Category Archives: Nonprofits

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How to Maximize your Nonprofit’s Grant Report

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Remember when your nonprofit organization won that institutional grant? No doubt you celebrated — at least a little. After all, you put in a lot of hard work and it finally paid off.

Several months later, you found yourself at Step 11 along the “Grant Roadmap” in my online Grant Writing and Management course track (co-created with TechSoup): the grant reporting phase. One of the best ways to continue building a good relationship with your funder is to submit thorough and useful grant reports, on time, and in the requested format. Here’s how.

What to Expect

Your funder is going to want to know if they made a wise investment when they funded you. Essentially, they will want to know four things from your grant report:

  1. What’s working and what’s not
  2. What needs are going unmet
  3. How you can improve in the future
  4. How you are spending their money

Almost all funders expect at least one report showing how you used the grant to further your program. That is, you are often asked for both narrative reports and financial reports. These reports are often due sometime during the grant period (called “progress reports”), at the end of the grant period (“final reports”), or both. Some funders will withhold part of the grant until they receive the required reports.

Not only do you want to show what you’ve done, what difference that has made, and what you are learning for the future, you also want to position yourself as a strong candidate for a possible grant renewal down the line.

Each funder has a specific grant reporting format in mind. Some have detailed requirements or provide grant report templates, and others are very general in nature. You will need to develop funder-specific formats, and you will most likely need to cover the following topics in your narrative reports and financial reports.

Narrative Grant Reports

Accomplishments: Of course, you will want to recount all of the relevant results you achieved during the funding period. Look back at the grant proposal’s measurable goals and objectives. How many of them did you meet or exceed? Maybe you even accomplished some unanticipated things! If so, describe, explain, and highlight.

Client profiles, success stories, testimonials: Tell a couple of stories of people who benefited from the grant-funded work. Show how their lives were improved because of your project, using their words as much as possible. Of course, the stories you choose should be especially relevant and interesting to the specific funder at hand.

Lessons learned: What did you learn from doing the project? Funders are interested not only in your successes but also in how you modify your work to address any challenges you encountered along the way. For example, you may have found that you needed to work with unexpected collaborators and that the new coordination demonstrably improved your project’s outcomes. By sincerely showing how you analyze your effectiveness and strive to learn how to maximize it, you demonstrate that your organization is dynamic and responsive to changing realities.

Your partnership with the funder: Think back to the foundation’s goals, objectives, and priorities. Write about how your work addressed those things. Demonstrate how your partnership with the funder made that possible.

Plans for the future: Unless your project was a one-shot deal that is now banished to the dustbin of history, tell the funder how you intend to build on it. This will help show that the funded project was part of a sustained effort. You may want to share emerging trends or shifting contexts impacting your work.

Financial Grant Reports

You will need to account for all of the expenditures you made with the grant money. Some funders will require receipts, invoices, or other documentation. Others are less stringent. In either case, be prepared by tracking your actual expenses versus your proposed grant budget.

Submitting Your Grant Report

This should go without saying, but I will emphasize it: Don’t miss the grant reporting deadlines! Doing so will leave a bad taste in your funder’s mouth. If you find that you absolutely cannot meet the deadline, ask for an extension at least a week before the due date. Many funders have a little wiggle room, but you should not assume that.

Once you have submitted a grant report, make sure to store it appropriately and record the date you sent it.

Post-Reporting

As you approach the end of your grant period, you will want to take the final step along the Grant Roadmap we use in the Grant Writing and Management course track (co-created with TechSoup). That is, Step 12: exploring opportunities for renewing the grant or possibly applying for funding for a different program of interest to the funder. If your reports were solid and demonstrated success, learning, and good nonprofit financial management, you may be eligible for future funding.

(Of course, a tarnished relationship with the grantmaker is a good way to NOT get renewed funding.)

But grant reports also serve an important purpose for your organization itself. Clearly, they can help you track your progress, measure your success, and learn from challenges. In addition, if you share them internally, grant reports can be repurposed for a variety of fundraising and marketing material. Annual reports to the public, newsletter or website articles, social media posts, appeal letters, and presentations are just a few ideas.

