Grantwriting Tips
Types of Foundations
Preparing the grant proposal 1. Choosing the Appropriate Grantmaker
2. Letter of Inquiry
3. The Proposal
4. Follow-up Grantwriting Assistance
ypes of foundations
There are several kinds of foundations and funders. Each has a specific organizational structure and operates in a different manner with respect to grantseekers.
Private Foundations are the most common types of foundations. They are generally endowed, usually from a single individual or family. Private foundations frequently are also considered family foundations if relatives of the original donor are still active on the board of trustees or in the operation of the foundation. Independent Foundations are those which have no relative of the donor involved in the grantmaking process. A private foundation's grant decisions may be made by the original donor, by members of the donor's family, by an appointed board of directors or by a bank trust officer acting on the donor's behalf. Trustee decision or the will of the donor often limits the geographic and interest areas of these foundations.
Corporate Foundations are also private foundations. They are independent grantmaking organizations whose originating donor is a corporation rather than a family or individual. They may have an actual endowment, or they may receive annual funding from the corporation. Grantmaking decisions are usually made by a board of directors consisting of top corporate management, local corporate officers, employee committees and sometimes outside community members. Geographical range is often limited to areas where there is a corporate presence.
Corporate Giving Programs are functionally similar to corporate foundations, except that they are not legally foundations and therefore are not required by law to grant a certain percentage of assets or to publicly disclose their grantmaking activities. Many corporations run both a foundation and a giving program, coordinating the grantmaking activities of the two. A corporate grantmaking budget is usually determined by the company's economic health and is sometimes set by a formula related to profits. Often the giving program works closely with their company's marketing and public relations departments.
Public Foundations are publicly supported charitable organizations that receive much of their financial support in the form of contributions from the general public. There are many types of public foundations including community foundations. Public foundations support a variety of interest areas with or without geographic limitations as defined in their organizing charter and/or by their governing boards. The public foundations primarily make grants to multiple beneficiaries and derive the majority of their funding revenues from a single source, usually an endowment built from charitable gifts.
Community Foundations are public foundations made up of a considerable number of individual endowments managed by a single administrative body with all the funds pooled for greater investment return. As their name implies, community foundations usually have a very distinct and limited geographical area. Some of the individual funds are general purpose and discretionary; others are quite narrowly focused and may offer funds only for scholarships or a certain group of organizations. The trustees are chosen from the public for a specific term. The board typically has full discretionary responsibility over some funds while some funds may be donor-advised and others directed to a particular agency or organization.
Other giving methods
There are many other types of philanthropic entities, such as federated funds (United Way), giving circles (these can be formal or informal), pooled funds, and organizations that don't fit into any of these other categories but still make grants (Junior League, Wisconsin Independent Colleges Foundation).
The process of preparing a grant proposal begins well before a single word is ever written. For any grantseeking organization the job starts by clarifying the purpose of the funding request, which means defining both the nature of the particular project for which funding is sought and the benefits that are expected from it. - Choosing the Appropriate Grantmaker
Once your purpose is clear, you can begin to search for the sources most likely to fund a project of the particular size and nature you have developed.
a. Identify organizations that make grants to support your particular issue (e.g. early childhood education, visual arts, poverty-related issues, etc.).
b. Compile information from foundations that support your type of project including how large a grant the foundation is likely to make, how many grants it makes in a year, what its funding cycles are, etc. Once you have settled on a list of possible grantmakers, you should obtain their annual report, 990 form, grant guidelines and whatever other information is available to help you further refine and target your grant request. Having determined how much your project will cost, check to see that the amount falls within the grant range of the grantmakers to whom you are considering making application. This will help you to determine what portion of your project's funding to seek from a particular grantmaker. At this point you should be ready to write a request that is appropriate to the mission and purpose, as well as the practices, of the organization you have selected.
It is important to remember that the higher ends of the range might not apply to your area of service. Review what amount of funding other programs have received from this source for similar projects to get a better sense of the grant amounts.
