Author: Lynn deLearie

In my June 6, 2011 post, I introduced “A Four-Step Process for Effective Grantsmanship,” including: (1) prospecting for foundation funding, (2) cultivation, (3) grant proposal development, and (4) grant management and stewardship.

So far, I’ve provided a lot of introductory information on foundation and corporate grants, organizational readiness, grant management, and information on the first step in the four-step grantsmanship process: prospecting for foundation funding.

This is my first post on the third step in the process: Grant Proposal Development.

For those new to grantsmanship and grant writing, this step may be the most daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.

As I always tell my clients, grant writing is really about following the rules. Many private and corporate foundations publish grant guidelines, and they want all applicants to follow their guidelines… to the letter. Follow the guidelines, present your proposals in the appropriate and complete format, and include all required attachments.

A growing trend among grantmakers is the adoption of a common grant application. This allows applicants to prepare a single application for a number of potential funders. A list of common grant applications is provided online at the Foundation Center (http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/cga.html). I have used the Missouri Common Grant Application (http://www.centerforgiving.org/MissouriCommonGrantApplication.aspx) and think it provides a good grant proposal template.

For foundations that don’t provide grant guidelines, I recommend using a common grant application format, like that provided by the Foundation Center, or the format below … that I have adapted from the Missouri Common Grant application:

Cover Letter – the cover letter is a great way to personalize your request. It is written from an individual (typically your NPO’s Executive Director) to an individual (typically the foundation manager or trustee). The cover letter can also include more qualitative and heart-felt information about your clients. I will write more about Cover Letters in an upcoming blog post.

Executive Summary – This is probably the most challenging section to write as it needs to succinctly summarize your NPO’s ask of the foundation, and often in only 100 – 200 words. I recommend writing this section last as you will have the best understanding of your complete proposal.

Contact Information – This is boilerplate information. I typically include name, address, phone and website of the NPO, as well as name, phone and e-mail address for the executive director and contact person for the proposal (if different from the ED).

General Organization Overview – More boilerplate information here. Include the mission and history of your organization, as well as a brief description of your major programs and accomplishments.

Stay tuned for Part 2, in my next post I will outline the following three sections of typical grant proposals: Program Description (this is the heart of your proposal), Financial Information, and Attachments.
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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

In my October 4th post, I introduced the second step in the four-step grantsmanship process: Grant Cultivation. I also outlined two methods I that have found to be effective in cultivating grants from foundations and corporations: including your Board Members and the Letter of Inquiry/Intent (LOI).

This month’s post will continue with three additional methods I that have found to be effective in cultivating grants from foundations and corporations:

1. Call the Foundation Manager/Trustee. I typically call the foundation manager or trustee two weeks after mailing the LOI, and they usually answer or call back when I leave a message. These phone calls are a very important way to learn more about these potential grantors, and for them learn more about your NPO. Most important, you can learn if the foundation is a good match for funding your NPO. Although it could be disappointing to learn that this potential funder is not a good fit, it is much better finding out before you spend any more time cultivating or submitting a proposal.

   If they think they are a good fit, ask them what they would like to fund.
   As I wrote in my post, “Donor Centric Grantsmanship”, it really is about
   their funding priorities, and not about what program you would like to
   fund. If the conversation is going well, you can find out other useful
   information: an appropriate ask amount, grant deadlines and guidelines
   if they are not published, AND…

2. Set Up a Meeting. The single best cultivation method is to meet personally with a foundation manager or trustee. So, if the phone conversation is going well, ask if they would like to meet with your Executive Director and the Board Member they know. The ideal meeting is at your NPO where you deliver services to your clients. At your school, your health center, your animal shelter, etc…

   If that is not possible, or does not fit the foundation manager or trustees
   schedule, then suggest a meeting at their office. As the Grant Manager,
   it is appropriate for you to attend a meeting at your NPO, and sometimes
   OK at the foundation manager or trustee’s office. Confer with your
   Executive Director, and use your best judgment.