By the Way …

If a funded program reaches a major milestone or needs to make a significant direction change during the grant period, your funder needs to know that. While these contacts are not technically the requested “reports,” it behooves you to make sure your funders are aware of both major successes and modifications you are making.

Grantmakers do not like last-minute surprises that they should have known about beforehand. Show that your organization is a responsible manager of grant funds with a commitment to a partnership with the funder.

Keep your funders abreast of the work their grants funded — with the right grant reports — to help strengthen your relationship. The good news is that your organization overall — and the specific funded programs — can also benefit directly from the information you collect.

Budget review

How to Build a Proven Simple and Easy Funder-Friendly Budget

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If you follow my work, you may have noticed that my advice on writing a grant proposal usually focuses on the written part – called the “narrative” section. But a full grant proposal actually has at least one other component: the budget. Both parts are crucial to grant success and, along with administrative pieces, comprise a total grant proposal package.

Your grant proposal narrative will point the way to your proposal budget; the process is straightforward. In fact, the more directly your narrative flows to the budget the better.

A Thumbnail Sketch of Your Grant Proposal

The good news is that the budget is usually much shorter than the proposal narrative — as brief as a single page. 

Creating a program budget should be fairly easy once you have nailed down exactly what your proposed program looks like. At that point, you know what items you need; you just have to figure out (or at least estimate) what each item will cost and how those costs will be covered.

If you have never actually tallied up all of the expenses involved in your program, this process may uncover costs that you had simply glossed over before. A full list may prove to be quite an eye-opener.

Another piece of good news: In many organizations, budgets are created jointly by several members of the grant team. That means that if you are not so great at spreadsheets and finances, someone on your team can help you out.

As a good grant writer, your focus needs to be on making sure the numbers are reasonably accurate from a funder’s point of view and that the proposed work has some plan for financial sustainability.

Your grant proposal’s budget needs to tightly align with your proposal narrative. In fact, some funders read through your budget before slogging through your narrative. So, the budget needs to provide a consistent “thumbnail sketch” of what you’re proposing. You want to encourage the funder to want to know more and potentially get on board.

Grant Writing and Management Course

Two Kinds of Grant Proposal Budgets

Your grant proposal will be seeking funding for either your entire organization (usually called “general operating support”) or for a specific program or project your organization is doing or is planning to do. So, you will need both an organizational budget and a program/project budget for each grant proposal.

Organizational budgets tend to be somewhat complex, depending on the organization’s structure, and are developed by the organization’s management, finance department, etc. That budget will most likely be approved by your Board of Directors on an annual basis.

On the other hand, program or project budgets are built by the finance department, program director, and/or the development director. Sometimes, the grant writer will need to take the lead on getting these budgets together – in consultation with others.

Remember: Plan for Both Expenses and Revenue

Your budget should contain two distinct parts: Expenses and Revenue. That is, you’ll account for both money you will need to spend AND money you expect to receive to pay for it all.

On the Expenses side, you will probably be asked to separate “direct” and “indirect” expenses. What’s the difference?

Direct expenses pertain only to the proposed program at hand. That is, you would not incur those expenses without the particular program. Typical direct expenses include dedicated staff time, mileage, equipment, and supplies – all as described in the proposal narrative.

Indirect expenses are often called “overhead” or “administrative costs.” They include costs for items that your organization would have to pay for anyway, but that you are also using for the proposed program. That includes things like rent, utilities, office software, accounting, some fundraising expenses, etc. Some funders don’t support indirect expenses at all; others usually cap them at 10-15 percent.

The expenses you are budgeting for should be carefully researched and calculated according to the best estimate you can find, referring to the prevailing rates in your area.

Some funders will ask exactly which of your expenses you plan to use their money for. That’s a fair question. Remember that some funders have restrictions on what they will or will not fund. For example, many funders will not fund debt, salaries, rent, videos, or publications.

