Thinking of starting – or getting serious about – a grants program at your nonprofit? Tried your hand at grantseeking but are stumbling; are time, talent and/or treasure getting in the way of true grants success?
There are several considerations to take into account when deciding whether to really invest in a grants program. It’s a big step, and asking yourself the right questions and being informed about and prepared for what grants can mean for your agency will help you make the right choice for your nonprofit in this moment.
Notice I said “in this moment.” By that I mean that if — after reading this article and asking yourself these questions — you decide now is not the best time for a real push with grants, next year might seem different/better. There are actionable steps I share here that you can take if you have any hesitation or doubt about moving forward with grants. So hang onto this article and read it over again at this time next year, since things can change!
Some of the many questions you should ask yourself may shock you. They may not seem relevant. But believe me, they are. Since grants have the ability to fund your programs, people’s salaries, and your entire agency’s operations, they touch every aspect of your nonprofit’s functions, every nuance of what you’re doing now, and every plan you have for the future.
Let’s ask ourselves some of the questions to consider when deciding whether to plant your flag with a grant program:
- Are there enough potential grant funds out there that you could be eligible for?
- I tell smaller nonprofits thinking of starting a grants program to make a go/no-go decision based on the facts. Your board would want you to, after all! To do that, start with a deep dive into grant funder prospect research. Look at all the different audiences you serve with your organization and its programs, all the ways you make change in your community, and check on which funders would align with those ways you carry out your mission. Then check those funders’ giving history to see what an expected grant size would/could be. Add up all the prospects’ totals and — taking into account first-time asks have a lower success rate — determine if 10-25% of that total is worth pursuing.
- Need help looking for suitable grants to pursue? Contact me! I love prospect research!
- I tell smaller nonprofits thinking of starting a grants program to make a go/no-go decision based on the facts. Your board would want you to, after all! To do that, start with a deep dive into grant funder prospect research. Look at all the different audiences you serve with your organization and its programs, all the ways you make change in your community, and check on which funders would align with those ways you carry out your mission. Then check those funders’ giving history to see what an expected grant size would/could be. Add up all the prospects’ totals and — taking into account first-time asks have a lower success rate — determine if 10-25% of that total is worth pursuing.
- Do you have the time it takes to ramp up a grants program?
- If you’re expecting instant cash, forget that notion right now! Grants take time. As you will see from the prospect research work you’ve done, a grants calendar will have deadlines throughout the year; some funders will require LOIs that have no deadline, but then if you’re invited to apply, will have tight turnarounds for a full application; and others will have open or rolling deadlines. Your grants calendar will include all the hard deadlines, and then the open and rolling deadlines can be scheduled in times that your schedule is not so demanding.
- If you’re expecting instant cash, forget that notion right now! Grants take time. As you will see from the prospect research work you’ve done, a grants calendar will have deadlines throughout the year; some funders will require LOIs that have no deadline, but then if you’re invited to apply, will have tight turnarounds for a full application; and others will have open or rolling deadlines. Your grants calendar will include all the hard deadlines, and then the open and rolling deadlines can be scheduled in times that your schedule is not so demanding.
- Are your programs strong enough to be eligible for the competitive world of grants?
- The best grant writer in the world can’t win grants for you if your programs are weak, are not aligned with the funder’s intent, or don’t have measurable outcomes. Use my Program Fundability Scorecard to gauge the programs you intend to seek grant funding for. If they fall short — or if they lack strong measurable outcomes — take those programs through the Logic Model process. More on that in Module 2 of my Unlock-Grants course. But suffice to say, the Logic Model process will show you exactly what, where, how, and when you have data to collect to show your outcomes.
- The best grant writer in the world can’t win grants for you if your programs are weak, are not aligned with the funder’s intent, or don’t have measurable outcomes. Use my Program Fundability Scorecard to gauge the programs you intend to seek grant funding for. If they fall short — or if they lack strong measurable outcomes — take those programs through the Logic Model process. More on that in Module 2 of my Unlock-Grants course. But suffice to say, the Logic Model process will show you exactly what, where, how, and when you have data to collect to show your outcomes.