   The most important goal of this meeting is to learn what this potential
   grantor wants to fund at your NPO. This requires a lot of listening on
   the part of your NPO representatives. If you do not attend the meeting,
   do a quick debrief with your Executive Director (ideally w/in 24 hours),
   take notes, and add this info to your donor database and grant files.

3. Send Invitations to Group Events, General E-mails and Mailings … But don’t overdo it. The contacts you have at the foundations and corporations that are a good fit for funding your organization need to be treated as the important potential donors they are: i.e. individually.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

My previous posts provided a lot of introductory information on foundation and corporate grants, organizational readiness, grant management, and … on Step One of the four-step grantsmanship process: Prospecting For Foundation Funding.

I begin, now, to addresses the second step in the process: Grant Cultivation.

For those familiar with non-profit fundraising, grant cultivation is very similar to that for individual donors. According to majorgivingnow.org, “cultivation consists of all the relationship-building steps that lead to donorship – and cultivation continues as part of a stewardship program once gifts are made. Through cultivation, you learn more about donors, and they learn more about you.”

That same thinking can be applied to cultivating foundation and corporate grants.

The following are some of the most effective methods I have found to cultivate grants from foundations and corporations:

1. Involve your Board Members. As I wrote in my May 17, 2012 post, What Is Your Grant Win Rate? What Should It Be?, “the connections that your board members have in the community are vitally important.”

After identifying new prospects for foundation and corporate grants, you should always share the names of their leadership (the foundation manager and trustees and the officers and directors of the corporation) with your NPO’s Executive Director and Board Members. Ask if anyone has a personal or professional relationship with any of those “leaders,” and if they would be comfortable signing a letter of inquiry and/or making a phone call.

These relationships help get your letter read and your phone call answered … and they help you win the grant. Some statistics from a recent client will help illustrate this point: over the course of one year, proposals to new prospects with a board connection were funded at a 75% rate and those without a board connection were funded at 35%. That’s quite a difference !!

2. Start with a Letter of Inquiry/Intent. When seeking grants from new prospects, I recommend that you, first, send a two-page letter of inquiry (sometimes called a letter of intent) to the appropriate foundation or corporate “leader.”

LOIs are a very important cultivation tool, and they should be written by you, the Grants Manager, in first person.

One of your Board Members could sign them, if that person has a connection to the “leadership” that you are cultivating for new grant funding. Alternatively, your Executive Director could sign them, and should reference the “connection” your Board Member has with their leadership. These letters should be specific to your NPO AND to the foundation from which you are seeking funding.

The basic components include:
  •  Introduction. If your Board Member is signing the letter, include information on how long he/she has served on the Board, and why he/she believes in your NPO. If your Executive Director is signing the letter, indicate that your connected Board Member suggested that your NPO apply to this foundation for grant funding.
  •  Background. Include the mission and history of your organization, a description of who you serve, and a brief summary of your major programs/services.
  •  Pitch 2 – 3 Ideas. Include a short paragraph for each of two or three programs or projects that you think might be a good fit for funding from this foundation. Briefly describe why you think these programs/projects are a good fit with the foundation’s mission, and the impact their funding will have on the people you serve.
  •  Conclusion. Indicate that you will follow-up by phone to discuss your NPO’s fit for funding within the current priorities of their foundation.
  •  Include a Photo. I usually include a photo with a caption on page one. This helps to personalize the letter, and to connect the foundation manager/trustee to your service population or your mission.

Be aware that some foundations require that you submit an LOI as part of their application process. In these cases, follow their specific LOI guidelines.

You might also want to refer to the Foundation Center’s website (http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/loi.html) where they provide “resources with actual letters of inquiry or templates.”

Part 2 of Cultivating The Grantor (on November 1st) will outline three additional methods that I have found to be effective in cultivating grants from foundations and corporations.
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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

In my post on August 28^th, I discussed financial readiness and outlined the organizational financial records and project financial information that you will need to have ready in order to submit a grant application.

This post provides three additional points for you to consider before launching a corporate and/or foundation grants program at your NPO:

The “25% Rule”
The most common measure of nonprofit organizational efficiency is the percentage of total expenses going to program costs. Charity Navigator, GuideStar, other non-profit ranking services, the federal government and foundations definitely evaluate this percentage.

