Fundamentals of Grant Writing Association of Fundraising Professionals

Fundamentals of Grant Writing Association of Fundraising Professionals, MA Chapter Thursday, July 16, 2020 Webinar

Agenda • • PEARASSOCIATES. COM Introduction Anatomy of a Proposal Fill shape with image Clear and Concise Writing Strategies Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why? Communicating Your Value Proposition Matching Program with Funder Interests Case Examples Questions? 2

Introduction Fill shape with image PEARASSOCIATES. COM 3

Introduction Alison Glastein Gray, President of Pear Associates, is passionate about helping mission driven organizations expand their operations and programs. After demonstrating her ability to lead and grow a number of nonprofit organizations, Alison launched Pear Associates in 1999 to share her expertise with others. Working with a range of health and human services organizations, Alison helped her clients consider new strategies and services to boost their mission. She also worked with her clients to solicit the necessary resources that would allow the realization of the vision, with a focus on institutional and government funders. PEARASSOCIATES. COM 4

Fill shape with image Anatomy of a Proposal PEARASSOCIATES. COM 5

Organization History & Mission • Why was your organization established? • What were the circumstances that led to your founding? • Who was involved (people/partners) in that process? • Why do you exist? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 6

Organization Programs & Structure • What is your organization’s expertise? • What do you do well? • How are you meeting the needs of your constituents? • How is your staff managed and supported? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 7

Statement of Need • What is the problem you are solving? • How do you know this is a problem? • What quantitative data is available as evidence? • Do you have qualitative/anecdotal data to support this? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 8

Statement of Work • What are you going to accomplish? • What are your goals, objectives, and action steps? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 9

Performance Measurement • How will you know whether you accomplish what you hope to accomplish? • How will you know if your program/project/organization is having the impact you want it to have? • What are your process and outcome measures of success? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 10

Budget • How are you going to use grant money? • How do grant dollars impact your programs and organizational budget as a whole? • How will you sustain this program/service after the grant period? • Who else is supporting this project? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 11

Clear and Concise Writing Strategies Fill shape with image PEARASSOCIATES. COM 12

Why Clear & Concise? • Online applications have word or character limits • With less real estate to tell your story, every word counts • Funders are reading MANY proposals PEARASSOCIATES. COM 13

Writing Tips • Eliminate empty phrases ü“due to the fact” can be replaced with “because” ü“has the ability to” can be replaced with “can” PEARASSOCIATES. COM 14

Writing Tips • Avoid jargon and acronyms üSpell out the first time and then use acronym (“The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)…”) üSpell out even if you think its obvious what the abbreviation or acronym stands for (“New Hampshire (NH)…) üAssume the reader knows nothing PEARASSOCIATES. COM 15

Writing Tips • Choose 1 st person or 3 rd person ü 1 st person (“we created…”, “our program…) creates intimacy with reader ü 3 rd person (avoids any personal pronouns) is more formal, creates distance üAvoid switching from one to the other in the same proposal PEARASSOCIATES. COM 16

Writing Tips • Ensure antecedents are clear üReplace “These include…” with “These challenges include…” ü“Board President John Smith and Vice President Steve Johnson have been involved in the organization for years, which he wrote about in the annual report” PEARASSOCIATES. COM 17

Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why? Fill shape with image PEARASSOCIATES. COM 18

WHO • Who is the leader of the organization or project? • Who is implementing the proposed program or service? • What are their relevant qualifications? • Which person is taking on which role? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 19

WHAT • What program are you implementing? • Is your program or service based on best-practices or evidence? • Are you following a model or a curricula? • Are there various components of your work, such as planning, training, implementing, evaluating? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 20

WHERE • What is the setting where your program or service will take place? • Will the proposed initiative happen in one location or multiple locations? • What is the geographic target area that you will serve? How have you defined that? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 21

WHEN • During which days or which hours will this program or service occur? (e. g. 24/7 crisis line, afterschool program)? • How often will this program of service be offered (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) • Are there time dependencies in what you are proposing (e. g. once we receive SAT scores, we will begin the application process)? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 22

HOW • What will it take to get the work done? • Do you have to hire and train staff? • Do you need to purchase equipment or materials? • Do you need to contract with a consultant or architect? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 23

WHY • What is the problem you are solving? • What story does the data tell about the situation? • What would happen if you didn’t do what you are proposing to do? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 24

If you wrote the grant and disappeared… …someone should be able to read your proposal and know exactly what you wanted to do, how you wanted to do it, and why this was important…without having to ask PEARASSOCIATES. COM 25

Communicating your Value Proposition Fill shape with image PEARASSOCIATES. COM 26

Does your proposal answer… • So what? • Why should we care? • Is there a compelling enough need? • Is this an innovative solution? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 27

Does your proposal explain… • How is your organization unique from other organizations doing similar work? • Have you highlighted the value, quality, and effectiveness of your work? • Are the details you are proposing well researched (both the need and the implementation strategy? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 28

Matching Grants with Funder Interests Fill shape with image PEARASSOCIATES. COM 29

Think like the Funder • What does the funder want? (not, what does your organization want to deliver) • What language does the funder use in their materials, guidelines, website? (not, how we are accustomed to talking about ourselves) PEARASSOCIATES. COM 30

Do Your Funder Homework • What are their values? • What are their giving priorities and field of interest? • What organizations have they funded in the past? • What is their typical grant size? • How do they like to communicate with prospective grantees? PEARASSOCIATES. COM 31

Questions? Fill shape with image PEARASSOCIATES. COM 32

Connect Alison Glastein Gray agray@pearassociates. com 781 -975 -1033 PEARASSOCIATES. COM 33