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The Art of Grant Seeking

Children's Trust Foundation enlisted a fresh resource for our Family Support Professional audience, professional grantwriter M. Windsor Vest. In the upcoming issues of FS Pro and in further detail through this column, Windsor will supply resources  and guide her grant-seeking readers through the most critical stages of the grant process.

Who is M. Windsor Vest?

M. Windsor Vest is a former Occupational Therapist and fiber artist and has been involved with nonprofit organizations for over 30 years. Windsor began working as a consultant five years ago after completing the University of Washington Nonprofit Fundraising Management Certification Program. Windsor’s focus and passion remain with the human services community. She is a volunteer for Children’s Trust and is committed to supporting our mission.

In her free time, Windsor is a chocolatier and still enjoys the fiber arts.         

        

Writing to a Foundation: Where to Begin?

by M. Windsor Vest

The most difficult and lengthy stage of composing a compelling grant proposal is the preparation. Start by getting to know your prospective funder. Visit sites like Guidestar or Foundation Center, which make it easy to look at a funder’s IRS 990 tax return information. You can learn how to read a 990, thanks to online articles like this how-to.  

Always review tax returns to find the list of grants given during that particular year. Most foundations are required to list who they funded, at what level, and for what reason. Study how funders invest their revenue, the average amount of each grant, and whether it was used for program or general operating expenses. Also search for contact information, web addresses, a board member list, and other useful facts about the business.  

Next, look at  past award recipients who resemble what you are doing. Note these funded programs to see how you compare and differ. Hunt for press releases about funders to learn their priorities and how they choose to focus efforts—all critical to understanding  how you complement funders' values and efforts.

Then, gather your financial statements, needs assessment results, program measurement and evaluation results, and other supporting information. Study and sort the materials according to the questions on the funder’s proposal form. Then ask yourself if you can clearly answer their questions in a compelling way. Does your budget support what you are telling the funder about your organization and vice versa? Does it reflect the amount you’re requesting from this funder? Where does your argument lack support, statistics, or data? And most importantly—do you have more information to work with than you can possibly use? This stage is a good place to be, since it means you’ve done your homework and have the luxury of selecting the information you want to use, and, thus, allowing you to give a funder the most effective story you can tell.  

If you’re still stuck, look at the writing resources listed here to learn about other approaches to grantwriting. Check out a new book, go online and search for grantwriting information, and find local grantwriting associations where you can tap into the expertise of professionals in the field. Join a network, feel free to ask questions, and seek a mentor.

My future articles will further help you with grantwriting by exploring such topics as “Can I cut and paste?”, boilerplate statements, space-limited forms, the importance of answering the funder’s questions, needs statements, the use—or preferable lack of—jargon, budgets, editing, and others. If you have questions or suggestions for articles, please feel free to contact me at mwindsorvest@verzion.net.

Need Statements

by M. Windsor Vest

Don’t forget that funders are investors and you are acting as their money manager. They are investing in your ability to create change. Therefore, a compelling need statement must connect the funder directly to those you serve or your community—not your organizational needs. For example, when talking about a parenting education class, parents need to understand developmental milestones, apply parenting techniques that support bonding with their children, act as models for peers, and find effective non-physical ways of modifying their child’s behavior. Simply saying, “We need parenting education classes” or “There are no parenting education classes in our community,” does not tell the funder how or why their money will have an impact. Parenting education classes are your solution to the problems faced by struggling, stressed parents who may not have adequate coping skills.   

Solid need statements do not have a required length, but keep in mind that the funder’s grant committee may have to read many proposals in a limited time and the overuse of data could cause the reader to prematurely move to another section of the narrative. Data should clearly demonstrate the conditions in your community and illustrate how your solution will make a difference. Start with national or regional data to provide context and always reference your sources. Then move to local data to show the exact nature of the problem in your community. For example, state that x number of parents who have had a baby at the local hospital within the past year reported feeling unprepared for parenting their child. Always strive to include quantitative and qualitative data in your narrative. Testimonials are for impact and do not tell your entire story. If you only have anecdotal support for your proposal, explain to the funder why you don’t formally measure outcomes for that given program.  