- Of the grants you have been awarded, how many hours are you devoting to reporting?
- If you’re like many, you’re scrambling on the eve of the reporting deadline to go back through records you have hopefully collected and come up with data to share with your funders. Grants are a contract after all, and this is part of what you signed on to do.
But reporting is NOT an income-generating activity, so I believe it should be made as painless and swift to do as possible. How do you do that? The Logic Model! It makes reporting SOooo much easier! Through this process, you can show you exactly when, in the course of your program, it makes the most sense to collect what kind of data. Weave data collection into your program, make it a natural and integrated piece of your program’s activities, and then tell your funders exactly what you plan to report on. The onus of reporting is lifted, reporting is seamless, your operation is efficient, and the “cost” of getting awarded a grant is lessened!
Go back to the basics of your program design, use the Logic Model process to make those programs stronger, identify what outcomes you can expect, and be ready to share that with funders and report back to them on those findings. Either do this before you start a grants program, or expect that a savvy grant pro will want this to get done, or suffer the consequences of fewer (or no) grant awards.
- If you’re like many, you’re scrambling on the eve of the reporting deadline to go back through records you have hopefully collected and come up with data to share with your funders. Grants are a contract after all, and this is part of what you signed on to do.
- Are you and others on your staff spending time on grants and neglecting your own jobs? Are you and your staff spending too much time on grant reporting?
- Again, hard data will help you answer these questions. Ask yourself how many grants (of what potential value to your organization) are being left on the table while you and your staff attend to other duties of your jobs. Of course, if you’re working on the gala that nets you $100,000 and you’re blowing off potentially $50,000 in grants, the math is clear. But if your activities are not tied to fundraising, then the $50,000 in potential grants stings.
And remember that going out for grants is not just one person filling out forms; it involves your entire nonprofit. Program staff, of course; others on the development team; finance; then HR, IT, and marketing perhaps as well. What activities are they able to do — or not do — because of work on grants? Are they income-producing activities (like getting out the annual fund mailers), or are they activities that make the organization run smoothly (i.e., getting out payroll)? Factor that into the “cost” of starting or not starting a grants program.
- Again, hard data will help you answer these questions. Ask yourself how many grants (of what potential value to your organization) are being left on the table while you and your staff attend to other duties of your jobs. Of course, if you’re working on the gala that nets you $100,000 and you’re blowing off potentially $50,000 in grants, the math is clear. But if your activities are not tied to fundraising, then the $50,000 in potential grants stings.
- Is your board prepared for what to expect from a grants program?
- Even if your eyes are wide open about the fact that grants are not a silver bullet, can take time, are not guaranteed, and take the attention of staff in several other departments, your board may not be as well informed.
Your board will need to understand that income from grants is not going to be constantly going up and up and up, month after month. They need to know that the grants landscape is highly competitive and only the strongest of programs will be grantable. They need to know that part of their role in the grantseeking effort is to open doors when a relationship exists with a grant funder (or with someone on their board). They need to show all staff that supporting the grants effort is in everyone’s better interests and deserves their attention and respect. They need to know they should set reasonable goals from year to year, preferably with the input of their grant pro. See the Probability Table I share in the Unlock-Grants course for guidance on setting realistic and fact-based goals.
The board decides how much to invest in a grants program, knowing how long it can take to bear fruit. Their options are:
- Go all in. Hire one (or more) full-time staff. The new-hire would have to spend time onboarding and learning about what your agency does — and has plans to do in the future. Then they could work on strengthening program design, conducting prospect research, building the grants calendar, and creating case statements for all your programs. And of course, writing and submitting grant applications. But also (this is a partial list): developing program budgets, logic models, stakeholder meetings and check-ins when a grant is awarded, doing cultivation and stewardship with funders, continual prospect research to keep the pipeline full, board reports, keeping on top of deadlines, and reporting.
