Grant writing is the process of requesting funding to support the initiatives of your nonprofit organisation. Writing grants for nonprofits entails creating grant proposals for community organisations, governmental organisations, companies, foundations, or other funders. The goal is to solicit support for your nonprofit.
- In your grant proposal, be sure to provide financial facts.
- Writing grants allow you to share the unique story of your nonprofit.
How to Write a Nonprofit Grant
Many nonprofits may consider grant writing procedures an overwhelming and frustrating task. However, this shouldn’t be the case. Your grant writing process can be streamlined to position your nonprofit for success. This can be achieved by understanding the processes of nonprofit grant writing and putting them into practice.
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Establish a Grant Research Process Plan
Finding grant opportunities might be a laborious process, but there are various funding databases. To begin with, go through a few grant funder databases to see what they have to offer. Remember that the majority of these databases concentrate on family or corporate foundations and rarely include funding from the government or corporations.
Being aware that the larger the grant, the longer the review process, it is best to prepare a calendar with funding deadlines. Also, include goals as well, detailing your expectations on the sum you requested for approval.
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Establish the Criteria’s Fit
Grantors create particular criteria to help them in their decision-making. Therefore, you will need to review your nonprofit to see if it fits those criteria. To analyse an organisational match, think about making a spreadsheet that includes every aspect of the funder’s requirements in one column and the nonprofit’s match in another.
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Make a Funder call
If you are unsure whether the funding would be a suitable fit for your nonprofit’s program, contact the funder. Inform them that you are interested in taking part in the grant cycle and inquire as to whether your program would be a match. This is relationship-building on the part of the nonprofit, not an intrusive gesture to the grantor!
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Construct a Program Strategy
What should you do now that your program has been approved? Have a strategy meeting with your internal team to define your program and ask questions in detail. During your grant strategy session, as a team, examine these questions:
- What experience and knowledge can your nonprofit organisation offer?
- How is your nonprofit going to approach the situation?
- On whose team will the program be delivered?
- How will your programs embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion?
- How much will it cost and—possibly most significantly—how will it affect people’s lives?
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Compile the Required Information
Writing grants is like putting a puzzle together. Even before you start looking for funding, your organisation should already have the majority of the components. Be prepared to include data such as your charity organisation’s history, mission, charitable number, budget, and HR-specific information, as well as project-specific elements, such as possible partnerships and project outcomes.
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Construct an Impact Management Plan
How will your program change the recipients and the community at large, and how will you monitor your success? In addition to the number of individuals serviced, impact measurement should contain measurable information about the amount of change your organisation is bringing about.
Also, your grant proposal should contain information regarding the impact measuring and risk management practices of your nonprofit. Point out any potential obstacles to your project and explain how you plan to overcome them. Discuss your idea or program’s scalability and sustainability in further detail.
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Your Writing Ought to be Compelling, Concise, and Clear
Write in a manner that is compelling, brief, clear, and easy to grasp. Leave no room for misunderstanding. Funders base their decisions on your proposal as it has been submitted. They won’t call to ask questions if you don’t make your project obvious.
Grant writing offers you the chance to tell the special tale of your business. Use that to keep your proposal interesting. Your drive for change will be evident as you write, and the funder might even continue reading because of it!
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Evaluate the Budget for Your Program
In your grant proposal, be sure to provide financial facts. The content of your proposal must match the budget, which is a story told in numbers. Once more, if your proposal is unclear, funders won’t call you to ask questions; instead, they’ll only base their decisions on the material at hand. Hence, your budget needs to be well-defined and simple to follow.
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Check Your Grant Proposal for Errors
While writing grants for nonprofits, it can be quite simple to make spelling errors, mismatch dates, and omit critical data points. Regrettably, that can make it less likely that you’ll get the grant. As a result, ensure you verify your grant submission for errors.
Return to your grant strategy team and ask them to make the necessary changes if you feel that something in the proposal is incorrect. Your request must be very explicit.
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Add All Required Attachments
Several funders provide a grant application checklist so charities may ensure the submission of all required documents and information. Observe this checklist to the letter! And then submit when you’re ready!
Conclusion
Remember, writing grants for nonprofits doesn’t have to be difficult. Start preparing for your grant application as early as possible. Also, be sure to use the guide in this article to increase your organisation’s chances of being awarded funding.
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