Grow Your Nonprofit's Mission with Successful Grant Writing
What is the role of a nonprofit grant writer?
The role of a nonprofit grant writer is to research and identify grant opportunities, write grant proposals, and submit them to potential funders on behalf of the nonprofit organization. They play a crucial role in securing funding for nonprofit programs and initiatives.
What is grant writing?
How do I write a great grant proposal?
A grant is a financial award to support a person, project, organization, or program. It is intended for a specific goal or purpose and is available to organizations across the USA. Grant writing is the process of creating a proposal to fund a given program. Grant research is the process of finding the funding agency or agencies for organization grant projects. Understanding the process of grant writing for nonprofits in the USA is essential because grants are a necessary source of income for many organizations. If you don’t have the experience, you may want to consider contracting with a grant writing services professional who can help you plan the right strategy for grant solicitation from grantors.
Grant funding can be used for scientific research, operational support, youth development and activities, local senior citizens, and other program areas that provide needed services. Granting agencies like to see prospective grant proposals include relevant data and all the details for budget justification. Grant writing for international nonprofits is part of a diversified fundraising campaign, and it is important to tailor the proposal to the specific guidelines and requirements of government entities
Hi, I am Chester Beard and I am a certified grant writer experienced in the entire grant writing process. This includes grant proposals, research proposals, and project management skills. I am a self-employed, passionate individual who is detail-oriented and experienced in grant proposal writing with a wealth of diverse and interpersonal skills and experience to help with your grant research and grant writing, with past fundraising experience. Nonprofit grant writing is my passion. And writing successful grant proposals is what I do.
I want to write a winning nonprofit grant proposal for you. Nonprofit grant proposals are my specialty. For global health, environmental orgs, and arts funding grant proposals. As a member of the Puget Sound Grantwriters Association, I write grant proposals
Many organizations can apply for grants. Many organizations could use grants to further their project to completion, and many do not even know they could apply for a grant. My expertise in grant writing is a plus for organizations looking to fund a new project with grant money.
I help nonprofit organizations, small businesses(SBA), environmental organizations, and your local government with drafting proposals for grant opportunities. The grant money comes from government agencies and large funding foundations.
My 7-Step Grant Writing Process
Grant Application Process
Step 1 - Follow the funder grant guidelines. The grant guidelines spell out what the grant funder wants to see in a grant narrative. These guidelines spell out what, at a minimum, the grant funder wants to see from you, the applicant.
Step 2 - Skeleton or outline of funding narrative. This is like outlining your novel or outlining a movie script.
spell out roles and responsibilities for individuals on the nonprofit organization team such as lead and technical staff if both are available.
review scoring criteria from the grant funder and potential donors.
Step 3 - Kickoff meeting to discuss the narrative outline and clarify info needed to complete your grant applications. Set a schedule for grant development. A copy of the grant proposal outline is provided to all meeting participants before the meeting for review. A review of the outline happens here.
Step 4 - Finalize grant budget. Grant applications need to show how the cost estimate was made. Some funders require part of the funding to come from the applicant. In that case, it is necessary to have the full budget finalized.
Step 5 - Write the funding narrative. Write the narrative and look for further information to bolster the narrative. The narrative is a written description of the project, the problem it solves, and why it needs to be funded.
Step 6 - Prepare key attachments.
Grant budget and grant budget narrative.
Resolution, a resolution is not always necessary or can appear after submission. A grant resolution is a statement by which the board of your organization is aware and committed to being legally bound by the rules of the funding agency.
Step 7 - Independent review and submit. I am part of the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective a collective of professional grant writers. I can call upon almost anyone to review my grant proposals. It is where I received my grant writing certificate.
How do you know when you are ready to pursue a grant?
Planning is the key to successful grant applications and securing a grant. Following is a list of questions to ask before you go out and seek a grant. Remember: planning is the first step to success in finding prospective donors and the right funding opportunities. An effective grant proposal is hard work and answering these questions will help prepare you whether you are a first-time grant writer or a seasoned veteran of the work. As a nonprofit grant writer, it is important to carefully follow the directions and guidelines provided by the grantmaker to increase your chances of success.
What is your project or program? This seems obvious, but without an understanding of the project or program, there can be no funding. I suggest a paragraph or two explaining what you want to do.
What problem are you solving? Or what is the need we are trying to meet? What problem are we trying to solve with this program? This may be defined while writing your one-two-paragraph summary of your project, but not necessarily.
Has a scope of work been developed? This is a more detailed statement of what the project hopes to accomplish. Define steps to take, aside from grant proposal writing work, and hope for an outcome at the end. Just like any project management proposal, there will be an SOW defined before you start the grant project.