And what about the Revenue side? Many people forget to include this important second part of a program’s budget. Grantmakers want to know what other support is already lined up, or at least your other pending or planned proposals. Think about how you can show that your proposed work has several sources of revenue and is sustainable beyond the specific grant you are requesting. For example, can you list several different funders, individual donors, events, and/or in-kind donations?

So, take a deep breath and realize that building a funder-friendly budget is easier than you might think. Even if you are not a wiz at finances, remember that you can get help from other grant team members with financial or accounting expertise.

Your prospective funders are looking for a strong budget paired with a strong written narrative. Make sure that’s exactly what you submit to them.

For more detailed information on how to create an entire grant proposal package, join me in the Grant Writing and Management course track on TechSoup Courses.

Grant Writing and Management Course
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Beware! Know When a Grant is a Mistake to Apply For

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I know your nonprofit organization is probably eager to attract some grant money to help support your good work. The idea of a funder handing a large check to your nonprofit probably makes your heart flutter. Visions of popping the champagne might come to mind.

And that’s what grants are there for!

But you should know that not all grants are good for you. Before diving in, I suggest that you first get clear about the difference between a grant that can be helpful to your organization and one that actually doesn’t do you any favors.

Pursuing a grant strategy is a major endeavor and you want to go in with your eyes wide open!

Grant Application Consideration #1

Grants generally take up to 6-12 months to be awarded after you apply— and that’s not counting the time it takes to prepare your application. In fact, good preparation (read: grant writing) is quite time-consuming itself!

[Recently, especially with COVID-19 grants, emergency or “rapid response” grants have had shorter turnaround times. But that is rare.]

A waiting period of many months is often too long for an urgent project. Sometimes board members, or even Executive Directors, are unfamiliar with grantseeking and may think that grants offer a quick and easy way to fund the organization. This is generally NOT the case.

Grant Application Consideration #2

Grantmakers often change their priorities and can be unreliable. You don’t want your organization to be dependent on only 1 or 2 grants that could disappear next year! You can protect your organization’s well-being by having many different sources of income in case any suddenly slow down or dry up.

What are those other sources of income? Think individual donors, events, fees for services you provide, or social enterprises you run.

My point: Any grant strategy should be part of a MUCH LARGER fundraising plan.

Grant Application Consideration #3

Grants are only temporary and have no guarantee of continuing. Your organization needs to be sustainable – that is, have a strategy to ensure that you can survive or thrive past the duration of any specific grant.

While grants can and should be part of the mix, you can’t expect them to be anything more than a short-term fix for a year or two. And if they end up being long-term, when then, you will be pleasantly surprised!

Living grant-to-grant is like living paycheck-to-paycheck without a guaranteed job – not a good idea if you can help it!

Grant Application Consideration #4

Grants are actually NOT free money! Sorry if this bursts your bubble.

There is a LOT of work involved in seeking and managing different types of grants.

Your nonprofit organization has to decide if it’s worth dedicating the needed time, effort, and other resources in exchange for the possible cash you could receive in the form of a grant.

In addition, some grants come with strings attached. You have to consider the agreement you’re making to accept money from any particular funder. For example, sometimes a funder demands way too much work in exchange for a grant that will only partially cover your expenses. What would you do then?

Grant Application Consideration #5

Your organization might simply not be ready. If you are not prepared with all of the information, people, and other resources you’re going to need, you will be wasting your time and money pursuing grants. You need to make sure you are able to take this on.

For example, funders may see your organization as not yet organized enough — with the right capacity — to make the best use of their grant. And they might be right!

You may find that a given grant application or proposed project doesn’t fit with your organization’s stage of development right now. Or perhaps you have to address some internal challenges before you can put your best foot forward to a funder.

As you can see, it’s not always the right time for any given nonprofit organization to seek and manage any given grant. I encourage you to carefully consider your options and adopt a clear-eyed perspective about the grant opportunities that come your way. In fact, you might want to share this information with others at your organization who may need to see the larger picture.

When you are sure a grant would be truly good for your organization, you’ll be set to start your grant seeking and grant writing journey.

