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Grant Writing: Reporting & Follow Up

5/29/2013

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By Erin Weldon
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After you submit a proposal, be prepared to wait—while some foundations reply in a month, others may take six months or more to reply.  Their response isn’t the end of the line--instead, it’s the beginning of what is hopefully a long and fruitful relationship with the funder. Whether or not your application is successful, there are still steps to take.

If they turn you down...Unfortunately, this happens to everyone. Don't get discouraged, and don’t let the relationship end there. Send them a brief note thanking them for their consideration. Ask them if they’d be willing to discuss their reasons for turning down your proposal, so you can learn from the experience. Always be polite, courteous, and friendly. Never get upset with a funder for turning you down.

If you receive an award...Celebrate! Then thank them for the award as soon as possible. This might be a phone call to the program officer, an official acknowledgement from the organization, or a note from the executive director. Read all the paperwork they send, and sign any required forms promptly.

Grant Reporting Basics
  • First, check to see if they have specific reporting requirements. If so, follow them. Make sure you meet all deadlines. Every past funder is a potential funder as well—don’t sabotage a future relationship by failing to provide prompt reports.
  • If they don’t have reporting requirements, send them a report at the end of the funding period anyways. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy—it can just be a letter thanking them again, and detailing what you achieved during the funding period. Report on your progress toward your goals and let them know if you met your objectives. 
  • Be transparent. If you failed to meet any objectives, tell them why and what you plan to do in the future to remedy that. As a nonprofit, it’s your responsibility to be honest. Real life happens, and funders can be understanding
Don’t let the relationship end when you receive the grant. You’ve just made a connection, and now you need to nurture it. With any funder, your goal should be to develop a long-term relationship where you can repeatedly turn to the foundation for support. (Exception: Some funders explicitly set limitations on how often they will fund an organization in a certain time period. If this is the case, respect their guidelines). 

To build the relationship, get to know the funder. Invite them for a site visit or to view you in action. If you’re putting on an event, send them an invitation! Give them an opportunity to be thanked in person, and to see firsthand the impact of their support. And after the funding period ends, look for opportunities for continued or future support.

This is the last in an eight-part series on grant writing from Aril Consulting.


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Grant Writing: Budget Tips

5/22/2013

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By Erin Weldon
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You’ve done it! You’ve written a compelling narrative that clearly lays out the need in your area, your plan to meet that needs, and how you’ll measure your success along the way. You’ve dotted your i’s, crossed your t’s, and can finally mail this off to the funder. You check their guidelines to make sure you didn’t miss any attachments and--Oh no. Budgets. For all of us who have hazy, traumatic memories of high school algebra class, the word budget alone is enough to make us want to hide under our desks. 

First, double check the funder guidelines. Do they ask for a program budget, an organization budget, or both? Do they ask you to specify what budget items the requested funds will cover? Remember from that first blog post—the number one way to jeopardize the success of a proposal is to ignore what the funders are asking for.

I don’t know how much money I’m going to have yet! How can I make a budget?

The budget is meant to provide reasonable cost projects for the project. It should be realistic, accurate, and flexible. A budget needs to include both expenses and revenue sources.  Program expenses are usually broken down into categories such as “Staff Salaries and Benefits, Supplies, Equipment.” Organization budgets should also include ongoing operational expenses such as utilities, rent, and fundraising costs. For your revenue, include all anticipated revenue streams, including other grants, projected individual gifts, and earned income such as membership fees or sales.

If I hire a grant writer, can’t they just make up a budget for me?

No. It’s important that your budget, like the rest of your proposal, be realistic. You’re asking someone to trust you with their money, and you must handle that money with fidelity. 

I asked Sue in Accounting for a budget, and she sent me this 20-page document with every expense on it. Can I just attach that?

No. Unless a funder is asking for a specific level of detail, a good rule of thumb is to limit your budget to one page. If they want to flip pages and pages of detailed expenses, they’ll tell you. If not, they’re looking for a snapshot of your expenses, to get a general sense of where you’re applying your financial resources. Don’t provide them with an overly detailed document that will confuse them.

Do I have to stick to this? Can I change it if I get more or less money?

Yes, you can alter your budget if you end up with more or less funds than you expect.  It’s your responsibility to execute your budget with reasonable fidelity, but funders are people too and understand that sometimes things change. If you’ve received an award and you want to make changes to the project budget, contact the funder and ask what their policy is. Some allow budget changes up to a certain amount; others might want to meet with you to discuss.