- Start slow. Phase in the grants program by first conducting prospect research to see what kind of grants income there could potentially be for your nonprofit. Depending on the number of aligned grant opportunities that exist (after vetting), consider hiring part-time staff. I recommend this over hiring a consultant, since a staffer would be empowered to build relationships with funders on behalf of your agency, in a way that consultants could/should not (see the GPA Code of Ethics).
- Do not proceed. If a board is well-informed about the ramifications of a grants program, and what work is involved becoming viable enough (with strong programs and fundraising efforts in place), they may decide to set grants aside for a while, and pursue other efforts in support of being more Grant Ready (i.e., gathering baseline data for your programs, building a stronger board, using social media more effectively to spread the word about your agency and its work). Taking the Grant Readiness Assessment available free on the Unlock-Grants website will help inform a go/no-go decision, and give you alternatives if grants are not recommended at this time.
- Go all in. Hire one (or more) full-time staff. The new-hire would have to spend time onboarding and learning about what your agency does — and has plans to do in the future. Then they could work on strengthening program design, conducting prospect research, building the grants calendar, and creating case statements for all your programs. And of course, writing and submitting grant applications. But also (this is a partial list): developing program budgets, logic models, stakeholder meetings and check-ins when a grant is awarded, doing cultivation and stewardship with funders, continual prospect research to keep the pipeline full, board reports, keeping on top of deadlines, and reporting.
- Even if your eyes are wide open about the fact that grants are not a silver bullet, can take time, are not guaranteed, and take the attention of staff in several other departments, your board may not be as well informed.
- Are your other fundraising efforts strong and well-maintained?
- In other words, is your individual donor pipeline full, are you constantly adding to the pipeline and are those prospects being appropriately cultivated, are there donors being moved up the Donor Pyramid, are they being stewarded appropriately? If you engage in fundraising (or friend-raising) through events, are your events relevant, is the ROI decent, and worth the effort/expense/staff time?
- Having other strong and viable fundraising efforts in place will not only shore up the development income of your nonprofit, but it will make your grant asks strong as well. A grant funder wants to see other supporters of your mission and your programs. They don’t want to be the only one at the table; oftentimes that makes them wary. So you will need something besides grants to 1) make your programs and organization more sustainable, and 2) show grant funders they’re in good company.
- In other words, is your individual donor pipeline full, are you constantly adding to the pipeline and are those prospects being appropriately cultivated, are there donors being moved up the Donor Pyramid, are they being stewarded appropriately? If you engage in fundraising (or friend-raising) through events, are your events relevant, is the ROI decent, and worth the effort/expense/staff time?
If you mull over these seven questions and are honest with the answers you come away with, then you may be ready to pull the trigger on a grants program at your agency. The go/no-go decision can be more data-driven than you think, so do the math on:
- Hours spent wisely vs. hours spent on weak proposals that don’t get funded;
- Hours spent on the rest of your job (like donor cultivation!) vs. hours spent on grant reporting (not a money-making pursuit, but important!); and,
- The resources you’re wasting on failed grant applications vs. what you would pay outside help (or pay to educate yourself or a staffer).
If you crunch those numbers and they convince you to seek grants help outside your agency, then you’re probably asking yourself a ton of questions about contract grant writers, how they work, and how much you should expect to pay. In that case, you should check out my blog from 2022, which answers all those questions and more.
If you have someone already at your nonprofit — perhaps an admin, volunteer, or board member — who takes an interest in grants and grantseeking, then I would definitely check out the Unlock-Grants course for them, my online self-paced course for those new to grants.
In either case — go/no-go, get outside help or hire from within, or choose to keep on your current path — grants should not be taken lightly or with little forethought.
Not quite “there” yet? Read my blog “Grants: There’s a lot to know: 9 Things to know Before Starting a Grants Initiative.” Check off all nine things. Learn more about grants by reading my blog library, taking my free Grant Readiness Assessment, and watching the free “next steps” videos. It’s a journey that starts with the first step!
