Most nonprofits are already familiar with the grant-funder world, even if they have not yet themselves dipped deeply into it. Perhaps they are not sure how to begin, or if it is worth their limited time to do so. In addition, beyond nonprofits, certain for-profit companies may also qualify for grants.
Many organizations wonder if they might be able to obtain a grant, and where to start looking. Internet searches are a great place to begin your grant search, and to get a sense of the funding landscape for your organization. Simply enter “grants for [your industry]” and see what comes up. Other resources include promotional materials from the funding agencies, trade organizations, internet funder search portals and — here’s one of my secrets — seeking out press releases and annual reports from funders and grant recipients.
Grants tend to be focused, meaning the funder will give grants to organizations doing work in the specific area of impact that the funder is interested in. A quick review of the funding criteria can help you decide if you are a good fit. Once you’ve identified potential funders, the next step is understanding what they look for.
Grant makers are usually clear up front about what they are interested in, who will qualify and what criteria they use to decide. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to get acclimated to opportunities that might be worth pursuing. Generally speaking, funders want to support organizations and projects that move the needle in measurable ways on impacting people and communities, developing new approaches or disseminating information.
In addition to nonprofit opportunities, certain for-profit companies that are doing specific kinds of work in the funder’s emphasis areas may also qualify for grants. The sponsor of these grants is often the state or federal government. Targeted topics might include: innovating technologies; implementing energy and efficiency projects; certain agriculture business practices; creating jobs or job training; benefitting the underserved; and community development projects. A good place for for-profit companies to learn more about grants is the Small Business Administration and their state departments of economic development.
The bulk of grants go to nonprofit organizations, and there are a variety of resources to help connect them with the funders. One of those organizations is the Community Resource Center/Anschutz Family Foundation’s Rural Philanthropy Days. Potential grant makers include: federal, state and local governments; community foundations and donor-advised funds; and private foundations, both regional and nationwide.
Even with these opportunities, the current funding environment presents challenges. The grant environment is not great for many organizations at the present time. The current Presidential administration has significantly rolled back grants and pivoted away from many funding areas. But there are still federal grants out there and state and foundation funders also continue to offer programs.
In regions like ours, where philanthropic individuals and family foundations are active, the “Holy Grail” is finding a champion who believes in your mission and around whom you can build a sustainable funding model. Still, many organizations will need to grind it out the hard way, and pursuing grants can help bridge the gap.
An organization that plans to seek large or multiple grants might want to hire experts to help them prepare their applications. I’ve never understood why it’s called “grant writing,” when it really should be called “grant application writing.” Complex grant applications can be time-consuming projects and require extensive supporting schedules, tight integration and alignment with the award criteria, with little tolerance for omissions. Foundation grant applications often benefit from well-written compelling narratives and relationship-building with the foundation’s program directors.
A grant writing expert can help an organization prepare a set of documents they can re-use to apply for multiple grants, including: narrative content; project budgets and financial exhibits; and impact measures. Impact measures — objective, quantitative descriptions of how an organization is successfully implementing its mission — are essential to explaining how your organization benefits its target audience in concrete, measurable ways. For example, this might include the number of clients served or quantifiable improvements in your mission area. Funders will often require that. There is an art to capturing intangible and qualitative benefits in concrete quantitative language.
Finally, a word about AI. Artificial Intelligence is radically reshaping the grant-writing world. The ability for anyone to access existing content and receive editorial feedback at their own computer is changing grant applications in ways that the industry is just beginning to react to. Funders, like the education system, have not yet reached an equilibrium with the capabilities of the new technology. Nevertheless, there is still a need for personalized content and a human voice to represent your organization’s pitch, so be sure not to over-rely on those tools.
If you find yourself wondering if there’s a grant out there waiting to support your organization, or if it is time to elevate your fundraising to the next level, I encourage you to spend a bit of your time investigating the possibilities. There’s money out there, but you have to apply. Grants are accessible, but they require strategy and effort to obtain.
Malcolm McMichael lives in Carbondale and helps local small businesses and nonprofits with accounting management, CFO, strategic advisory and fundraising advisory services. Details about McMichael Management Services can be found at
www.malcolmmcmichael.com