- Letter of Inquiry
Many grantmakers prefer that your first approach to them be a letter of inquiry. A letter of inquiry should be more than a simple one-paragraph letter requesting grant guidelines. It should:
a. Outline briefly why you are seeking funds;
b. Describe the nature of your need;
c. Summarize your proposed program; and
d. Provide a description of your organization.
Ask specifically if your proposal outline might be of interest to the grantmaker and, if so, how you should go about submitting a full proposal. This initial letter allows grantmakers to determine whether your project fits with their program. If not, they will usually inform you. If the proposal does fit their guidelines, you will be directed on how to proceed to submit a grant request.
- The Proposal
Use the grantmaker's guidelines when drafting your proposal. A one-page cover letter summarizing the proposal should accompany any proposal and include the amount of funding you are requesting. Some requests will need to be little more than an expansion of your cover letter. Some grantmakers leave you to structure your own proposal; others ask that you fill out forms that they provide. Some use the Donors Forum of Wisconsin's common grant application form, and they will tell you this when you request information.
Whatever the format, your proposal should be clear, logical, as brief as possible yet thorough, free of jargon and cleanly presented. The proposal should specifically describe:
a. The need for the program;
b. How it will be administered, supervised and monitored;
c. What schedules will be adhered to;
d. The cost and
e. Who will benefit.
Be sure to articulate a clear sense of your organization's identity and the position it holds in the community at large. Summarize succinctly:
f. The mission, history, and operations of your organization;
g. How the purpose of the grant fits with your mission;
h. The place of the proposed grant in your whole operation; and
i. How the project fits within the grantmaker's goals and priorities.
Articulating the level of support you have from the broader community and your Board of Directors is essential. Funders want to know who else supports the program or project.
In addition, be sure to describe the evaluation process for the program, including what data you intend to collect and how it will be evaluated. Describe how the program will continue to be funded (if it requires ongoing funding) after the period of the grant is over. Many grantmakers do not offer renewed or multi-year funding, and will want to know what steps you have taken to ensure the program's continuation.
As most funders make grants only to organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status, make sure that your status is clear. Provide a copy of the U.S. Treasury Department's letter granting your organization this status, and show the same name on your organization's letterhead. Double check that all attachments requested by the grantmaker are included.
Remember that, for a variety of reasons, grantmakers turn down as many, or more, proposals as they grant. If yours is turned down, it need not be the end of the proposal. It may mean only that the organization spent their grant budget or held other programs in higher priority. Sometimes the letter of denial will give you specific reasons, sometimes not.
Confidence in the value of your proposal is a must, regardless of whether it is turned down several times. A willingness to re-evaluate and modify a project as you go along is equally important.
There are no trade secrets about how to write a successful grant proposal. Grantmakers may well accept an interesting proposal written by a volunteer with a real stake in the project and reject an obviously "canned" proposal sent to a variety of grantmakers by a professional grantwriter.
- Follow-up
When your proposal is funded, prompt acknowledgment is appreciated. You or an officer of your organization may be asked to complete a grant agreement letter confirming your tax-exempt status, the purpose for which the money will be used, and that the organization will refrain from activities which jeopardize its tax-exempt status. Many grantmakers will reserve the right to audit financial records on your project. Some, if they have not already done so during the grant proposal review process, will visit your organization to see firsthand how you do your work.
Some grantmakers will want you to stay in communication with them during the period of your grant. Others will want to see an accounting at the end of your project. If they do express interest in the progress of your program, send copies of publicity pieces and let them know how you are proceeding in relation to your planned schedule.
When the grant period is concluded:
a. Be prepared to offer whatever evaluation of and accounting for the funds' use the grantmaker may ask for;
b. Let the grantmaker know how your organization's future plans for the program will build on what the grant began, and how such efforts will be funded;
c. Inform them of any interest that other organizations have shown in your program;
d. Continue to keep the grantmaker aware through newsletters, memos and letters of the continued vitality of the program they supported.
|