According to Charity Navigator, 7 out of 10 charities that they evaluated spent at least 75% of their budget on programs and services, and 9 out of 10 spent at least 65%.

The Combined Federal Campaign requires that participating organizations certify that their combined fundraising and administrative costs constitute no more than 25 percent of the organizations’ total revenues. (Note that this calculation differs from that used by Charity Navigator because it is a ratio of admin + fundraising costs divided by total revenue instead of total expense.)

Most foundations expect a similar if not greater level of organizational efficiency. I recently ran across a foundation that requires, “administrative and fundraising expenses of less than 20% of the total expenses of the organization.”

So, if your NPO is spending at least 65% (ideally 75% … or more) of total expenses on program costs, then you might want to consider starting a grants program to secure income from foundations.

Program Readiness
In addition to having your financial house in order, you will also need to have well-established program (or project) goals, activities and metrics in order to seek grant funding.

The Missouri Common Grant Application, referenced in my last post, downloadable here, provides a good example of what will be required. Specifically:
•   What are your project goals?
•   What activities do you intend to engage in or provide to achieve these goals?
Please provide an in-depth description of the activities/services, including:
1) how much, 2) how often, 3) how long activities/services will be provided
•   What are the anticipated short and long-term measurable outcomes that would be
achieved by this grant?
•   What is your organization’s evaluation process?
•   How do you plan to track and measure the effectiveness of your project?

These goals, activities and metrics need to be included in your grant applications, and if funded, outcomes will need to be included in your grant reports.

Capacity
My final point for you to consider before launching a grants program at your NPO is capacity, both within your program staff and development staff.

Are your program staff members capable of implementing the program according to the plan outlined your grant application? Can they collect and document the outcomes that will need to be included in grant reports?

Do you have the capacity in your development department to work closely with your program staff to define program goals, activities and metrics, and compile results for grant reports? Do you have the time to adequately steward your foundation donors with ongoing communications, meetings, tours, etc.? If you spend time on a grants program, would you lose individual donors because you don’t have the time to steward them appropriately?

And, of course, I strongly recommend that you review these points with your development team. Then, if everyone is on board, you can launch your grant program; and, be sure to check back here for my continuing series on effective grant programs!
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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

In my (May 12, 2011) post, “Grantsmanship: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” I quoted from a 2010 WealthEngine white paper stating that the average cost-per-dollar-raised for grants is 20 cents … an ROI of 500%. With such an impressive return on investment, starting a grants program at your NPO might seem like a great idea…

But, as Hank Lewis wrote in his (May 14, 2010) post, “Grants: Free Money – Not Quite !! ,“ “Grants come with a variety of obligations. Corporations, foundations and government agencies don’t just give it away. It takes more than mailing applications and waiting for the checks to arrive.”

So, what do you need to consider before starting a grants program?

I advise (potential) clients to consider the following four points before launching a grants program at their NPO:

Financial Readiness
Hank wrote in his post, “The vast majority of grantors want to see your audited financial reports and your budgets. They want to know where the rest of your funding is from, and you will need to prove that you are fiscally responsible, can be trusted and that you operate in a business-like manner.”

In my experience, all of this is true. You will need to provide detailed financial information with most of your foundation grant applications. The exceptions may be with family foundations that don’t always require this level of detail.

A good example of what will be required can be found in the Missouri Common Grant Application, downloadable here.

The application requires the following financial attachments:

    Internally prepared income statement for current fiscal year

    AND A complete copy of organization’s audited/reviewed/compiled financial
    statements for the last fiscal year which includes two (2) years of financial
    information

    OR An organization’s most recently filed Form 990 plus internally prepared financial
    statements for the past two (2) years.

Along with these organizational financial records, you will also need to provide a project budget, your long-term funding plan for the project, and often a budget justification. The Missouri Common Grant Application and Budget Templates provide good information on what will be required.

Stay tuned for Part 2, in my September 20^th post, where I will outline three additional points for you to consider before launching a grants program at your NPO.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.

