Blog

29 Mar Conducting Mission-Focused Planning and Needs Assessments with Applicant Organizations: Part 2 – Assessing the Need Written by Julie Alsup, GPC and Tom Assel, GPC

Posted at 20:42h in Competency Two, Julie Alsup, GPC, Organizational Readiness, Program Design, Program Development, Thomas Assel, GPC

In Part 1, we talked about finding and using existing needs assessments. But suppose no appropriate needs assessment data already exists. How do you start the needs planning process?

22 Mar Grant Pro Tips for Discussing Budget Planning by AGS Staff

Posted at 10:57h in AGS Staff, Budgets, Competency Two, Program Development

There are many ways to think about budgeting in relation to grants. Essential to a well-run grants program is planning what discerns program or project creation needs from budget relieving needs. Program/project creation - funds to help create a new program or project that aligns with the organization’s mission. Budget relieving - funds that help ‘plug’ holes and relieve existing expenses.

16 Mar Cultivating Buy-In by Tracey Diefenbach, GPC

Posted at 20:53h in Competency Two, Organizational Development, Strategy, Tracey Diefenbach, GPC

I will never forget the day I took a grant approval form to the vice president of programs I worked with at the time. She took one look at it and said, “We are back to using this thing again?” The form required the team’s signatures on a statement of whether we decided to pursue a grant. At the time, I was fairly new to the position and while I thought what she said was cynical, a part of me agreed and questioned how a piece of paper could serve as full consensus and buy-in. I went with it and started using the form.

08 Mar Conducting Mission-Focused Planning and Needs Assessments with Applicant Organizations by Julie Alsup, GPC

Posted at 23:26h in Competency Two, Julie Alsup, GPC, Organizational Readiness, Strategy

Part 1- Accessing existing information The big question: What do you do when you identify a grant opportunity that requires discussion of how the project fits into the agency’s larger mission and/or existing needs assessments? This may initially cause concern and prevent an organization from pursuing the opportunity. The truth is there are likely existing documents within your organization and the community that may provide you with what you need.

02 Mar Coffee Shop or Boardroom? How an Organization’s Culture Influences the Grant Process Written by Michele Ryan, GPC

Posted at 00:29h in Competency Two, Culture, Michele Ryan, Organizational Readiness

Many times, being a grant professional feels more like an endless quest for information. We find ourselves at the mercy of those who create the programs and the individuals who hold the data. Navigating the twists and turns and the emphatic, “you need what!!??” can be daunting. Whether as a consultant or the grant writer on staff, our role puts us in the position of relying on others to provide us with the information necessary to craft a grant proposal worthy of funding. How this process unfolds is largely dependent on the culture of the organization and the way they communicate, plan, and process information.

01 Mar Internal Roadmap of Grant Program Policies and Procedures to Help Organizations Become Grant Ready – By AGS Staff

Posted at 21:43h in AGS Staff, Competency Two, Organizational Development, Organizational Readiness, Research, Strategy

There are lots of activities that can help a nonprofit organization become grant ready, and one of them is their internal roadmap of tasks that define their grants program. The purpose of these practices is to help ensure staff have a documented process that covers the A to Zs of a comprehensive grant program.

01 Mar Staying Ahead of the Game: How to Stay on Top of the Latest Federal Trends, by Julie Assel, GPC

Posted at 21:33h in Competency One, Federal Grants, Julie Assel, GPC

Here at Assel Grant Services, we don’t just write many successful federal grants each year. Many of our clients are receiving their first federal grant or their first federal grant in the last five years. One of the reasons so many agencies large and small come to us is because we keep up with the constantly evolving federal government trends. So, what do we look for and how can you keep up on the departments most relevant to you?

01 Mar FindingYourBestMatch.com by Hayley Waynick, GPC

Posted at 21:20h in Competency One, Funder Relations, Funding, Hayley Waynick, GPC, Research, Strategy

FindingYourBestMatch.com Determining if a funder is right for your program If you happen to be in the dating “scene” in this highly digital age, it can be hard to determine from just an online profile whether you and a potential mate are going to be compatible. Or perhaps a friend or acquaintance has someone they want you to meet and claims they’d be perfect for you. As a grant writer, you might find yourself in a similar situation when you’ve found a funder online who seems to be a perfect match for the services at your nonprofit organization.

25 Feb Robbing Peter to Pay Paul – AGS Grant Staff

Posted at 23:59h in AGS Staff, Budgets, Competency Two, Federal Grants, Organizational Readiness

During my experience working for and in partnership with nonprofit organizations, one common thread is the perpetuation of a “scarcity mindset.” This mindset is based on the idea that nonprofits exist to help others in need and serve the greater good, therefore, staff and anything they might need to do their jobs (salaries, benefits, training) is often last on the list of funding priorities.

17 Feb Organizational Readiness through an Evaluation Lens by Tom Assel, GPC

Posted at 17:26h in Competency Two, Evaluation, Organizational Readiness, Thomas Assel, GPC

In a previous post, Julie Alsup, GPC looked at competency 2.2 through a budget lens. For this post, I’ll look at an agency’s readiness to seek project funding through an evaluation lens. Evaluation is crucial to project sustainability, a key factor in grant requests. Carefully considering project evaluation can help an agency obtain grant dollars for a project.