How to Writethe “Perfect Grant”

OPAAC Arts RoundtableOctober 2015

Before we start…..What do you want to know?

What are your biggest challenges in obtaining funding via grants?

“Grants 101”

Advantages of grants• Provides a “3rd party

endorsement” of your organization.

• Can help to jump start new initiatives or projects.

• Should be part of your fundraising mix – but generally no more than 20% of what you raise.

Disadvantages of grants• Take time and resources to

write.• Generally focus on “something

new” rather than operating costs – any thing proposed needs to be sustained.

• There is lots of competition for the funding – chances of winning a grant can be low.

The grant process - is more than just writing the grant

1. Do your homework

2. Introduce yourself and develop a relationship

3. Design a strategy, gather information and data, develop a timeline

4. Draft the grant and get input

5. Finalize grant and submit your proposal

6. Get feedback

7. Implement your proposal, keep records

8. Report back to the foundation / grantor

Common mistakes

• Not doing your homework – Not considering your audience - asking for something that

the foundation isn’t interested in

• Waiting until the last minute• Not having a strategy; not telling your story• Not following directions / checklist (including # of

pages, font size and margins!!) • Sloppy writing, typos• “Fluff” attachments• Incomplete or confusing financial statements

1. Do your homework

• Who are the grantors?– Who are their grants/program managers?– Do you know the program manager or any of the trustees?

• What do they fund, what is their mission and impact interest areas? What are their guidelines?– For example, some fund only organizations within the City

of Chicago, or performance only or school-based programs.

• What is their process?• What is their timetable?• Who have they funded lately?

Who are the grantors?

• Government– NEA, state and local government/agencies

• Large, institutional Foundations – Tend to fund capital expenses, programs with very wide reach,

programs that can be replicated; Donnelly, Joyce, Gates

• Smaller, community foundations– OPAAC, Good Heart Work Smart, OPRF Community Foundation

• Private, family foundations – Tend to be relationship based; they respond to requests from people

or organizations they know.

Note: smaller organizations tend to be more successful with local grantorsSee additional reference: Local foundations list

Foundation trends

• Less money themselves results in their need to be ”choosier;” often becoming narrower with fewer grantees but more impact.

• Interested in collaborative funding projects (partners working together) to achieve scale.

• May help with performance improvement by working with the organizations to increase capacity, be more sustainable, develop a continuous improvement mindset.

• Provide technical assistance either to individual nonprofits or collectively.

• Encourage evaluation that focuses on program outcomes (or at least on markers of progress).

• Dropping funding for the least effective organizations.

2. Introduce yourself

• Letter of inquiry• Phone or in-person meeting• Explore interest areas• Understand what they are looking for and ask for

advice• Ideally, develop a relationship

3. Design a strategy, gather information and data, develop a timeline

• Who do you assign to write the grant? – Do they have the time? Do they understand the “DNA” of your

organization? Can they write?

• What is the opportunity /need – what is the ‘’ask?”– How does this fit with YOUR mission and goals as well as the foundation’s

interests?

• Meeting with grantor – what they are looking for; “float your ideas”• How to tell the story to appeal to the grantor

– What data/facts/metrics are needed to support the ask?– What examples or stories are needed?

• Budget- what do you need in total; how much are you requesting from grantor?

Tip: keep a file of “metrics, quotes, boilerplate text, case studies, stories, past grants

4. Write your grant

• Review past grants• Follow the checklist• Read questions carefully• Draft responses, get feedback, rewrite• Proofread

• Common mistakes :– Not following directions– Not answering the questions– Lacking clarity– Rambling; not concise (they have to work to “get it”)– Typos

See additional resource: hintstone: How to Write a grant

How to tell your Story

• Describe your need – in terms of opportunity

• Make your project compelling to the grantor; what will make them want to give to you?

• Explain why YOUR organization matters to meet the need. Show how the project fits into an overall strategy, leverages what you are already doing, demonstrates innovation.

• Use real instances and examples.

• Describe how you will evaluate the project - be specific about outputs and outcomes.

Additional resource: “How to Create Nonprofit Stories that Inspire: by Andy Goodman, The Bridgespan Group“Stories Worth Telling”, White Paper, Meyer Foundation

Evaluation - Outputs and Outcomes

Outputs are generally things you can “count” or “check off a to-do list.”– What you have “done”: # of performances or events. # of students, # of participants, # of new board members– Specific task-related achievements: moved into the new facility , hired a new artistic director

Outcomes are generally mission impact-related (and are often MUCH harder to measure):– Why does your organization exist? – What do you want to accomplish as an organization?– Are you making a difference with what you do?

Measures of success should include both programmatic and operational goals.

Combine quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (testimonials, case studies, anecdotes) measures.

Sometimes you can combine outputs and outcomes, qualitative and quantitative measures.– If your mission is to showcase new artists….outcomes might be the number of events showcasing new artists and

the number of people exposed to his/her work.– If your mission is to expose low-income children to music…outcomes might include the number of musical touch

points and the number of students attending and some quotes from parents about the reaction of their children.– If your mission is to give young artists platforms for growing their portfolio…..outcomes might include the

number of new artists, what they accomplished through your program and stories about what they are doing today.

– If your mission is to produce high quality productions …..outcomes might include how the move to a new facility enabled you to not only attract larger audiences but also produce more ambitious works.

Detail your project budget

• Include the total amount for the project and $$ broken down for everything required to complete the project: staff time, materials, supplies, PM time, etc.