This is the seventh in an eight-part series on grant writing from Aril Consulting.

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Grant Writing: Aligning your request to the funder's mission

5/15/2013

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By Erin Weldon
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As a contract grant writer, I’m occasionally asked, “Can’t you just write me one proposal, and I’ll send it out to a bunch of foundations?” This is an unwise idea for several reasons—most foundations have their own form, with their own specific questions, and won’t even read your application if it isn’t written to their standards. 

But even when using a standard application, it’s still important to target your request to the foundation’s mission and current funding priorities. Otherwise, you commit the same faux pas as a job applicant who writes one cover letter and sends it out to 20 employers. They can tell, and it doesn’t work.

Choosing your Funder
  • When you’re deciding what funder to submit a proposal to, it’s important to read their funding requirements, current priorities, and their mission. Make sure that your request aligns with their larger mission.

Where do I address this?
  • Some funders have a specific section to address this. For example, the Philanthropy Northwest Common Grant Application, which is used by funders throughout Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming, includes a section that entitles “Appropriateness to the Funder’s Mission.” Here, you explain how your project or program meets this particular funder’s guidelines and criteria
  • Even if the application does not include this section, you still need to address. You can weave in language throughout your application that refers to their mission and demonstrates your alignment. (For example: “Like the XYZ foundation, we are working to make the world a more just place. The proposed program does so by….”)
  • Either way, make it clear that you’ve done your homework on the foundation and determined that you’re a good fit. 

Most importantly,
remember that foundations have missions too. Unfortunately, it’s easy to make the mistake of thinking that foundations exist just to give out money. Don’t forget that they, like your organizations, are driven by a mission and are seeking to make a positive difference in areas that they find important. As an applicant, you need to make the case to them that your work helps achieve their mission. Ultimately, a successful grant proposal pitches that you have something to offer them. 

This is the sixth in an eight-part series on grant writing from Aril Consulting.

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Grant Writing: Evaluation & Measuring Success

5/9/2013

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By Erin Weldon

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Our last blog post gave some tips on how to write goals and objectives. However, it's not enough just to set these goals; you also need to explain how you plan to measure your success in meeting them. An application might have a question that asks "How will you measure success?" or "What are your plans for program evaluation?

Describing your plans for evaluation can be especially tricky for organizations just starting out, as you may not yet have strong evaluation systems in place. Ideally, an evaluation program not only demonstrates success to the funder, but also provides the program staff with crucial information to help them improve their programming. It’s important to communicate with the program staff to ensure (1) they are willing and able to implement whatever evaluations you propose in the proposal and (2) the evaluative tools will also provide them with useful information. It’s always better to plan ahead than to backtrack, so work a plan for evaluation into your program design now to avoid scrambling to gather data for a grant report later.

Your evaluation plan should, at minimum:
  • specify program objectives 
  • identify indicators of success
  • outline data collection activities
  • develop a timeline for monitoring the program.

When planning your evaluation process, consider the question: How can you measure not only the services provided, but the impact they have on your clients? Once again, look back to your need statement and consider the important long-term effects of your program. A strong proposal explains not only how you will measure the services you provide, but also how you will measure its impact.

For example, consider a program that provides nutritious meals to senior citizens. Your first thought might be to measure success through the numbers of meals served. However, this metric only demonstrates the services provided. You can take things one step further by showing how the services have a greater impact on health and well-being. For example, consider measuring increased access to nutritious food, health indicators (such as weight and blood pressure), or intake of fruit and vegetables. A client survey is a great way to quantify client satisfaction.

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Depending on the services you offer, you can either use external evaluation tools or develop your own. Tools can measure both qualitative data (like written feedback from clients) and quantitative data (like tracking the number served or other metrics). There are over 35 different types of evaluations—outcome-based, goal-based, process-based, to name a few—and a wealth of information online about all of them. Below are a few of our favorite online resources.
  • Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact (TRASI) --This online database, managed by the Foundation Center, contains a comprehensive listing of 150 approaches for measuring and analyzing social impact for programs and investments.
  • The Outcome Indicators Project, from the Urban Institute provides a framework for tracking nonprofit performance, including several useful tools for outcome-based evaluation and including ideas of performance indicators for 14 different program areas.  
  • Outcome Measurement: Showing Results in the Nonprofit Sector describes current efforts, success, and challenges in measuring nonprofit success.
This is the fifth in an eight-part series on grant writing from Aril Consulting.
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