Writing grants & proposals

Definitions

Charitable status - a status granted by the federal or provincial government that allows a community group to give out tax receipts. People who donate to this group can get some of their money back through a tax refund on the amount they donated.
Deliverables - what your group agrees to produce as part of a grant or project. When you get the money you define what will come out of the work, for example, reports, written materials, a 50% increase in cycling in your co-op, a survey on community needs, slides and so on.
Foundations - a fund of money that's set aside for making donations, often started by wealthy individuals or corporations.
Granting agency - the organizations that is giving money for a project or for your group.
In-kind donations - a donation that doesn't involve money but something else of value, for example, your volunteers donate their time. You can work out the cash value of this donation by figuring out how much you'd have to pay for their labour if they weren't volunteering. Administrative support, phone access, space, equipment and supplies are other things that you may be receiving that can be counted as in-kind donations.
Sponsors - the organizations that are giving money, time or other support to a project or your group. Any group that is involved in supporting a project should be credited or somehow mentioned on written materials, ads and announcements about the project.

Strategizing

Before you write a grant application you need to:

	Figure out the type of funding you need.
	Identify potential funders.
	Find out about application procedures and deadlines.
	Request applications packages if needed.
	Apply for the funding.

Goals of fundraising:

To figure out what kind of funding you need you must know your fundraising goals as an organization. Before you approach anyone, figure out how much money you need and how you want to use it. Don't just apply for money because it's there. It can consume a lot of staff time and end with unneeded projects.
You need to find lots of different places to approach for funding, and have different types of funding. Don't be dependent on any one source of funds for your organization, or large projects you take on. If there are diverse funders for a project, no single funder can take control of it. Also, funders rarely like to pay all the costs related to a single project, they like to see that other places have been approached for funding as well.
Internal fundraising such as events, memberships, user fees and donations are also a part of funding for your organization overall. Be sure to mention that the staff supervisor, the rent and overhead costs of a project are being shared by your group; grant agencies like to know this.
Organizational memory is important for grant writing. The fundraising process is annual and ongoing. Establishing a relationship with funders and an awareness of when grants are due is important. Whenever you write a grant that's rejected, try to find out why. This will help you learn more about the art of grant writing.
Long-term and short-term objectives for grant writing should be established. Some kind of grant writing policy that corresponds with your organization's goal plan should be introduced. For example, do you want the grant staff to assist in developing your community profile (an objective of the board) or are the jobs beng created to provide students with interesting summer research opportunities? Decide this before you apply for grants. Also, you should have some kind of policy on applying for corporate sponsors, private foundations, government agencies and more. Are you going to review it on a case by case basis or have you already decided that a particular source of funds is not appropriate for you?
Document your need for funding. You need to show not only that you want the money, but that you need it too. There are different types of funding - core, project, operating and capital funding. What areas of your operation need funding the most? Do you have statistics, needs assessments, financial budgets, letters of interest or support that show a need for what you propose to your funders? What kind of funding do you want. You can get in-kind support (ask a computer store to give you a deal on a computer), ask for help setting up a filing system, office equipment or supplies, free publicity and other things.
What can you live with? Grants come with conditions. Always. What conditions can you live with? Some employment grants require you to pay staff people minimum wage - do you want that? Some places will only fund projects that fit their criteria - do you fit those? How far are you willing to alter you goals to get the money? Sometimes the condition may be financial reporting, can you provide that?

Identifying sources of funding

Two questions to ask yourself about funders is:

Who do you think should pay for this? This question particularly applies to government organizations. Many government agencies get their work done through community groups. They want to give you money because it's part of their job.
Who has paid for this in the past? This question most applies to private foundations and corporations. They tend to have trends in the type of projects they'll fund. Although their criteria change from year to year, if they've funded something similar in the past it's worth asking them again. Also, you can ask other organizations who've done similar projects where they got their money from - this can makes this process go faster.

Identify sources of funding in advance of working on a project if possible. This way you won't miss deadlines or end up rushing around. Keep information you find on file to use again next year.

