Think About Applying for Grants From the Grant Donor's Perspective

Sometimes the best way to get a grant awarded to your nonprofit is to think beyond the actual grant writing process, get out of that mindset for a moment, and imagine what the grant donor's wanting to assist (or, to what do they want to give a grant to - what are they looking for). This exercise can actually help you create a winning grant proposal.

Let's look at the grant application process from the grant donor's perspective. Let's say that you and I work together at a local grant donor, a local foundation. Let's say we work at Partners Foundation (I just made that up). Let's say, too, that we're a medium size foundation in a larger town or city. Our annual operating budget is around $180,000 and we grant about $100,000 a year to applicant nonprofits. Let's say that (as all foundations specifically wish to grant to the causes or issues that they are concerned about, at the time) Partners Foundation requests applications from nonprofits providing one of three different kinds of health programs: hospice programs, counseling programs for families who have a critically sick child, and shuttle or transportation assistance services for people unable to drive themselves to their medical appointments or to pick up their prescriptions. In other words, any nonprofit who is (or is going to) provide, and needs money for any one of these specific programs (and who also meets the other requirements to apply, located in Partners Foundation's giving guidelines (see the link to understand what giving guidelines are)) should apply to Partners Foundation. Do not ever apply to a foundation: that does not fund the cause/issue that your nonprofit works on, or that does not fund organizations that serve the population in the geographic region that your nonprofit serves, or that does not fund the kinds of programs, services, research, etc. that you are needing to fund. [Note: To understand how to look for grant donors (this work is called 'prospecting') to specifically locate the grant donors most likely to give to your nonprofit read the following posts: We Need Money For Our 501(c)(3)... , The Grant Writer's Little Helper; IRS Tax Form 990 Post 1 of 2 , The Grant Writer's Little Helper; IRS Tax Form 990 Post 2 of 2 ]

So, given that we work for a small to medium sized foundation, we have four giving cycles a year. This means that each quarter, we notify the public that we are accepting applications for grants (for the specific issues, programs, and in the locations that we indicate in our current giving guidelines). Working for a foundation, we provide nonprofits who are interested in applying for our grants with our foundation's giving guidelines, due dates, answer questions about how to apply or the application, itself, etc. Being that we grant about $100,000 a year over four quarters, in 2005 we received about 300 grant application a giving cycle (or a quarter). In 2007 we averaged receiving about 800 applications a quarter - over double the average before the economy slowed. Also, since we have an annual operating budget of about $180,000 (which is only how much the foundation spends, annually, to operate - it does not reflect the assets that the foundation owns), and we give about $100,000 annually, in grants, then we can surmise that about $80,000 is spent, over the year, on operating the foundation (everything from overhead such as rent, parking, office supplies, phones, etc. to salaries and benefits). Let's say that $80,000 is broken into $60,000 for the foundation's executive director's salary and benefits, $10,000 for one part time program manager, and we have two interns in our office at any time to do administrative work. The other $10,000 pays the foundation's overhead and operations expenses. Yes, foundations recognized by the U.S. federal government as such, are nonprofits, themselves.

So...if we have a staff of four, not including Partners Foundation's board of directors (which, let's say, is 15 people); we receive approximately 800 grant applications that must each be read before a major deadline each quarter, every year; and we only fund those nonprofits that meet and exceed the requirements and spirit of our foundation's giving guidelines - we know the following about our work as a foundation (and these are important clues to nonprofits who are applying for grants to any foundation or other grant donor):

__ While program managers may be excellent readers, they are reading for content (looking for the applicant nonprofit's mission, proposed program/project that they need funding for, reasoning that explains why the program/project and organization are necessary to the community, and for the application's compliance with not only the giving guidelines but also that all required attachments are in the application package, etc.). That is a lot to have to find in each document of 800 applications. [Note: the more that a nonprofit formats it grant proposal (while staying within the requirements of the giving guidelines) so that it is easy for the reader to pick out the compelling or important points in it - the easier it is for anyone who has numbers of proposals to read to find the facts that will sell them on your organization's proposed work].

