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
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
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.
17 Feb Understanding and Articulating the Financial Needs of Projects by Julie Alsup, GPC
Many seasoned grant reviewers will tell you that they start with the budget. I believe this is why a discussion of GPC competency two, assessing an organization’s readiness to obtain funding to implement specific projects, should also begin with a discussion of budget. A deep understanding of the budget is necessary to communicate need to potential funders. The grant writer can help assess and advance readiness in the following ways.22 Jan Creating an Effective Budget Narrative
Posted at 22:07h
in Budget Narratives, Budgets, Competency Four, Courses, Grant Training Series, Julie Assel, GPC and Julie Alsup, GPC
A budget is a key element of most grant proposals and serves as a blueprint for spending the project’s funds. An effective proposal budget outlines the proposed project in fiscal terms and helps reviewers to determine how the project will be conducted. The decisions made...
03 Jan Seeing Stars: Identifying High-Impact, High-Profit Programs by AGS Staff
Posted at 20:51h
in AGS Staff, Competency One, Funding, Program Design, Program Development, Research
As grant professionals, we are all too aware that nonprofit organizations have dual bottom lines: mission and money.
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?
03 Dec What’s So Scary About Federal Grants? by Thomas Assel, GPC
Posted at 21:28h
in Competency Five, Competency Four, Federal Grants, Organizational Development, Program Design, Thomas Assel, GPC
My wife, Julie Assel, likes writing federal grants. I’ve been told that’s odd, and I guess I can understand why. Consider your average small-to-medium foundation grant. It might be a 2-3-page letter with an attached organizational budget, maybe your 501c3 letter and a board roster, but nothing you haven’t seen ten or a hundred times before. On the more complex end of what we normally experience, you’ve got agencies like the Health Forward Foundation in Kansas City asking for all that plus a logic model and theory of change indicator chart, with a 15-page narrative limit on certain grants. Fifteen single-spaced pages is nothing to sneeze at. Federal grants can have even higher page limits and even more attachments. The SF-424 alone can take more time to fill out than some grants can take to write.