5 Tips To Get Your Grant Application in On Time
The grant deadline is near…and we haven’t started
Has this ever happened to you? You’re aware of a funding opportunity, but the day-to-day work of your organization is so hectic, there just doesn’t seem to be time to sit down and write the grant. Or perhaps you just found out about a last minute opportunity that’s perfect, but when will you find the time to write a proposal?
Grant funding is not guaranteed. There are many nonprofit organizations vying for the same funding, and grantmakers are often working with limited or fixed budgets. Because of this, the grant deadlines are generally hard deadlines that cannot be missed.
So to avoid the stress and struggle of working on a grant application last minute, here are five tips to ensure your grant application is submitted on time.
Create a grant calendar. While it is normal to find out about new funding opportunities, many grantmakers offer the same funding each year at approximately the same time. They also often announce their deadline dates well in advance. So spend a bit of time once per year plotting out which grants your organization intends to apply for, and get the dates in your calendar. That way you can set aside appropriate time in advance to work on the application.
Use a grant toolkit. While many grants have different sets of eligibility criteria and maximum budgets, there are common questions that grant funders ask that you can prepare for in advance. You can significantly reduce the time that staff and volunteers spend writing grant applications by simply capturing the information that is requested repeatedly in a grant toolkit. This also ensures that if the team member that writes all of the grants moves on to an opportunity at another organization, you will still maintain the documentation they used to write future applications.
Know your weaknesses. Do you struggle to create a strong grant budget for your applications or proposals? Or perhaps you’re not a strong writer? Every team member has different strengths, but if you understand which areas you may require extra support with you can plan ahead and ask for help. Delegating various grant tasks to different members of your team can help reduce the burden on one individual. However, make sure to give your team members enough lead time so you can submit your application by the deadline.
Expect technical issues or delays. In this day and age, many grantmakers require applicants to use an online system or portal to submit grant applications. While this can be highly beneficial, allowing you to work on your application at any time of day, and effectively saving the work you do directly on the application, it can also come with technical difficulties. For example, grant portals can crash, and too many people online at once can overwhelm the system. Or, your own personal internet connection or computer may have issues. So, plan ahead and expect delays. Give yourself enough lead time to submit the application the day before (or several days before) the deadline. That way if there are issues on the last day, you can rest easy.
Understand how long the process takes. One of the biggest enemies to submitting grant applications on time is underestimating how long the process takes. While using a grant toolkit can significantly reduce the writing time, funders also tend to require additional information that can take time to secure. For example, some funders may ask for quotes to backup costs listed in the budget. So, ensure that you leave yourself buffer time to complete all of the required tasks.
When you effectively budget your time, you’re prepared to do your best work and create stronger and more compelling applications. We hope that through using these tips, your team will be able to maximize time and resources to increase your grant writing success.