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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

As your NPO looks to increase its revenue from corporations, it is important to distinguish between grants from corporate foundations and corporate sponsorships.

Both are important sources of revenue, and both come from corporations – many even from the same corporation… But, since they differ in many significant ways, it will impact how you prospect, cultivate, solicit, and steward the corporate donor.

First let’s take a look at some facts about corporate giving published in the GivingUSA Foundation, “Spotlight” Issue 2, 2008. Corporations give a mixture of cash donations, in-kind gifts, and cash from corporate foundations. Approximately 44% of total corporate giving is cash gifts, 20% is in-kind gifts, and 36% is from corporate foundations. Corporate matching gifts, event sponsorships, and cause-related marketing all fall under the category of cash gifts.

Also according to this GivingUSA report, corporations tend to give for philanthropic, strategic, commercial, and political reasons. Where “in small companies, giving is often an extension of the owner’s generosity … giving by large, publicly owned companies is almost always influenced by enlightened self-interest.” The business benefits of philanthropic giving can include: increased employee loyalty, public goodwill, increased sales, and community or public infrastructure support.

The following table looks at how prospecting, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding of corporate foundation grants differ from the same activities in securing corporate sponsorships:

Corporate Foundation Grants	Corporate Sponsorships
Funded through the corporate foundation	Generally funded through the corporation’s marketing budget
Generally from larger corporations	From small and large corporations
Prospect using online resources such as Foundation Center or Guidestar, annual reports from NPOs with similar missions, and foundation 990s	Prospect using annual reports from NPOs with similar missions, and local media advertising of fundraising events
Usually publish grant submission and reporting guidelines, and deadlines	Usually have minimal or no guidelines and deadlines
Solicit the foundation manager, and submit grant request following corporate guidelines	Solicit the marketing department with a sponsor packet that outlines the value proposition
Typically want recognition for the corporation	Definitely want recognition and advertising value for the corporation, and naming opportunities depending on sponsorship level
Typically want employee volunteer opportunities at the NPO	Definitely want tickets to the event, and may want employee volunteer opportunities at the NPO
Important to follow-up with outcomes for the program that was included in the grant request	Important to follow-up with event outcomes (how many attendees, dollars raised, etc.) and corporate recognition outcomes (media mentions, website hits, e-mail open rates, etc.)

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.

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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Using Moves Management To Secure Foundation Gifts

Moves Management, initially developed by G.T. “Buck” Smith and David Dunlop at Cornell University, is a process of managing relationships with individual donors and moving them towards major giving.

As cited in the white paper, Moves Management: The Science of Fundraising, according to David Dunlop, “the moves concept focuses major gift fundraising on changing people’s attitudes so they want to give. To do this, we take a series of initiatives or moves to develop each prospect’s awareness of, knowledge of, interest in, involvement with, and commitment to the institution and its mission.”

Although Moves Management is typically associated with major gift fundraising, it can also be used to help cultivate grant prospects and steward existing grantors. As I wrote in my previous post, A Four-step Process for Effective Grantsmanship” — “Building a relationship with foundation trustees and/or managers takes time, but is a valuable investment to position your grant applications for success.”

A planned series of “Moves” with foundation trustees and/or managers throughout the year will help you build relationships with these people who are critical to the success of your grant program.

Moves are typically communications that don’t include an ask. The goal is to better connect the potential or existing funder with your NPO’s mission. Some examples of moves with foundation trustees and/or managers include:
• Letters with feel-good stories – I recently sent a letter written by a student describing why
   the school means so much to him and his family
• Invitations to tour your facility and meet the people you serve – I’m lucky because I work
  at a middle school and our students are almost always available to talk to a donor
• Invitations to meet with your Executive Director or Program Director
• Letters sharing fundraising successes – I sent a letter indicating that we were recently
  awarded a large state grant to trustees and managers at foundations funding the same
  program — this shows that our program is worthy of receiving a competitive government
  grant and that our organization is seeking additional funding to sustain the program
• Invitations to special non-fundraising events

It’s important to document your moves not only to track your progress, but also to help you spot any holes in your Moves Management process. Many donor databases have fields that track contacts, but I simply use a spreadsheet with the grantors in the first column and all of the moves I plan to make in a row at the top. I fill in the dates when I plan to make the moves, and this becomes the basis of my work plan for the year. I also include letters of intent, proposals, and grant reports so that my work plan encompasses all communications with every foundation.