When creating a need statement, understand that this statement communicates why your program is essential to a given population. The program description and anticipated outcomes demonstrate that change will result from the funder’s investment.

Web Resources:

Useful books: 

*Be sure to purchase these titles through the Amazon.com shopping tool on the homepage for a portion of your purchase to benefit Washington families!

 

Outcomes

by M. Windsor Vest

Ideas and opinions about outcomes are varied. In general, outcomes reflect the knowledge, skills, and/or experiences that will be acquired by those participating in your program. Outcome results provide staff, donors, and funders with information on what is working and what will need to be adjusted in the future. These results particularly help a funder assess the value of their investment. Outcomes serve as capacity-building tools that help you look at the influence of many different internal and external factors affecting the program. 

The specific wording and formatting of outcomes may be driven by the funding source. However, if possible when stating an outcome, show action-oriented solutions you will provide, rather than the needs of your organization or community. Stating “__% of participating parents will report improved skills” after completing a parenting education class does not fully document how parents have changed. You can more clearly demonstrate your impact by measuring the percent of those participating who “replaced negative responses to inappropriate behavior with positive behavior modification skills.” We tend to look at outcomes as a measure of our competence in executing a given task when they should show a constructive, problem-solving ability to create change. The Verizon Foundation has recently revised its online form to reflect their belief that outcomes demonstrate “something to be gained” from the activity. They ask that the result of your program provide a “change in condition or behavior that is a good predictor of that success longer term…” View the Verizon online form here.

Web Resources:

Additional Resources:

Jargon

by M. Windsor Vest

Jargon is defined as a technical word or language that has meaning to a specific group. Writing is made easier when using jargon because it provides a level of comfort when telling a story and explaining a need, especially when dealing with space-limited forms. The narrative flows smoothly—unless you are the funder’s grant committee and have to read that narrative with all its jargon.  

When writing a grant narrative, never assume that everyone is clear on what is being said or understands the particular terminology. In fact, write as if the funder has never heard of your organization or the topic you are discussing. Jargon creates a barrier for those who may truly be interested in an organization, but are new to the programs and mission. It leaves the reader needing a selective dictionary or glossary of terms, which disrupts the flow of the narrative and softens the impact of the message.  

Use jargon carefully and put in a brief explanation of the term when warranted. Know the funder and check their guidelines closely. There are those who will provide guidance such as “assume we know the topic.” These are usually funders who only support one or two given focus areas and are familiar with the field. Otherwise, assume that the narrative will be read by members of a board or grant committee who do not have prior knowledge of your mission. If possible, have a person who is unfamiliar with the request read the proposal to see if he/she can clearly understand the story. If unsure of the language being used, check to see if you are “empowering parents to become more nurturing and engaged in their child’s growth and development through interactive activities in the natural environment” or “helping parents learn how to raise their children in a loving home.”  

Web Resources:

Useful Books:

Tony Proscio is a freelance writer and consultant to foundations and nonprofits. He has written three relatively short books on the use of jargon by foundations. While they were written for foundations, they certainly apply to nonprofits and are funny, intelligent, and informative. These books can be purchased through Amazon.com or found online as a PDF download.

Just Ask the Question

by M. Windsor Vest

It is not uncommon to hear a funder say, “Just answer the question!”. The person writing a narrative is obviously connected to the mission and wants a funder to know everything that is deemed important about the organization. However, before writing about all the talents, past successes, programs, services, facts, and figures, do check to see if this abundance of information is truly answering the given question. Meandering answers that are wordy and contain irrelevant information only leave the reader confused—something that is not the writer’s intent.  

Additionally, online forms are space limited and more funders are restricting hard-copy proposal length. While the reasons for this are varied and limits are frustrating, they serve the purpose of requiring precise, impactful answers. Admittedly, this is not always easy to accomplish. A grantwriter must combine careful editing of content with writing concisely.     To help the writing process or to refine the rambling thoughts that occur when there isn’t an excess of things to say, try the following:

  1. Print a hard copy of the guidelines and proposal format or save them to a word processing document.  
  2. Under each question, make notes on absolutely everything you would like to include.
  3. Review these notes and decide what information is crucial to the overall proposal or individual question and why.  
  4. See if certain information more effectively supports a different question. 
  5. Eliminate everything not directly related to the given question.  It’s still possible and desirable to have a lead-in (opening) statement and a sentence that summarizes the answer or draws the reader to the next section of the proposal, but don’t leave the reader wondering why this information is relevant.
  6. Have someone else read the narrative and ask that person if the information provided pertains to the question.
  7. Edit the final writing to remove repetitive wording. 


