THE NUTS & BOLTS OF EFFECTIVE GRANT

WRITINGUnited Way of Kern County

Professional Development Conference for Nonprofits

March 4, 2014

Presented By: Stephen L. Sanders

Chief of Staff

Kern County Superintendent of SchoolsOffice

Today’s Presentation

1. Importance of Mission

2. Type of grants

3. How to position an organization to obtain grants

4. “Nuts & Bolts” of effective grant writing

5. Tips & Suggestions

6. Resources / Questions & Answers

Why Start With “Mission”?• Everything you do as a staff and board of directors should

be focused on fulfilling your mission – the ‘soul’ of your organization

• Effective leaders point to a clear sense of mission and the discipline to carry out that mission as paramount to success

• A focus on mission helps avoid the biggest death trap for nonprofits – the chase for money and a willingness to “sell your soul”

Common Types of Grants

1. Planning Grants: research, data collection, planning

2. Seed $ / Venture Grants: Initial funding to get a project going

3. Management / TA Grants: Usually consultant time and support to further a NPO’s mission

4. Capital Grants: Equipment, buildings

5. Program Grants: $ to operate a program or service

6. Operational (Core) Grants: Support core operations, infrastructure, unrestricted program use

How Are Grants Made Available?

RELATIONSHIPS – Invitation to Apply Request for Proposals (RFP) Open Grant Cycle Announced via websites, bulletins Letter of Intent generates interest As part of a community initiative Sponsorships (Corporate)

Four Factors to Successful Grant Writing

1. The quality of the nonprofit organization and its programs (reputation & effectiveness)

2. The critical importance of the project (need) and the innovative nature of the proposed services in addressing the need

3. The appropriateness of the funding source and competition levels

4. The skills of the grant writer in making a succinct, compelling case with measurable results

Is My NPO Ready for Grants?

• Are our mission, purpose and goals well established? Do we plan strategically?

• Do we have solid financial procedures in place to track and monitor funds?

• Do we have the staff and expertise needed to do what we promise?

• Are we willing and able to jump through the funders “hoops” to fulfill our contract?

• Have we talked to clients, board and other stakeholders about our proposed work?

• Does our mission align with this funding opportunity?

Know Yourself & The Funder Can we collaborate with other organizations to make our

proposal more complete? Are we duplicating other efforts in the community? Can our project be sustained beyond the current level of

funding / grant cycle? Is our budget realistic and have we set our proposed

project up for success? Do we have measurable outcomes?

Is the funder interested in our issue? Do they fund in our area?

Criteria for Seeking Potential Funders

1. Mission of the fundera. Web sites, brochures, annual reports

2. Funder’s Program Focusa. Watch for shifting priorities

b. Research who they have funded in the past

3. Geographic Areas of Supporta. Always start local and move outwards to state and then federal

b. Always be aware of geographic limitations

4. Understand the funder’s budget & assets

5. Develop long-term relationships

6. Measure results & be open and honest about success

Grant Writing – Getting Started Choose a coordinator / point person Decide early who needs to be involved Assign tasks and set deadlines Include fiscal staff from the start (have an idea of budget

before you start developing your plans) Look for things to gather right away (board resolutions,

letters of support, IRS letter of determination) Develop a draft proposal early and have someone from

outside the agency read it Plan to finish the proposal early

Key Documents to Always Have On Hand

Make sure the following are updated frequently:

• Background / history of the NPO

• Past accomplishments, data

• News coverage, awards, recent successes

• Statistics / needs statements

• List of current board of directors

• Audit / most recent financial statements

• IRS Letter of Determination

• Staff job descriptions / resumes

Parts of a Typical Proposal

1. Executive Summary / Abstract

2. Introduction / Organization Background Info

3. Needs Statement (Problem Statement)

4. Project Description / Program Proposal

5. Goals & Objectives (Logic Model)

6. Evaluation Plan

7. Future Funding (Sustainability)

8. Budget & Budget Narrative

Essential Elements: Needs Statement

• Presents the case for support to a funder and is the foundation of your proposal. • Your organization must be convinced about the worthiness of the

issue• All stakeholders should be on board• Must be agreement on the methods used to approach the issue

• Used to convince the funder to read the entire proposal and to focus results

• A poor needs statement can ruin an otherwise good proposal

• Make sure the need being addressed is in line with mission of the organization

Essential Elements: Needs StatementPresent evidence / data that supports the need

(emphasize community needs vs. organizational needs)