Brainstorm

A good start to identifying funders is to brainstorm all the possible relations of a program. Don't think "bicycles", think energy conservation, health, physical fitness, environment, education and community services. Don't think "community garden", think municipal greenspace, recreational activity, environment, public education (schools?), social services (old age homes?), parks and recreation, food and agriculture.

Types of funding include:

Public funding: this means government agencies and departments - federal, provincial and municipal. In Toronto, the City Clerk's office at City Hall publishes a guide to funding programs. Generally, these programs have application forms to fill out, and while you can develop a relationship with these agencies, it isn't as important as with private sources of funding

Private funding: includes the United Way (which only gives to charitable organizations), religious charities, businesses and individual donors. Having a charitable number really helps when you're approaching these types of funders.

Foundations: there are community, corporate and family foundations that have a fair bit of money. The best way to find out about them would be to go to the library and look up information on foundations, or contact the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy in Toronto. They put out a Canadian Index to Foundation Grants and a Canadian Directory to Foundations. Getting individual copies of these texts are expensive, but they are usually available in public libraries and at the Centre office and resource library.

Community funding: Other community groups may be willing to give you funding, especially for projects of joint interest. This includes, unions, service clubs (such as Lions club etc), women's groups and other community groups.

Fundraising: Many funding agencies take a positive view of you raising money yourself, in addition to asking them for money. Also, many agencies like you to have some provision to recoup costs of a publication, event and so on.

The time spent writing grants

Writing grants is a lot like writing a resume - you are asking someone for their money to do something you like. Like resumes, it saves a lot of time to write up a few basic applications, and then make variations to suit each individual grant. This means that planning and drafting your initial applications will take a lot of time, but that each subsequent application will go more quickly. Getting multiple funders for a project also means that you reduce your dependency on any one source of funding.

On average, it can take anywhere from 4 hours to 3 days to write a proposal. Sometimes a proposal for $2000 will take more time than one for $40,000 - there's no correlation. In general, the first grant you write is the longest because you have to collect information like annual reports, budgets, letters of support or a list of board members.

Make up a calendar of deadlines so you aren't rushed.

To save time, ask other organizations who are similar to you where they get their funding from. Ask them what experiences they've had with funders. Some agencies encourage everyone to apply but rarely give out grants, some don't pay up their money until after the project is completed - leaving you with a cash crisis.

Generally, it's good to apply to 4 or 5 reliable places each year (ie. they've given money to your group or a related one in the past) and add a few off the wall applications each year just to see if you have a chance.

What to learn about your funders:

	eligibility criteria
	application forms
	deadlines for sending in an application
	program descriptions (who they serve)
	program priorities and how often they change
	a key contact person (in government agencies, personnel change over more, however, in private funders a contact person is essential)

Making your application

Approaching the funders

For government agencies you normally just have to fill out a form and send it in. If you want to approach private funders, which have a lot more "discretionary funds", it's a good idea to take a personal approach. This involves attending a meeting to explain your proposal, inviting the funder to learn more about your organization by inviting them to a volunteer night or annual general meeting. This apparently "kiss ass" approach is why some organizations don't like getting private funding, but if you think about it, it's what we do without question when we ask another community group to co-sponsor something. They simply want to know that you can be trusted with money.

Writing an effective funding application

You need to demonstrate that your proposal is:

	unique (that someone else isn't already doing it)
	effective (that you will make something happen)
	credible and dependable (that you won't mess up)
	needed (that what you're doing fills some need out there)

Ensure that all the funder's questions are answered. For government forms, there are a few open ended questions that allow you to demonstrate your capacity to use their language and show that you've read their funding criteria carefully. Repeat, using creative variations, all the key words in their guidelines. As they skim the proposal these words should jump out at them. Don't however, parrot them line for line, or they'll get offended.

