manage effectively. Without your vision and planning, your team will lack direction, priorities, and motivation.

Even if you are not personally involved in your organization’s day-to-day grantseeking activities, you need a solid grounding in how grantseeking happens. That is, you need to know what to expect from the process and how you can help it along. By preparing for success you will increase your likelihood of attaining it.

I’ve spoken with leaders of many new (and not-so-new) organizations who have not properly prepared for grantseeking. They simply want to see more money come through the door right away. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work that way. They have often been disappointed.

In my experience, strategic leaders who are starting or upgrading their teams’ grantseeking efforts best position their organizations for success when they:

  • Frame grantseeking as a team effort that enjoys strong investment from the organization’s leaders: in the form of timely information, adequate human resources, and appropriate planning
  • Encourage an attitude of ongoing partnership between the organization (the entity that makes changes in the community) and funders (the entities that underwrite those changes)
  • Model a sense of openness and curiosity about what makes the most sense in the current funding climate, from a funder’s point of view
  • Routinely share specific plans for accomplishing their mission and evaluating their activities’ outcomes and impacts
  • Establish community collaborations that the grantseeking team can leverage
  • Prioritize funding needs for at least 6-12 months at a time
  • Meet with their grantseeking team on a regular basis to strategize and define responsibilities

Is grantseeking high on the agenda of a CEO, Director, or Board member? It should be. Without the support of nonprofit executives, even the strongest grantseeking teams must often watch opportunities pass them by.

To learn more, join me for my February 15 free webinar, Grant Strategy for CEOs, Directors, and Board Members: What You Need to Know to Succeed.

[By the way, you can find more “Ask Dalya” questions and answers HERE.

Ask Dalya: First person or third person in grant proposals?

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Question: I’m working on a grant application, and I find myself referring to our organization both in the third person and the first person.  The third person sounds more professional, and I feel more comfortable “bragging” about our accomplishments in the third person.  But the first person sounds warmer and more personal, and I think it tends to convey greater ownership/passion. Which approach should I take?

Answer: This is a common situation, and there is no hard and fast rule about  it. I have seen both.

Personally, I tend to go mostly with the first person but use the organization’s acronym when it seems feasible and appropriate (not to overdo the “we”, to get the funder familiar with the organization’s name, and to sound official).

By the way, your focus should be more on what you do for and with the community and less on you, as much as possible. The third/first person issue should not be that big of a deal; don’t let it disrupt your flow.

PS: You can find more “”Ask Dalya” questions and answers HERE.

Ask Dalya: What’s the danger in misusing hyperbole?

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(Creative Commons photo license)

Q: What’s the danger in misusing hyperbole?

A: While we all like to think that our work is unique, essential, and groundbreaking, that can’t always be the case. (I think of the phrase from A Prairie Home Companion, “where the children are all above average.”)

It behooves you as a socially responsible changemaker to get your facts straight and do your research; exaggeration has no place in your writing. You certainly don’t want your readers to doubt your integrity or knowledge of your field if they learn you’re not telling the whole truth.

Of course, If extensive research tells you that you are the only/best/least expensive/most effective/largest (etc.) organization doing your work in the way you are doing it, by all means tell the world about it. Just stay away from claims that seem too good to be true (what a turn-off!).

In all other cases, take the time to qualify your statements. Temper the temptation to go overboard. Look for the unique part of what you do and focus on that distinction — in an honest and clear way. For example, maybe you’re the only one in your geographic area making a specific community change. Perhaps you specialize in a particular population within your larger field. If you  are contributing a major piece of the puzzle in your field, but your partners also form part of the solution, take them into account and share the credit.

Keep it real and always be mindful of your credibility.