Grant Writing Basics for Nonprofit Organizations
Grants are an important source of revenue for many nonprofit organizations. They can provide necessary funding that supports your mission, and help increase the awareness of the work that you do. If you are new to the nonprofit sector, the learning curve can be steep, and knowing where to start can be a challenge. In this article we’ll provide an overview of what grants are, the benefits, and the potential challenges when writing your grant application or proposal.
What are nonprofit grants?
Grants refer to money that will assist your organization in funding your initiatives, and do not require repayment. In general, organizations may be fully or partially funded by grants. They can be a strategic source of funding for your nonprofit organization, and can be included in your annual fundraising plan. In some cases, the money has to be used for a specific purpose that is outlined by the granter, or there are instances where a grant can be used for the general operating costs of your organization. Additionally, grants come from a variety of sources, also known as funders, which typically include government, foundations and corporations.
What are the benefits of grants for nonprofit organizations?
Although the majority of nonprofit donations come from individual donors, gifts from funders tend to be much larger. These large gifts can be transformational, and can assist your organization in funding new initiatives and programs, or for major projects such as a capital campaign. Additionally, if your organization is awarded a grant it can allow you to build a long-standing relationship with the funder, and potentially continue to receive money long after the initial investment. Also, once you have received a gift from a major funder, it instills confidence in other donors, and you are more likely to receive funding from other grantmakers.
How do nonprofits find grants?
There are a few ways to find grants to fund your organization. First, there are free options such as a simple online search for grant opportunities. You can start with local community foundations, or if you are looking for corporate support start with local businesses that may be familiar with the work that you do. Also, nonprofit organizations typically list their funders directly on their website. Examine organizations that do similar work to you, and determine if those funders are a good fit for your organization as well. If your organization has the budget, there are paid options like Grant Connect which has a comprehensive list of funders in Canada.
What challenges do nonprofits have when writing grants?
Even though there is potential for large amounts of funding, securing grants requires that grant writers have certain skills, and take the time to prepare. Some challenges in grant writing are:
Time-consuming. Grants can take a significant amount of research. If you wait until the last minute to start your application, you may be able to finish in time, but you might be disappointed to find out that your request was declined as the proposal simply wasn’t well thought out enough and you did not leave yourself enough time to develop a strong and compelling proposal.
Highly competitive. Grantmakers receive a significant number of requests, and often are limited in how much they can disperse. Because of this issue, grant writing is a competitive process. All types of organizations, both small and large, are often vying for the same funds. And, often, larger organizations have the budget to hire fundraising professionals to write grants, but for smaller organizations this is often not the case.
Demonstrating Impact. Many funders want to ensure that their investment will have a wide impact. But what if you’re a small organization? And, what if your reach is small? Demonstrating impact in a way that makes your grant application just as competitive and compelling as a large organization can be a challenge. Within your grant application you need to be able to communicate how you’re making a difference, and demonstrate that your project is an attractive one to support, even if your impact seems small. If your organization has a case for support, which tells the story of what your organization does and the impact of your work, consider using portions of it in your grant application.
When you are new to grant writing it seems like there is a lot to learn. However, grant writing skills are the building blocks for your organization’s overall fundraising plan. And these are the same skills required to attract major donors, or to launch a large capital campaign. Grant writing is an important skill that can benefit your organization's overall fundraising strategy, and set your team up for success if you need to raise a large amount of funds for future initiatives.
Whether or not you are new to grant writing, we’ve created a guide to help you. Our digital Grant Toolkit can help your organization prepare and organize key information based on commonly asked grant questions, and help you identify where you have gone wrong in the past and how to improve.