Register Today: Grant Writing & Management
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Today’s Changemakers: Discover a Rich Career as a Nonprofit Professional

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If you are just graduating from college, you have so many choices before you! A big one is your future career. Do you want to devote your profession to making a real difference in the world? Will work in the nonprofit sector suit you?

If you are thinking about it, as I did when I was a recent college graduate many moons ago, you will want to consider many factors:

  • What really needs to get done?
  • What are you good at?
  • What do you enjoy doing?, and
  • What will be financially sustainable?

(By the way, these are also good questions to ask yourself if you are considering a career in government service or socially responsible businesses.)

Passion is Not All You Need

Notice that I am suggesting not to just focus on the issue or cause you are passionate about, but also the actual skills you will be bringing to the job. With a newly minted degree, you probably have up-to-date knowledge about your field. And that is so helpful! But you also need to know the answer to the question: “Yes, but what can you DO for us?”

And there is a lot that needs doing! Nonprofit jobs make up about 10% of private sector employment in the U.S. That’s a good chunk – accounting for over 11 million positions.

No matter what specific job you end up in, you’re virtually guaranteed to be involved – directly or indirectly – with fundraising. It’s the lifeblood of the nonprofit sector. One important component of fundraising is grant seeking strategy. It’s a skill you would be wise to pick up because it will help open doors for you.

I recently wrote a blog post describing the Top 12 Traits of a Good Grant Writer, but regardless of your specific job title, knowing how to attract grants can be an important feather in your cap or tool in your toolbox (choose your favorite metaphor).

Now, most of us don’t come to the nonprofit sector because we want to be fundraisers, per se. Instead, we are compelled by an organization’s mission, activities, outcomes, and the like. But don’t overlook fundraising! You will add enormous value to your (current and future) employers if you bring experience and expertise in one or more aspects of revenue generation strategies.

Basically, those of us with fundraising backgrounds are always in demand.

Where to Begin?

New-College-Graduates-Careers
Newly minted college graduate interviewing for her first job to become a nonprofit professional. (Photo: Courtesy of AdobeStock)

What’s that? Your resume is kind of thin in that regard? Not to worry. You can find opportunities everywhere that will help beef it up. Stepping up to take a little initiative with an organization you’re interested in goes a long way.

Are you good at schmoozing? Researching? Storytelling? Running numbers? Are you closely tied to the community you want to serve? How about multi-tasking?

If any of that described you, grant writing just might be up your alley.

You may have been one of the fortunate students who took a grant writing course in school. If you were extremely lucky, your instructor had some recent real-world experience in the field. If so, great!

But odds are that you, like most people in the nonprofit sector, never studied grant writing or grant management. Instead, most people try to learn the needed skills on the job — and that can take many years.

To help address this situation, TechSoup and I teamed up recently to co-create an on-demand course series on Grant Writing and Management. This learning track consists of 5 courses that form a “starter kit” for grant writing.

In the courses, we travel step-by-step along the “Grant Roadmap,” where you will learn to:

  • First ensure the organization’s readiness for grant seeking.
  • Then plan and draft an entire grant proposal package.
  • You will perform a mock review to make sure it is complete.
  • You will also learn to research and approach your most likely funders.
  • And manage the grant after it is awarded.

Here is the welcome video for the course track:

TechSoup and Writing to Make A Difference’s Grant Writing & Management course Welcome video.

In all 5 courses, you’ll engage with me through videos, interactive activities, and quizzes. You will also find dozens of samples, templates, checklists, and other resources. And each module comes with its own transcript for easy reference.

Special Discount for Recent Graduates

We are pleased to offer recent graduates a 20% discount on the Grant Writing and Management course track! To get the discount, just enter code: GRANTMGMT20 when you sign up. The discount expires on 6/30/21, but the good news is that the courses themselves have no expiration date — take them whenever you wish.

By the way, the course track makes a great graduation gift for any graduate considering the nonprofit world! [Hint, hint.]

For Best Results…

TIP: Take the time to identify an organization that interests you. Try to contact them to see if they would like to partner with you. To get the most out of the courses, you will need lots of information about the organization and its programs – and some of it will probably NOT appear on their website.