Explain how you will solve the problem in innovative and proven ways

Explain why your organization is uniquely positioned to address the need

Explain who will benefit from your service and how you will measure success

Practical Tips for Needs Statements Use statistics that are clear and support your ask (data must be relevant)

Any assertions about need should be well documented and accurate

Quote authorities but back it up Limited anecdotal stories add human touch but use sparingly

Give a clear sense of urgency to your ask Need must have a clear relationship to your organization’s mission / purpose

Some Data Sources www.factfinder2.census.org (US Census Bureau)

Ed Data www.ed-data.k12.ca.us (education-related data)

KC Network for Children Report Card www.kcnc.org

KidsData.org - http://kidsdata.org

Essential Elements: Project Description

Detail regarding the proposed project / program including background, detail and proposed outcomes

Explain how the proposed project will address the needs outlined in the needs statement

Explain collaborations / partnerships that are key in making the proposed project a success

Identify organizational and staffing capacity

Essential Elements: Goals & Objectives

Goals & Objectives and the strategies to meet them are vital to your proposal

GOALS: broad, brief statements of intent that provide focus or vision for planning; a focus of accomplishment “All children in Kern County will be born healthy”

OBJECTIVES: are meant to be realistic targets for the program / project – precise, measurable and timebound “By 2015, 20% more women in Kern County will receive

comprehensive prenatal care.”

Goals & Objectives

GOALS OBJECTIVES

Broad Narrow

General intentions Specific / Precise intentions

Intangible Tangible / measurable

Abstract Concrete

Cannot be validated as is Can be validated

Goals & Objectives

Develop SMART Objectives:

Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound

Build costs of evaluation into your proposal Be honest with funders about results and use them to improve services

Goals & Objectives When writing objectives, answer 5 key questions:

1. What key areas are you trying to change?

2. Who will be impacted by the services?

3. What is the direction (+ or -) of change you hope to achieve?

4. What is the degree of change you are seeking?

5. What is the time frame for that change?

Logic Models

A logic model is a tool that produces a basic program “picture” that shows how the organization’s program is intended to work

It is a visual representation of your proposal that illustrates the connection between your planned work and your intended results.

Is read from left to right

Logic Models

Resources Activities Outputs Outcomes

Include the human,

financial, organiza-tional and

community resources that you

can dedicate to

the program

What the program will do with the

resources (specific strategies

and planned

activities)

The direct product of activities

that will be produced

(e.g. number of

clients served)

Specific changes in

client / community behavior –

The specific ways in

which your clients will

benefit

Essential Elements: Evaluation

“If you can measure it, you can fix it.” (Gene Voiland)

Evaluation is all about measuring the return on investment

The better you demonstrate results, the more funding you’ll attract

Make sure you have the expertise needed to adequately measure results

Use results for program improvement in addition to attracting new funding

Build evaluation costs into grant proposals

Essential Elements: Budget & Budget Narrative

Make sure you understand the type of budget requested by the funder:

1. Overall Agency Budget: covers the budget for the entire organization

2. Program / Project Budget: Covers revenue and expenses for the specific program

3. In-kind / Cash Match: Identifies cash or in-kind match

4. Budget Narrative: Explains the numbers on the budget in more detail in narrative form

Essential Elements: Budgets• Start with a realistic budget that is honest about

projected revenue and expenses• Most Budgets include following major categories:

• Personnel (salaries and benefits)• Professional Services (contracts, outsourcing)• Equipment• Supplies• Overhead (utilities, rent, phones)• Travel / professional development• Outreach

• Make sure to explain any unusual items

Budgets – Food for Thought

• Start grant proposals with a draft budget so you know what your capacity is

• Never “pad” your budget in hopes of getting more – be open and honest about projections

• Always be able to justify your numbers• Make sure the budget is aligned with your proposed program and activities

• Double-check your math!

Other Elements / Thoughts

• Develop an Abstract / Letter of Intent that you can use to seek potential funders without writing an entire proposal (see DTM sample)

• Use Beale Library, online foundation searches to narrow results

• Frequent www.kern.org/grants for information and resources

Grant Resources• Online Alerts And Search Engines

• Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp

• http://www.grantsalert.com/• http://www.getedfunding.com/c/search.web?nocache@5+s@7Mhsxta9cjFgw

• www.WatchThatPage.com

Grant writers must convince funders of:

1. The credibility of your organization

2. A program description that outlines the need for the proposed project

3. That there is sufficient community interest in the program and the proposed outcomes

4. Your ability to measure its success in real ways

5. The costs and projected revenue sources

6. Why you believe this funder’s interests may be met by investing in the project

What is the return on investment?

Questions / Tips From the Audience