Reading grant announcements

A nice lady called and wanted to know if I could write up an application for $500K for her small, one year old organization. Here is the entire announcement as it was forwarded to me:

Blackstone Charitable Foundation

Website:    www.blackstone.com

Program(s):  Employment, Economic Development, Job Related and Business Grants

State(s):  National

Maximum Grant Amount: $5,000,000 Total Funding Available

Deadline:  October 12, 2015

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation is accepting applications for the 2016 Blackstone Innovation Grants program, an annual program that awards a series of targeted grants to innovative organizations focused on entrepreneurship and job growth. Now in the fourth year of the program, the Foundation will award up to $5 million in grants to organizations that are tackling the big challenges facing entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Eligible organizations and programs may apply for one of two funding tracks:

BIG Program/Project Grants - Organizations with an existing track record of success may apply for funding for a specific program/project (new or existing) that addresses a major systemic challenge facing an entrepreneurial ecosystem and has the potential to be scaled and replicated.

BIG Event Grants - Established organizations may apply for funding for a specific event or convening that accelerates the conversation around entrepreneurship on a regional, national and/or global scale.

Organizations will be evaluated and selected by a committee and subsequently approved by the Board of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation.

To be eligible to apply, organizations must be at least three years old and have an annual operating budget greater than $1,000,000. (Italics are mine).

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Obviously, the lady's brand-new organization doesn't qualify. Now don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with shooting for the stars. But hiring someone to write a grant you can't possibly qualify for is just plain bad business.

Moral:  read the whole grant announcement.  The lady got as far as the first 2-3 paragraphs and quit reading at "(new or existing)".  The good news is, I have been able to find her a grantor that does match her organization well, although the amount is certainly not as large as she wanted.

Big grants normally require substantial organizational strength. That's normally why I don't write Federal grants or large foundation grants for new organizations.

Yes, it would be nice if these grant announcements would lead with the eligibility guidelines first. Federal grants are historically notoriously bad for being ambiguous or at least indefinite about what level of nonprofit they are written to attract.  Just saying you have to be a 501(c)(3) to apply  leads to a lot of wasted time, money and ink.

Still, if you read the whole announcement, at some point you can probably get a clue that your organization can't complete the requirements.

The good news is, there are almost always grantors out there that will match up well with your level of development.

In fact, one largely overlooked area is in development grants. For some reason, people just aren't  looking for grants specifically designed to improve their overall organizational capability or provide board or staff training.

It's true that only about one in ten grant applications are funded. You can improve your chances by making sure that your organization and the grantor match up well and that includes reading the entire announcement. 

If you have a question about applying for a grant, feel free to contact me at rightwords@ida.net.

Evaluating proposal requests

Twice in the last few months prospective clients have asked to have a proposal prepared to answer a request for a bid or apply for a grant. Neither RFP fit the client.

How do you know whether a proposal is a good fit? It's kind of like evaluating whether a date is a potential spouse. Either the chemistry is there or it isn't.

That's not to say that every request must match what you offer 100%. If your date meets every other criteria, would you break up with them just because of hair color or height?  Probably not, unless that was the most important feature on your list.

When you see that RFP, ask yourself if you can meet the  important requirements. For instance, one of the aforementioned clients was a nonprofit responding to a request for proposals regarding a service for low-income mothers. The client's program aligned very closely with the grant parameters, except for one thing. The grantor only funded nonprofits in a specific state, and it wasn't even close to where the client was located.

Even just a cursory look at the grantor's previous award history showed they had never funded anything outside of their geographic area. Nevertheless, the client was absolutely sure that when the grantor read their wonderful proposal, they would break that pattern.

It was never going to work. The grantor was a family foundation with specific ties to a specific state, and they clearly said that their geographic criteria was set in stone. The nonprofit didn't recognize the importance of their location as a deal-breaker.

I politely declined to write the proposal, citing geographic mismatch, eventually found them a grant they could qualify for and wrote that proposal instead.

The other RFP was for a specific type of cleaning service. There were a couple of things that the client didn't currently offer, but they were fairly minor, i.e. they didn't offer floor buffing and didn't have a floor buffer, but other than that, they matched up pretty well. We researched what it would cost to buy or rent a buffer and how long it would take to train someone to use it, fired off the proposal, and it was accepted.

Both of these examples are pretty straightforward. It isn't always that obvious, but the principle is the same. Firing off a proposal just because you can isn't always the right strategy and it could waste a lot of time and money.

It isn't necessary to look for the perfect RFP, but you need to be able to differentiate between what's possible and what isn't. If you can adapt your circumstances reasonably easily to the grantor's requirements, then go for it.

Don't get blinded by a big award or a fat, juicy contract and then find out it won't work out. If you need the money or the job within three months, and the grant or contract won't be awarded for six months, then maybe it isn't going to work for you. Perform a thorough evaluation first.

If you don't know how to evaluate a RFQ or RFP, let me know. I'd be happy to help, either by teaching you what to look for or performing the research. Either way, look before you leap!

Creative grant writing - are you selling a zebra?

Grant applications are essentially tools for selling your nonprofit mission to donors. One of the phrases I see often in RFP's or advertisements for grant writing help is this one:

"…seeking creative writer to apply for grants"

That should  mean that the client wants someone to frame their existing message in a fresh, compelling, interesting  way.

Unfortunately, experience has taught me that clients advertising this way want a bit more than that. These advertisers might just as well say "Need fiction writer".

Let's look at the difference. Let's say you want to describe a zebra you really, really need to sell to someone that wants to buy a pony for their child, but really doesn't know much about horses or ponies. Seems easy, right?

One way could be to say:

"Zebras are black-and-white striped animals that live in Africa."  That's not creative or very informative, but it's true.

An alternate creatively written description could read:

"Zebras are undomesticated members of the horse family, and are native to Africa. Their typical black and white striped coats are easily identified at zoos and wild animal preserves. Unlike their domesticated relatives, zebras are seldom tamed or trained for riding or driving. Since both people and large carnivores prey upon them as a food source, they are highly defensive and can disable even a lion with a well-aimed kick. While most members of the horse family are tractable with proper training, zebras have a well-deserved reputation for retaining their wild characteristics even under trained professional handling."

That's all true too, but it is more informative, gives some insight into their temperament ,and even a hint as to why they have that temperament.  Even if you know nothing about equines you can deduce that this is probably not the pony of your child's dreams.

What happens when you add fiction into the mix?  Well, you get something like this.

"Zebras are Africa's answer to the beautiful Arabian horse. Their elegant black-and-white striped coats make them attractive and they are gentle and willing to please."

Paints quite a different picture doesn't it? There is a kernel of truth there, but if you were looking for a pet pony for your kid, you would  be terribly misled and have possibly tragic results if you bought into the fictional zebra description.

Grant applications need to portray your organization in a compelling, yet truthful way. Claiming outcomes  you can't prove or citing financial records that don't exist will not get you a huge grant award. Grantors do their due diligence before handing out money, and once they discover that your zebra is actually a wild animal and  not a pet, you not only won't get the grant, you will be forever branded as a liar. Even if you later acquire the most wonderful kid's pony in the world, everyone will remember your zebra.

I'm a pretty darn good writer, but if you hire me,  even I can't turn your zebra into a pony.