Throughout the year, I track when I actually make each move, and also document additional communications such as phone calls or e-mails, so that I have a record of all moves and communications with every foundation. Then I can easily see at various points during the year if I’m appropriately cultivating and stewarding every foundation.

This might seem tedious, but after doing this work, I recently discovered that I was over stewarding some foundations that made small grant awards, and not doing enough to steward and cultivate some of our bigger funders and prospects. I was able to adjust where I was spending my time, and I believe this will pay off in the long run, helping to move more foundations to fund our grant proposals.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grant programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie..

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

Neither of these questions is easy to answer, so I did a little research before writing this post. When I Googled “grant win rate,” I came up with a lot of grant writing consultants that advertized win rates of 75 – 95%. I also came up with a post by Jayme Sokolow, contributor on this blog, entitled, “Be Careful about Grant Win Rates”

Jayme cautions that, “win rates are rarely audited and impossible to verify,” and that “they should be treated with great skepticism. ” He goes on to say, “I think that the best kind of win rate is the one that calculates the total amount of revenue gained through proposal bids. From my perspective, it does not really matter how many proposals you submit but how much new revenue you gain for your organization. ”

I agree with all of Jayme’s points, and also think that as a grant consultant or grant professional employed by a non-profit, we should honestly calculate our grant win rates and share them with our employers. I endorse Jayme’s calculation method: win rate = total grant revenue / total grant ask amount in submitted proposals. After all, it’s about how much grant income is realized and less about how many grants are funded. I also think our grant win rates can be used to judge our performance… but with caveats.

These caveats include:

1. Are you maintaining the status quo with existing grantors?
2. Are you starting up a grant program at your non-profit?
3. Are you expanding your existing grant program by submitting proposals to foundations and corporations that you have not gone to before?
4. Are your board members well connected in the community?

All of these caveats will have a big impact on your grant win rate:

1. Maintaining Status Quo With Existing Grantors:
If you’re not planning to add any new foundation, corporate, or government grant income to your annual operating budget, then you should expect a very high grant win rate, but still not 100%. As I wrote in my previous post, “Your Best Foundation Funder is not your Best Funder Forever,” (Hank pls add edited tile and link), many foundations won’t fund your organization in consecutive years and many won’t continue to fund ongoing operating support.

2. Starting a Grant Program:
If you’re starting a grant program, then a 30 – 40% grant win rate is laudable. All of your proposals will be submitted to grantors that don’t have a previous relationship with your NPO, so even if you have a great program that serves a well-known need in the community, the relationships that your board members have with the foundation trustees and managers are very important… see caveat #4.

3. Expanding Your Existing Grant Program:
If you’re expanding your grant program, then you can count on a good win rate from returning funders (maybe 80%). But, you shouldn’t expect a high win rate from new funders (30 – 40% would be great). So, if you’re adding one new funder for every existing funder, a great win rate would be 58%.

4. How Well Connected Are Your Board Members:
As I’ve written in other posts, relationships are integral to grant success, and well-connected board members can make grant wins happen, even when you don’t submit a formal proposal! The connections that your board members have in the community are vitally important when you are starting or expanding your grant program. This is an important consideration as you plan your annual grant calendar; add new foundations and corporations where you have a board connection before you add those with no connection to your NPO.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grant programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie..

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

Just as grade school friendships don’t usually last forever, neither do relationships between nonprofit organizations and their foundation funders. Most grant makers don’t want to provide ongoing operating support; i.e. – they don’t want to be your BFF (Best Funder Forever).

Many foundations don’t make grants to the same organization every year. They may allow you to apply every other year, or every third year, and this is usually clearly spelled out in their guidelines. Here is a real example from the St. Louis Philanthropic Organization, “if you received grants in 2010 and 2011 (two consecutive years), you are not eligible to apply for funding this year.”