__ We have to determine which applicants' budgets are not just mathematically correct, but also correlates to what is stated in the written proposal, and is fiscally responsible and sound (of the nonprofits that remembered to include the budget for the proposed program/project, in the proposal, as required in Partners Foundation's grant application process). [Note: Always make sure that your budget is in accordance with the foundation's giving guidelines, is realistic/possible, simple, complete, honest, and is mathematically correct. Also, make sure that what is stated in the proposal about money, matches what is listed in the budget].

__ We have to weed out the grant applications that we can (because of the volume of applicants compared to what we give in grants each quarter). While we wish we could fund each good idea that we received in applications, we can't. Any reason that we can find to put a grant application into the "No Pile" - we have to use. [Note: Never make it easy for a grant donor to put your nonprofit's application in the "No Pile". How? Always do everything that they require in the foundation's giving guidelines. Meet deadlines. Do not add any extraneous documents, attachments, videos or other media to a grant application package. They don't have time to go through it at all. Write a succinct, complete, honest, and compelling grant proposal, etc.] While working at our jobs, we move after this first quarter of 2009's giving cycle's deadline is past us, approximately 90% or 720 of 800 grant applications to the "No Pile" for various reasons (which we note on each grant application that we put into that pile - in case the nonprofit calls us, after receiving their rejection letter, asking us how they can do better when they apply to our foundation next time). The 10% or 80 grant applications that we did not find issue with, next, goes to our board of directors who always make the final grant recipient decisions. The 15 of them will divvy up going through all 80 grant proposals and probably in greater detail than you and I could.

__ Since we know that we only have about $25,000 to grant this giving cycle, and because we want our foundation's grants to make the most good in our community that those dollars can, the board of directors of our foundation do not want to fund any programs, projects, etc. that indicate even a possibility of the following: nonprofits whose missions do not serve a current or urgent real need in our community; nonprofits who do not expertise in what they doing (e.g. do not have expertise or credentialed professionals working as staff or on the board of the nonprofit); nonprofits who do not appear to know how to run a nonprofit according to current professional nonprofit best practices (because our board doesn't want to risk even a dollar of its grant money to nonprofit leadership who are learning as they go, when there are plenty of nonprofits who are run by people who make sure that they know how to run a professional nonprofit, that have also applied for a grant); nonprofits who have had bad press recently (e.g. a legal or internal scandal), or who are known to spend grant money on things other than what they say they'll spend the money on (the board of our foundation have friends who work for other foundations' boards and these friends do talk to one another about nonprofits who bilk or cheat them), or nonprofits who do not seem to account for their money well or correctly, etc.; proposals that are not clear or do not demonstrate that the program/project has been thoroughly planned out, including the goal of the program/project and anticipated results and an evaluation method; etc. [ Note: When your organization applies for a grant, and even if it's up against only one other nonprofit (instead of 79 other nonprofits) to get that grant - you must have submitted an excellent, strong, well done proposal because if you don't, the other nonprofit has).

__ We want to give our grants to reputable nonprofits. Not only does this mean that we only want to give our dollars to organizations who are known to be successful, well run, honest, efficient with their money, etc. BUT (big 'but') it also means that we (as the foundation staff, board, etc.) should have heard of the applicant nonprofit before. Not only that, if we, at the foundation, have friends, colleagues, or family that work for, is served by, or volunteer with an applicant nonprofit - that helps that nonprofit's chances of getting a grant (because connections are 'everything') WHEN WE AT THE FOUNDATION KNOW ABOUT THE CONNECTION. [Note: Always, always, always take marketing and public relations work as seriously as fundraising work because the two actually go hand and hand. Marketing and PR can increase the amounts raised and numbers of donors gained. Similarly, be sure to let your community at large know whenever and each time your organization achieves any success. Finally, whenever and each time your nonprofit is about to submit a grant proposal check with your organization's staff, board, volunteers, and beneficiaries whether anyone has a relationship with anyone volunteering with or working for the foundation that you're applying to. It can be invaluable. If a connection is found - be sure that the person who has the connection contacts their connection in the foundation and let them know that your nonprofit is about to apply, and why they believe in your nonprofit (nothing "sales-y" - from the heart is always more compelling)].