Be sure to let them know that if they work with you, they will get a free grant proposal template out of the deal – quite an incentive!

The Bottom Line

Get some training and experience in fundraising/grant writing and you will boost your marketability in the nonprofit sector, regardless of your primary focus. Hey, maybe you’ll even get a foot in the proverbial door!

P.S.: For more help, thinking through a nonprofit career path, I suggest this great article  from WildApricot.com.

Register Today: Grant Writing & Management
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Top 12 Traits of a Good Grant Writer

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If you’ve worked in the nonprofit sector for any length of time, you have already figured out the central role that fundraising plays. No nonprofit can do the good work it does without financial support. Even volunteer-run organizations have funding needs at some point.

This process started for me as a child. I wanted to do something to help improve the world around me. I saw a lot of needs going unmet. What could I do?

You guessed it: I ended up Trick -or-Treating for UNICEF and then selling lollipops to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. That is, fundraising.

But that story is not limited to youngsters. Adults with careers in the nonprofit sector—like you—also must focus on fundraising skills. While fundraising does take many different forms, a large number of nonprofit workers find that even if their job titles do not include the words “grant” or “fundraising,” they are expected to be involved in some grant writing.

And, of course, some of us eventually focus primarily (or entirely) on the grant side of things.

If this sounds familiar, or if you aspire to become a nonprofiteer, ask yourself if you have what it takes to shine in the grant writing world:

1. Strong writing and storytelling skills

If you have a knack for crafting messages to engage readers, or you know how to tell a good story, you’re already on your way (even if you were not an English major).

2. Content knowledge as a specialist or generalist in your field

You don’t have to be an expert on all of the details; that’s what your colleagues are for. But you need to be constantly adding to your understanding, and be willing to learn quickly.

3. Passion for the nonprofit’s work

Of course, you can only spread enthusiasm for supporting an organization if you have that passion yourself. As you learn more about your organization’s mission and why it’s important, you will probably become even more of a fan.

4. Training and on-the-job experience

Courses and books  can help you get started. But you also need to get some hands-on, real-life experience. Coaching and mentoring during that process can elevate you to a new level of understanding and skill.

5. Resourcefulness as a self-motivated, tenacious researcher

You’ll need to research appropriate funders, as well as specific pieces of information about your organization or its issues of concern. You just need the right tools and contacts to follow the right leads.

6. People skills

You have to be good at building and maintaining relationships by listening and working with a team on each grant proposal. Grant writing is not just about hiding behind a computer screen!

7. Strategizing Skills

Your colleagues will often look to you to help them strategize which grants to pursue and how. You are the knowledgeable guide who can lead them to design work that is attractive to grantmakers.

8. Multi-tasking and prioritizing skills

With so many deadlines and projects to manage, you need to know how to handle it all with graceful and flexible planning. You might have heard the quote from Douglas Adams: “I love deadlines. I especially love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by!” Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do that? Instead, grant writers go by the maxim: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!”

9. Ethics and integrity

Funders and your organization will both need to be confident that they can trust you to do the right thing and do it consistently. You need to be clear on the ethical obligations involved with professionally soliciting and managing funds.

10. Administrative skills, both big picture and nitty-gritty details

This includes the ability to follow both a funder’s guidelines to a “T,” and any internal requirements at your nonprofit. You also need to be able to organize and track your work, as well as handle the myriad of pesky document processing issues that pop up (e.g. word count, layout, etc.).

11. Ability to learn from rejection and persist

Even the best grant writers can’t win ‘em all. Learning from mistakes comes with the territory. Actually, I think rejection is UNDER-rated! When you are rejected repeatedly, it should be a red flag that means you’re doing something wrong. You will need to learn more, get better advice, do more research, and ask more questions.

12. Confidence based in knowledge and preparation

Bottom line: You need to feel confident that you have the background, support, and tools to get the job done well.

If you have most or all of these characteristics, you’re well-equipped to help your nonprofit attract and manage a nice portfolio of grants. If you have identified a few traits you want to cultivate further, consider ways to develop those skills. You and your nonprofit will be glad you did!