What you need to know

GRANTS

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Who is this lady?

• 30+ years in the nonprofit sector
• BS in journalism, MS mass communications
• Grant professional since 2006
• Help clients secure more than $20 million in 2023
• First person in OK to earn both CFRE and GPC
• Developed Grant Holster to manage the process
• Teacher/trainer for OSU, GPA, AFP, Grant Writing USA
• Association of Professional Fundraising Professionals Eastern Oklahoma Chapter: 2022 Professional Fundraiser Award
• Founding president, OK chapter of GPA

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“Dana has instilled in our board and staff that fundraising is not a process of luck, of using ‘the right words,’ or creating a magic formula.” - Client

Dana Schuler Drummond

Dana Schuler Drummond

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Dana Schuler Drummond

What you will learn today

• The most common grant myths
• What a grant is
• Who gives grants…who gets grants
• The grant-seeking process
• Answers to your burning questions

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Grant Myths

• Grants are “easy money”
• There are BILLIONS in grants sitting out there waiting for YOU to apply!
• You can get a grant to take a vacation
• Grants are a good way to fill a budget shortfall
• Grants are “free” money!
• NEW MYTH!!! Chat GPT will do the work!

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Grants are easy like orange juice:

• Both need upfront investment
• Oranges don’t “give” you juice: someone has to squeeze them
• You have to carry and store the juice
• Juice is great but you need other foods and drinks as well
• You have to take care of the tree if you want more juice later!

Myth 1: Grants are easy money

The juice has to be worth the squeeze.

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Myth 2: Grants are waiting for YOU!

GRANT MAKERS:

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• $84 BILLION in federal grants from proposals in FY23. (hhs.gov)
• $66.9 BILLION from 140K foundations (GivingUSA.org)
• $20.8 BILLION in corporate grants (GivingUSA.org)

$172 billion

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RECIPIENTS:

• 1.8 million nonprofit organizations (Urban.org)
• 65 states, federal district, territories (Wikipedia.org)
• 3,100 counties, boroughs, parishes, etc. (USCensus.gov)
• 20,000 cities, towns, and villages (worldpopulation.com)

There are FAR more requests for grants than there is money to fund them.

About $94K average per entity

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Myth 3: You can get a grant to take a vacation

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Myth 4: Grants can fill a budget shortfall

40% of grant decisions take longer than SIX MONTHS after the proposal is submitted (Grant Station, 2022)

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Grants are a long-term strategy - not a quick fix.

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Myth 5: Grants are ‘FREE MONEY”

Grant seeking typically has a 5:1 return on investment. (AFP)

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Grant management AFTER the award can take significant staff time.

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All money is not good money and more isn’t always better. Some grants cost more to manage than they are worth (the juice isn’t worth the squeeze).

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Myth 5: Let Chat GPT write your grant!

• Ai and Large Language Models (LLMs) can be good tools
• Many ethical and legal stumbling blocks
• Hallucinations
• Easy to spot an application written by Ai

What Is a Grant?

A grant is a donation given to an organization for a specific purpose.

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Who Gives Grants?

GOVERNMENTS

• Federal
• State/Territory
• County/Parish
• City
• Tribal
• Foreign

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Why?

Provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty

PEOPLE (usually rich ones)

• Private Foundations
• Corporate Foundations
• Federated Campaigns
• Community Foundations
• Donor-Advised Funds
• Corporate Giving/Investment

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Why?

Tax benefits, Philanthropy, PR, Mandates

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Who GETS Grants?

State/Local Gov’t

• Municipalities
• Counties, Parishes, etc.
• Agencies (Police, Fire, etc.)
• Groups of Agencies

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Why?

Provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty

501(c)(3)Organizations

• Nonprofits
• Charities
• Non-governmental organizations
• Community-based organizations

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Why?

Fill gaps and make the world a better place

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“Let’s just write a grant for it!”

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Grants pay for

COMMUNITY NEEDS

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Grants do not pay for ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Each of these could be a month-long course

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This is just an overview

The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Organizational Development

• Strong board of directors
• Experienced, well-respected leadership/staff
• Strategic plan in place
• Excellent community partnerships
• Organizational functions are well defined - personnel, finance, etc.

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Program Development

• Well defined
• Serve a specific and identified community need
• Fits with other community resources
• Uses evidence-based best practices or other interventions
• Has adequate and sustainable resources
• Success is measured by outcomes - not just outputs

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Finding Funders - Prospecting

• Paid services: Foundation Center, Instrumentl, Grant Station, GrantGopher
• Free options: Google, IRS, Guidestar, Grants.gov
• Cohort analysis: USAfunding.gov, 990 reviews
• IRS Charity Search: reading PF990s (link to ebook)
• Networking

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Cultivating

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It’s easier to hit a big target, right?

How to Cultivate Funders

• Network
• Build on existing relationships
• Start getting noticed
• Call them - but be prepared!

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

WHO

WHAT

WHEN

WHERE

WHY

HOW

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WHAT WILL IT COST?

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Follow the Instructions!

• Executive Summary - including the request
• Organizational background and overview
• Problem statement - define community and population
• Your solution
• How your solution changes the world
• Your request

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Follow-up

• Multi-phase application
• Approved or Declined
• Sign the Award Notice (contract)
• Thank you note
• Phone call for clarification

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The Grant-Seeking Process

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• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Funder Prospecting
• Cultivating
• Writing a Grant!
• Follow-up
• Stewardship

Stewardship

• Do what you promised
• If things go wrong, let the funder know
• Invite them to visit!
• Submit reports on time
• Submit reports even if not required!
• Come back next year!

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Track Your Grant Seeking!

• Spreadsheets
• Grant Holster, Grant Hub, GEMS, Instrumentl, Fluxx
• DonorPerfect, eTapestry

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A Few Resources

• Grant Professionals Association
• Association of Fundraising Professionals
• PODCASTS: Joan Garry, Fundraising HayDay

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QUESTIONS?