If you’re not an expert grant writer, you have to learn to think like one.
In Outliers: The Story of Success, author Malcolm Gladwell wrote that “the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing the correct way, for a total of around 10,000 hours.”
Consider this 10,000-hour investment the next time you engage the services of an expert. Gladwell goes on to explain that one of the results of devoting that much time to expertise is that it is transformed into a habit. We often think of habits as bad traits, but it really means that you’re so capable of performing something that it requires little or no effort. You’re likely far from this point preparing grants. We’ve reached that. Here’s what we can tell you about the process.
It’s a discipline
Many of our clients ask how it’s possible to create—let alone streamline—a process for grant writing when every foundation and organization has a different set of requirements.
It does sound impossible.
Nevertheless, there are themes, patterns, and similarities that we’ve detected in our thousands of hours of experience in helping clients with grant writing. We’ve distilled them into these five steps.
1. Create a list of warm leads
Foundations don’t hide themselves. You can often find huge amounts of information from their own website and published grants databases. You’re looking for the history of grants they’ve awarded to validate that they match your own purpose.
Then, go in the opposite direction. Search for peer foundations. See if they’ve also awarded grants matching your purpose.
When all you do is write grants, you have instant access to sources and services that offer up-to-date information about funding opportunities. Our clients often tell us this service ranks as the most valuable thing we offer.
2. Verify data accuracy
Just because it’s published data doesn’t mean it’s correct. Your list of warm leads is only valuable if you’ve done everything you can to verify the information you’ve found. Imagine expending the effort to prepare a grant application, only to discover that it was based on inaccurate information.
Maybe the available data is outdated. Maybe a foundation has decided to change their focus or mandate. How do you go about verifying what you think you know? You have to reach out to the foundations and cultivate relationships with them. We often see that when a client takes the time to connect with a funder, the rest of the process goes so much more smoothly.
We can’t say it enough: this is a critical step for nonprofits. Developing a relationship with a funder – even if that’s just a call or two – means you can be confident you’re a good match for them, shows your interest in their organization, and lets you cull your lead list down to the best potential matches, saving you time and effort in the long run.
3. Review, review, review!
We’ve already touched upon something you probably have already experienced firsthand. Each foundation has a unique submission process. The next step after you’ve selected your leads and verified their potential is—to stop.
Don’t proceed until you have reviewed the submission process and application information and are confident that:
- You should pursue the opportunity
- You are fully qualified
Immersing yourself in the application’s details can uncover things that might stop the process dead in its tracks. Do you have the specific requirements outlined in the application? Then it’s time to proceed.
These aren’t obstacles to prevent you from working with a foundation. They’re challenges to ensure that you truly are a right fit for funding. Otherwise, you’ll waste time and money.
4. Tell your story
It’s time to write the proposal. If you’re unfamiliar with what a grant writer does, you may think this is our biggest area of contribution. The proposal is a culmination of our work—there’s no argument about that. It’s based, however, on the effort that goes in to the previous 3 steps.
All this preparatory work allows us to craft an accurate, clear, and compelling proposal. Our structural procedures have been created and honed based on hundreds and hundreds of grant proposals.
The story the material tells is at the proposal’s heart, but the attachments and support materials must also be technically correct. Foundations aren’t heartless, but they are professional. They expect you to be able to adhere to their requests.
5. Following up
We’ll be honest: you may find this is the most unnerving part of the process. We often refer to it as “the waiting game,” but it’s anything but a game. In most cases, there’s nothing to be done but wait for the foundation’s response.
We’ve found from experience that there are times when it’s appropriate to check in with a foundation on the status of an application. Generally, however, it’s not a good idea. How will you know? Because you’ll have taken the time to develop a relationship with the funder and understand not just what they’re looking for in an application, but in the post-submission phase as well.
We often counsel our clients not to spend much time worrying over the inevitable wait. Fueling your organization with funding is an ongoing effort. You’ll have moved on to the next application project, and started your research, relationship-building, and writing all over again.
Will you ever reach the point where you have 10,000 hours of grant writing experience under your belt? Maybe a better question to ask yourself is whether you should make that a goal. You could be much closer to achieving the “world-class expertise” Malcolm Gladwell talks about if you instead focus on leading your organization.
Experts know the benefits of working with other experts. Grant writing is all we do. Maybe it’s time our paths crossed. Contact us today and put us to work for you.
