Strategy

13 Jul What to Expect When You’re Prospecting by Leah Hyman, GPC

Posted at 10:40h in Competency Two, Funding, Leah Hyman, Organizational Readiness, Research, Strategy

What to Expect When You’re Prospecting Or: What to Know About Working with a Consultant A scenario: your small nonprofit organization has been in operation for several years now, thanks to the generosity and trust of individual donors and supporters. You have generated some promising outcome data from your programs, have a clear direction, and are making a positive impact on your target population. You feel you’re ready to move on to the next step in your organization’s growth: diversifying funding streams by adding in some grant dollars. But you’re busy running programs, your board is stretched thin, and you’re just not sure where to start. Choosing to seek outside assistance from a grant professional is a big step for an organization. The combination of a very small staff (or perhaps even a one-person shop), a small pool of invested donors and volunteers, and the amount of time, energy, and resources spent in getting a nonprofit off the ground can make this a deeply personal decision. An outsider consultant who suddenly asks lots of specific questions about your policies, competitors, and finances might feel a little intrusive (at best) or downright offensive (at worst). But wait! That consultant means well. They’re likely trying to gauge your organization’s grant-readiness and capacity for managing different types of funding opportunities to determine the most effective and efficient next steps. Here’s what to expect as you enter this new relationship.

11 May Organizing the Chaos By Tracey Diefenbach, GPC

Posted at 08:22h in Competency Nine, Narrative, Strategy, Tracey Diefenbach, GPC, Writing

You are knee deep in a large government grant proposal and… The executive director calls you on the way to another meeting and quickly ambles off a new strategy the agency will be embarking on that must be included in the proposal. The finance person sends you an email with three new expenses to include in the budget. As you are leaving a meeting with the evaluation team, you are told about a new assessment tool the agency will be implementing…

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.

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 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.

30 Dec Ready, Set, Research! by AGS Staff

Posted at 20:49h in AGS Staff, Competency One, Funding, Organizational Readiness, Research, Strategy

Grants can seem like an easy way to fund our organizations. You just write a request and then the check arrives!

13 Dec Bring Your Logic Model to Life – Julie Alsup, GPC

Posted at 21:27h in Competency Four, Competency Three, Julie Alsup, GPC, Logic Models, Program Design, Program Development, Research, Strategy

Do you consider a logic model an afterthought or simply a required attachment that is done at the end of the proposal process?

08 Nov What Nonprofits Should be Doing Around Advocacy, by Julie Assel, GPC

Posted at 21:34h in Competency Eight, Competency Six, Funders, Government Grants, Julie Assel, GPC, Relationships, Strategy

What Nonprofits Should be Doing Around Advocacy A question our grant writing and management experts often field from clients is whether they should get a letter of support for their grant from a government official. The short answer is probably yes.

23 May How to Build and Maintain Strong Relationships With Grant Partners by Hayley Waynick, GPC

Posted at 21:39h in Competency Eight, Funder Relations, Funders, Hayley Waynick, GPC, Relationships, Strategy

Several years ago I attended a webinar through the Grant Professionals Association entitled “Pet Peeves of Funders.” The trainer had conducted extensive surveys with grant-making entity officers in her area to assess their biggest pet peeves with the organizations they fund. One program officer surveyed...