Tangible Transformational Sentence: One sentence that covers pain points alleviated and transformation that points to achieving a deep desire. I talk more about this below. (See below)
Review past funding projects. Has any planning already taken place if so at what stage is that planning currently? You may have part of your grant application already finished by previous stakeholders from a previous administration. This does not always apply but is important to consider.
How do you plan to involve stakeholders such as beneficiaries and program implementations of the grant proposal? When do you reach out for information and answer how involved they wish to be?
How do you measure success?
How will the measurement of success for the grant proposal be defined? This is more than just a subject assessment. What is the definition of a successful project? How is that measured? What is the time frame of the project proposal?
Where will the program be located? What building, what state, what location? The proposed project should have a defined area where it is housed or held.
Is the project technically viable? And how do you know it is or not? Has this been done before? If it is a capital project have the designs been finished?
How can you prove the project will be sustainable? Many funders want to only fund projects that will continue after the end of funding. This is where you do a feasibility study to prove the project can be sustained after funding dries up.
What is the team structure?
What is your team's makeup? What are the roles that need a definition for the project to sustain itself and move forward? Especially define who is the main point of contact for all funding agencies. This does not necessarily need to be one person, but it is easier if one person holds that role.
Are subcontractors needed to accomplish the project?
Is there a project management budget developed yet? Need a rough estimate of what the project will cost before you can set out to find funding. There is an alternative approach I will talk about below.
Linked to the previous point is what are the sustaining costs for the project?
Who wrote the budget? Are they qualified to be a grant writer and do they understand budgeting? Maybe your group needs to hire someone qualified to write a budget for your project. You may want to hire a grant writing specialist for this part.
Have any sources of grant funding already been secured and utilized?
All the above questions are part of what I call your readiness assessment. These are the bare minimum questions to ask before you go approach funders to support your project. A qualified grant writer can be very helpful in this process.
In your one-page project overview, also called a prospectus, define why your project is needed, what problem(s) it solves, and whom you are serving. Send this one-page prospectus to the funder ahead of time so they can learn the basics of your project beforehand.
This step is glossed over or skipped by most nonprofits so remember to send a prospectus first before your meeting. It makes the whole process smoother I feel. It makes your group look more professional and respectful of the funder's time. It will be put at the front of the line I am sure.
Alternative approach
This turns the whole process defined above inside-out-upside-down and backward. In the alternative approach, you look for grants that are available first and then craft a project narrative around the grants that you find. This is a more creative approach, but can also be time-consuming too.
With this approach look for grants that are not very competitive in the first place. That will greatly increase your chances of success.
Tangible Transformational Sentence - this is important
This is a one-sentence definition of your entire project. This is also your elevator pitch on steroids. Whom you plan to serve, what problem you solve, and how beneficiaries will be transformed. This is the elevator pitch 10x.
Let’s break it down:
I help [identity] get [transformation you provide] so they can [avoid pain #1 or achieve deep desire].
This is more complex than it readily appears
[identity] Your beneficiaries. Be as specific as possible here. Asking how a group perceives themselves is your best guide here. Ask your proposed beneficiaries.
[transformation you provide] The Single most important goal or benefit of your project is this transformation. Picking the right transformation can be hard so try experimenting a little with funders and see what lights up their interest most.
[pain or deep desire] This is what you hope to give to the project beneficiaries in the end. Choose the single best descriptor for your project.
A break down grant research process
Stage One - List 100+ grant funders.
Stage Two - Narrow that down to 20+ grants worth pursuing. I filter according to
Funders’ Giving Priorities
Eligible Use of Funds
Funding History, total giving, and the geography of giving ( do they give generally to organizations in your state). An unknown factor that most grant writers do not use is geography.
Stage Three - Down to the top Pursuits, How to decide which are worth the time?
Calculate competitiveness by finding how many applied last year and how many grants were awarded. This is key to deciding which grant sot pursue.
Sometimes we can contact past applicants and query their experience with the funder.
Reread funding guidelines carefully to ensure nothing was missed.
Contact the funder and ask all questions regarding a possible application. Ask - would this org fund a project like yours? Are we eligible? Why would our project not get funded? Clarify what needs to be in place to apply.
Summary
As a self-employed grant writer, I take a creative writing approach to writing grants research and research proposals.
As a member of the Puget Sound Grant Writers Association and Association for Fundraising Professionals, my goal is to help nonprofit organizations find the grant funding they need for their expanding projects. I am a professional grant writer and love researching grants and writing grant proposals that help nonprofit organizations secure the funding they need for their projects with well-researched grant proposals.
My goal is to use my professional experience to help your nonprofit secure funding for your specific project promptly. Contact me if you want to get started with a brief 15-minute conversation. This work also allows me to align my potential volunteer work more closely