A good number of foundations will allow you to apply annually, but are less likely to fund your NPO in consecutive years. Often, this is not spelled out in their guidelines, so your relationship with a foundation trustee or its manager is important. Give them a call before applying and ask for their advice. They might hint at this, saying something about providing grants to NPOs across the community. They might even tell you directly.

A lot of foundations look to fund something innovative. They will provide “seed money” to launch a new project or program; but, once the program is up and running, they expect the nonprofit to fund its ongoing operation.

This funding priority will also usually be spelled out in their guidelines — as with the Allen & Josephine Green Foundation: “…seed money to launch a new project or program is a desirable type of grant.” A discussion with a trustee or foundation manager prior to submission can also provide that information.

And, if you have to pass up a grant one year because you don’t have a new project that needs funding, that’s OK. Don’t fall into the trap of designing a new project or program just to get grant money. For more information on this topic, see my post, “How To Better Manage Your Grant Program,” from February 2, 2012.

You also need to remember that the economic climate affects foundations. And, as foundations give 5% of their assets, typically calculated on a 3-year rolling average, increases in their giving will lag any economic recovery.

All these factors need to be taken into account when budgeting annual foundation income. And because the foundations that fund your NPO don’t want to be your BFF, you need to continuously prospect and cultivate new sources of foundation funding in order to maintain a steady income stream from this important revenue source.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grant programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie..

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

If you’re the only staff person devoted to grantsmanship at your organization, then you’re the one on first … and you’re also the manager! But, you have a great team, and each member plays an important role in helping to win the grant. As in baseball, each member of your team has specific responsibilities and a specific skill set that relates to the responsibilities of their position.

So, here’s the team roster:

• Manager: As the manager, you’re responsible for winning the grant. This means that you’re responsible for the four steps I have discussed earlier in this series: grant prospecting, grant cultivating, grant/proposal development, and grant management, including reporting and stewardship. As the manager, you also need to keep abreast of changing rules, techniques, technologies, and philosophies relevant to grantsmanship.

• First Baseman: In this position you need to receive information from all your other fielders.

• The Infield: The program staff members are your infielders, and they cover a lot of ground delivering services to your clients. When it comes to the programs you need to describe in grant proposals, they are the experts, and are invaluable members of your team. You must work closely with them to establish program goals, objectives, and metrics, and you need their help with monitoring outcomes and reporting results.

• The Pitcher: Your Executive Director and board members will, fairly often, make the pitch to a foundation trustee. The pitch can be in the form of a meeting to discuss the possibility of applying for grant funding, at a site visit that you have arranged, or even a phone call. Your board members’ connections in the community, and their ability to cultivate these relationships, are the specific skills that make them excellent pitchers for your organization. And in this capacity, they often function as talent scouts, helping you prospect for other sources of grant funding.

• The Catcher: Foundation trustees, program officers and/or the foundation manager are on the receiving end of your grant pitch. And, although not members of your nonprofit organization, they are very important members of your grant team. They can provide valuable information about the funding priorities of their foundation, and specifics on proposal format and due date. Most important, if they have caught a good pitch, they can be advocates for your proposal with the other trustees at their foundation.

• The Outfield: Other members of the development staff and the finance staff at your nonprofit round out your fielding positions. Other development staffers can assist with proposal review, and finance staff will provide budget information for proposals, and budget “actuals” for reports.

• The Competition: Just as Tony La Russa kept an eye on the Texas Rangers during the 2011 World Series, you also need to keep an eye on your competition. Review the annual reports of other organizations that provide the same or similar services as your organization, and identify the foundations listed as their funders. Foundations that fund these organizations are likely to be good prospects for you.

• Coaching Staff: As in baseball, coaches can assist in the smooth functioning of your team. Attend professional development seminars, network with other grant professionals, and seek out a mentor if you are new to the profession.

If you manage your team well, by understanding the importance of all your players and communicating with them about the roles they play in your organization’s grant program, then you may end up rivaling Tony La Russa’s winning record… and yes, I am from St. Louis!

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grant programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie..

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