7 Steps to a Successful Grant Support Program

While grants generally should not be the only source of support for a successful nonprofit organization, grants from foundations, corporations and government sources are an important part of a well-diversified fund development plan. A well-planned and –executed grants program can be a significant source of support for organizational programs and services.

Following are the elements that are necessary to begin to develop grant support for a nonprofit organization.

1. Development of a Compelling Case Statement
This is the cornerstone of a successful grant proposal, as it provides the comprehensive information that will persuade a private or corporate foundation to consider funding your programs. Information is gathered via interviews with key management and staff to gain insights into the programs offered and to effectively describe the elements that make them attractive and compelling to potential donors.
A compelling case statement can also include development of the goals and objectives that will be used to carry out the mission of the organization.

2. Survey of Market Competitors
To help gauge the likelihood of obtaining grant support, you should conduct a survey of other competitors in the market to help identify donors and grantors who have funded similar projects.

3. Identification of Prospective Donors
This entails conducting a targeted research campaign using subscription search engines such as Foundation Center Online, as well as any leads provided by key staff. Efforts are made to evaluate and identify the most appropriate sources of funding that are currently available.

4. Proposal Development
Once you have developed a case statement, determined that grant support is likely and suitable prospects for funding have been identified, the proposal development process can begin. This entails utilization of the case statement which can be tailored to various grant formats. Other documentation that maybe needed includes:
• Organization and program budgets (please see below)
• Board of directors and key staff rosters
• Audited financial statements and Form 990 (if available)
• Year to date financial statements
• Goals and objectives
• 501c3 documentation

5. Development of Program Budget(s)
A program budget will need to be developed for each program offering. Starting with staffing costs, you should determine the full cost for operating each program and translate it into a well-developed line item budget.

6. Development and Implementation of a Grants Management System
Once grant support has been established, you must implement a customized grants management system to easily track all current, pending and future proposals, as well as reporting requirements and other important details.

7. Development of Program Evaluation Methods
You should also consider developing a program evaluation method to determine the impact of yoru organization’s programs and services. Many funders now require program evaluation as a condition for grant funding.

Once these elements are in place, you’re on your way to a successful grant support program!

A New Paradigm for Determining Sustainability

I attended an eye-opening seminar last week by Nonprofit Finance Fund. The Director, Jessica LaBarbera, began her presentation called Money and Mission: Managing in a Changed Economy by stating: “Nonprofit is a tax status, not a business mode.l” This is such a revolutionary concept because I see so many nonprofits trying to do too much with too little money, and always thinking that being a nonprofit means having to live in a constant state of poverty. I am not advocating for overspending or cushy perks necessarily, but at least create budgets that adequately reflect the real costs of operating your programs. This happens time and time again, in an attempt to get as much bang for the buck as possible, but in the end it leaves programs underfunded and staff overworked and exhausted.

In the for-profit world, no one thinks anything of paying enormous overhead for products every day, but nonprofits are expected to build little if anything into their program overhead. This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time, because so many grantors will not pay for salaries or overhead. How are you supposed to run a program without staff?

Nonprofits must find ways to not only build adequate overhead into their program budgets, but must also find ways to convince funders that funding program staff is a worthy use of their funds. This will mean changing the conversation.

Nonprofit Finance Fund also offered valuable ways to determine if nonprofit programs are truly sustainable or if they are eating up valuable resources. Two important questions to ask are: who are your local competitors and how are they affecting demand for your program and, why is your organization the best nonprofit to offer your programming in your particular market. Too many times, nonprofits keep doing the same thing year after year and wonder why it’s more difficult to get funding for those same programs. Taking a hard look at the programs in the above context can offer illuminating insights into whether your programs are really sustainable and whether they should continue or not. The Nonprofit Finance Fund definition for program demand is: a combination of reliable sources of funding who are willing to pay full cost to run the programs on an annual basis. Do your program’s funders meet that definition?

Also extremely useful was the Program Profitability Analysis matrix: rating your programs based on whether they fit your mission and their dollar contribution to the organization, or fundability. Ideally the best programs will have high dollar contribution as well as high mission alignment.

I will be writing more blog posts about this topic because so much useful information was offered. And I highly recommend visiting the Nonprofit Finance Fund website for more information on their consulting services.