In an ideal world, each grant request would be a fresh writing experience, but this is not an ideal world and sections of other narratives are pasted into the new proposal. While this works effectively with something such as a mission statement, it often results in answers that are “almost” accurate. Each funder develops questions that are unique to their form. Writing taken from a mix of documents can only work well if the information is carefully edited to be responsive. A reader will spot the proposal that has been done quickly by pasting sections together—they just don’t quite answer the questions.

Web Resources:

Useful books:

Emotional Connection Vs. outcomes

by M. Windsor Vest

 A proposal narrative is a story supported by need assessments, the number of clients served, and measurable outcomes. By using data, the need statement explains a problem, while the program description tells of a solution. From that base, the narrative moves to outcomes that are tracked as quantified results. Somewhere in all the necessary tracking and reporting, there’s a risk of losing sight of the real purpose of the program—to change lives. While outputs, numbers served, and/or the number of times a program is offered, are all valuable tools for assessing the use of a funder’s investment, they don’t allow a funder to experience the emotional connection and are not the only means of measuring success.

It’s especially easy to lose track of the human story when coping with the constraints of a space-limited form. Funders are moving more readily to forms with predetermined questions and answers that must be written in a fixed number of words, characters, and spaces—leaving the writer with few opportunities to share pictures or participant feedback. The result is a somewhat clinical tale of need and problem solving.  

Heartfelt feedback from a parent or caregiver ties the reader to the person participating in the program. In the end, a funder is truly investing in the organization’s ability to make something different in a person’s life. While measurables show how many had the opportunity to create change by taking a parenting class, they don’t always show the direct impact of that change.

Including a comment such as “Now I set aside time to talk and listen to my son and that makes him feel so important in my life” is a powerful way to tell a funder what is different now. It’s not necessary to use a lengthy story when a single sentence or two can support a section of the narrative.     

A grant funder is a donor to your organization and as a donor he/she should be able to make a connection on a level other than that demonstrated through measured outcomes. Show the donor that they are helping a real person, with real problems in life, and that the investment is in the person’s ability to change.

Web resource:

Tell an Effective Story in a Twitter Grant Proposal, Cheryl Clarke

Useful Book:

Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising, Cheryl A. Clarke

The Importance of Maintaining Records

by M. Windsor Vest

Receiving a grant award is always a reason to celebrate. After all, now the program can proceed. However, receiving the grant is only a part of the process. Tracking and record keeping are crucial to a well-run grant program. When asked if the organization has had a previous relationship with a given funder, the answer should never be “we don’t know.” Records should tell the story of an organization’s grant funding over a period of years.

A good filing system is necessary to understanding the relationship that has been built—or not built—with a funder. At a glance, this history tells how many times the organization has applied to a funder, for what program, the award results, the stewardship efforts, and when you might be able to re-apply. These records create a multi-year timeline for your grant program. They’re especially important to a new person taking over the responsibilities of a grant program. It is all too easy to inappropriately re-apply to a funder who has just given the agency a check or denial. The message sent is negative and not conducive to good relationships.  

Grant record keeping can be as simple as a spreadsheet in Excel or it can be part of a larger donor data management system.

Your records should include:

While this seems like a large amount of data to track, it’s easier to do it on a regular basis than having to create the files from fragmented pieces of incomplete information.

When schedules are busy and time is limited, this much record keeping presents a challenge, but it’s important to understanding the history of grant awards—something that is important to future planning. Files should be saved electronically and in hard copy. Keep in mind that funders are asking more and more now for a history of funds received and are interested in building relationships over a period of time. This record keeping is part of the knowledge base that helps build a relationship.

Web resource:

Tracking Grant Writing Work & Organization, a BlogSpot by Arlene Spencer, The Grant Plant