Most government forms are fairly standard, although for private donors you have to make up your own funding package. It should include:

	A title - things that have titles are well-defined and easy to refer to. Put key words in the title so you can file it easily.
	Identify the specific project or service that needs the money
	Prepare an introduction to both the organization and the project. If the funder isn't familiar with your group, tell them your history, mission statement, year of incorporation, charitable or non-profit status, client group, significant accomplishments, structure (ie. board of directors) and size of organization.
	Describe why the project is needed and how you know this. If you can get letters of support or statistics, include them.
	State the short and long-term objectives
	Describe how the project will carry out its goals, how the services will be delivered etc, what time frame is proposed.
	Build in an evaluation component that will give you feedback, ie. evaluation forms, an objective increase in users etc.
	Describe your financial management system - include auditor's report and current budget proposals. Provide a budget specific to the program or project being proposed. In some cases you want to specify what aspect of the project you want them to fund (tools for the garden project, items for the raffle) or you may want them to contribute as a whole ($5000 to the book project, not just to researching the book).

Include a summery sheet that states:

	your organization's name, address and phone number
	your objectives as an organization
	achievements that demonstrate your credibility
	needs the organization addresses
	activities or programs you provide
	total projected cost of the program
	how much you're requesting from them
	how it fits into their priorities

General tips:

	Don't use acronyms or unfamiliar terms
	Keep the language simple and clear
	Alternate short and long sentences
	Don't waste their time with useless detail. Find out what they want to know and tell them quickly
	Make use of charts and diagrams if it helps explain things faster
	Follow the exact format specified by the agency
	Proofread carefully
	If you say you're going to call, write it down so you remember
	Keep a copy of your proposal and file it
	Plan ahead so you have enough time to write it

The budget

You should always present a balanced budget. Funders want to know that the project has enough integrity and support to function - don't try a "without your support it will all collapse" approach. Income and expenses should always equal themselves, even if you have to list "potential" funders.

Say that you've approached other people for funding and how much you expect to get, this is helpful if you've applied for 3 times the amount of money you need.

Funders always want to know what you are contributing - always include all the related costs to the project. This especially includes volunteer labour, staff supervising time, rent, a portion of your overhead costs, phocotopying, phone costs, office supplies etc. Don't inflate your request assuming they'll cut it in half, most funders can spot what's real and what's needed.

Don't ask for an unrealistic wish list, but do add whatever bells and whistles would make your project go along easier. Sometimes it's helpful to describe how your effectiveness, scope etc will be reduced if you get partial funding.

If you ask for unnecessary funding, what will you do if you get it? Remember, more than one group has applied for 17 grant staff and then had to figure out where to put them.

Getting the money

Reporting

Some grant agencies ask for reports on the project when you're done. Fill these out or they won't like you. This may manifest itself as their refusal to pay their final instalment of the grant, you having to re-pay the money or their decision not to fund you for the next few years. Either way, always write in your grant timelines when you need to file interim and final reports.

It's a good idea to review what information these reports require, so you can set up systems to keep track of this information during your work.

Budgets

Often they also want to see budgets and sometimes receipts of where their money went. Be sure to provide them with this.

Lying

It isn't a good idea to lie to them; you can get in lots of trouble. This happens especially with grants where staff are only being paid minimum wage. Sometimes groups make a deal with the staff people that they can work part-time and get another job. If you end up firing any of those staff people, they could get revenge by telling the granting agency you're doing this. If your morals require you to pay people a decent salary, it might be worth considering topping up their wages yourself rather than ignoring the conditions of the grant.

If you've emphasized different portions of the project to different funders, make sure you haven't got incompatible images in play. Be honest, if inexact, and don't make promises you can't keep.

Building your expertise

Every year you'll get better at writing grants. Keep organized files of the grants you've written, how much you've received and new places you might be interested in.

Thank you letters

Always send thank you letter or notes to every donor of every type and amount. Be prompt, a month is too long to get a letter. Letters make the donor feel appreciated, they know that their contribution has been noticed and was welcome. The letters give your donors a sense of loyalty and good feeling towards the group which helps you keep your donors and increase the size of their gifts.

For people who donate time, either your own volunteers or speakers at a special event, thank you cards also go over very well. In the excitement of counting the money, we tend to overlook the people who's non-cash contributions made the fundraising happen. Certificates of appreciation and small gifts are very effective at showing how much you value your volunteers.

by Regan McClure