From a foundation's (or other grant donor's) point of view, they are looking to give grants (not for the tax break, studies have found) because they are concerned about our world and have specific concerns for the community. They are as much investors as they are donors. Foundations (and others) give grants to succeed at providing a viable and strong solution to real needs. Help them see and be able to see why your organization's proposed program or project is an excellent, efficient, current, professional, successful, viable, and long lived investment.

What Motivates Giving?

Jason Dick, blog author of A Small Change - Fundraising Blog, is hosting the February 2008 Giving Carnival (group blog session). Jason asks a great question of anyone who would like to either email a response to him or blog about it on their blog, and send Jason the link (he will post all of the responses that he receives on Monday, February 25th. Be sure to return and read others' responses and respond to them. Let's get a dialogue going!). You can join us and respond at infosmallchange at gmail dot com by January 21st.

If you can not join us this month, in the discussion, you can join the Giving Carnival group blogging sessions (once a month) to blog or simply email a response to various philanthropy questions. We always need hosts, too. Becoming a member of the Giving Carnival Google group by clicking the link. We would love to have you when you are able to contribute and respond.

Jason asks, "What motivates giving? Is it compassion, good fundraising, desire to make a difference in the community? What is it?"

As is often the response, I say, 'it depends'. Here's the dirt...

Individuals give because they are affected by a cause or issue, they believe that something can be done and that the nonprofit sector provides viable solutions, and because they have located a nonprofit providing a solution that they believe in, towards the issue, and the nonprofit is effective, reputable, successful, transparent in its operations and reporting, well run, and accessible. I wrote more about today's savvy, less whimsical, individual donors in my post A Shift In Giving: Proactive Philanthropists Instead of Passive Donors Nonprofits do not just get to pass GO while being handed donations for the year. Today, nonprofits must meet a real need in our community, address the need successfully, operate efficiently while reporting honestly, and must work with the community and its resources - rather than trying to be a lone agent. Results are everything today.

Families, trusts, community foundations and their members, and foundations give because they have amassed a lump sum to dedicate to the issue(s) that also concerns them. These entities exist to give. It is arguable that, as legal 501(c)(3)...etc. organizations, they give because it is federally mandated that they give a specific percentage of total holdings, annually. It is also sometimes the case that these kinds of philanthropists are set up for the tax benefit. I do not believe that these are the REASONS, though, that most charities are set up, or why they give. I think that families, trusts, community foundations, and individual foundations give because someone saw a need in our community and again, believed that the nonprofit sector, specifically, could provide effective solutions.

Private foundations give for very specific reasons. Often private foundations are set up to support a singular specific cause, organization, or the private foundation only accepts grant applications by invitation (and does not accept applications for grants from just anyone). For instance, some private foundations are set up to singularly fund one hospital. Or, other private foundations only give to organizations serving one religion and its work. Other private foundations may be set up to support a single private school.

Donors are researching how to make the greatest impact in our communities and this post links to a recent published study that discusses this phenomenon at: Yet Another Example of Donors Expecting Results; Non Profits, You Can't Just Take the Money and Cross Your Fingers Anymore

To determine what foundations are looking for and why they engage with nonprofits by donating read Grant Writers, Get an Inside Peek On Where Our Foundation Donors' Heads Are which highlights Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, interview on Charlie Rose in which she talks about what one of the most preeminent foundations in the world looks for when donating.

A more general, overarching discussion on why grant donors give is at Why Do Donors Give Grants At All?