• Within the project budget, detail the grant request, as well what $$ is being provided by other sources.– Don’t “double dip” - you should not ask for the same money from a different

source at the same time.– What your organizations is contributing – what is YOUR “skin in the game?”Expense Year 1 Year 2

Staffing, incl. oversight or project management

$$ Funded by foundation$$ Funded by requesting organization$$ Funded by other source

Materials

Technology

Space rental

Student transportation

Total

Checklist samples - OPAAC

ARTSFUNDS 2012 AWARDS PROGRAM - CHECKLISTUnless otherwise indicated below, include SEVEN collated sets of the following documents as required for the type of support you are requesting. Incomplete applications will be returned and could cause your organization to be disqualified from consideration for this year.

Please collate your application in the following order so that it follows this checklist. Place this checklist first, on top of grant copies. DO NOT PUT APPLICATIONS IN FOLDERS OR BINDERS. Section 1 (General Information) and Section 2 (Certification): Signed and certified application. Section 3 (Narrative): No more than three pages, one-sided, not less than 12 point font, 1-inch margins. Section 4 (Additional Narrative for Project Support): For Project requests only. Section 5 (Financial Information): Only ONE copy of your audit and/or tax reports is needed. See page 10, Section 5. Your current 2011 budget, year-to-date financial performance and comparison to this year's budget, and your projected 2012

budget. List of corporate, foundation and government funding with amounts for current fiscal year-to-date, and previous fiscal year. Total in-kind contributions. For project requests only, a detailed project budget of revenues and expenses. 501(c)3 letter from the IRS. Most recent Annual Report to the Illinois Secretary of the State (www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/). Required Attachments: (seven copies needed of the next five items) One-page organizational history.

One-page containing brief description of key personnel (paid and/or volunteer) which includes job title, workload (e.g. full-time or part-time) and brief career summary.One-page description of organization’s or project’s objectives and intended methods of measurement for FY 2012.List of Board of Directors including position on board and town of residence.List of the top five Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest vendors you use for organizational business.Supporting documentation reviews must include the masthead with the name of the publication, radio or TV program, plus the date the review appeared. Slides, video and audio tapes are encouraged and will be returned if requested. One copy of such materials is acceptable.

Note: Materials submitted in excess of those requested will not be presented to the panel.Please do not bring supplemental materials to the ArtsFunds interviews

5. Submit your proposal

• Final review of checklist• Include a cover letter• Submit on time - or early!!• Keep a copy

• Then wait…. each foundation’s process and timetable is slightly different

• If you your proposal is not accepted …. ASK FOR FEEDBACK!

Example: Joyce Foundation’s process

• Letters of Inquiry: The applicant submits a two- to three-page letter of inquiry to the appropriate program officer six to eight weeks before the proposal deadline.

• Initial Review: The program officer reviews the letter of inquiry and determines whether or not the project fits within the Foundation's guidelines.– If the project does not fit within the guidelines, the program officer writes to the applicant

declining the proposal.– If the project does fit within the guidelines, the program officer may invite the applicant to submit

a full proposal.

• Review and Recommendation: Once the program officer receives the full proposal, an internal review process begins.– If the proposal is not recommended for funding, the program officer sends the applicant a decline

letter.– If the proposal is recommended for funding, the program officer prepares a recommendation for

consideration by the Joyce Foundation's Board of Directors.

• Board Action: The Joyce Foundation Board of Directors meets and votes on recommended grants.– If the proposal is not approved for funding, a letter is sent declining the proposed grant.– If the proposal is approved for funding, the program officer sends a grant contract to grantee.

• Grant payments are normally made at the end of the month following the board meeting at which the funding decision was made.

6. Implement your program

• Write a thank you to the grantor.• Finalize your project plan, tasks, timelines and

assignments.• Implement – complete your tasks.• Gather metrics.• Keep detailed records – especially on

expenditures and funding.

7. Report back

• Most foundations require an accounting of your project:– What did you accomplish? – Did you meet the project objectives/metrics? Why or why

not?

– How much did you spend? How did your budget compare to actuals?

– What did you learn? How will you use what you learned as you move forward?

– Include photos, if appropriate

Tip: put a tickler in your calendar for when this is due – some grantors remind you, some don’t.

Apply what we have reviewed – share real life examples

Review – best practices from the “experts”

• Have a clear plan – know what you want to accomplish and the steps and resources to do it. Plan in advance and start early!

• Don’t work alone – at minimum have a proofreader.

• Find out in advance what the grantor WILL and WILL NOT fund; read other grant submissions, if possible .

• Read the grant guidelines and checklist carefully before start Try to have a “hook” – something different that will make you stand out.

• Make sure your goals are realistic (remember you will need to show what you accomplished!).

• Tell your story. Include facts, statistics and prove your point.• Do not make your grant too tech/equipment-heavy. Don’t pad the

budget.• Be sure project timetable and grantor’s funding cycle match.• Don’t give up just because you were rejected.• Demonstrate implementation excellence and good fiscal stewardship.

What are YOUR best practices?

Additional resources

• Professional grant writer sources– Association for Consultants to NonProfits www.acn.org

• “How to” books– Grant Writing for Dummies, by Beverly Browning– Demystifying Grant Seeking: What you REALLY Need to Do to get Grants, by Larissa Golden Brown and

Martin John Brown– Level Best: How Small and Grassroots Nonprofits can Tackle Evaluation and Talk Results, by Kim Klein (ed.

• Publishers – resources on a variety of topics for Non-Profits– Wiley (also has Jossey Bass and Chardon Press) www.wiley.com– Emerson and Church http://emersonandchurch.com/bookstore/

• Internet sources – best practices and references – Guidestar www.guidestar.org– Donors Forum donorsforum.org– Boardsource www.boardsource.org

• Other Sources:– Grants.gov– eCivis Grants Network