This week, the majority of my research focused on grants and the grant writing process. Therefore, I should probably talk about then, especially since they are such an important part of the nonprofit sector.
Grants are sums of money given by foundations to nonprofits to fund certain programs or, in the case of general support grants, the nonprofit as a whole. As they provide a means for a nonprofit to fund programs without having to engage in fundraising or collect dues its members, they are obviously very enticing. However, grants hold certain limitations that oftentimes makes it unwise for nonprofits to solely rely on them for funding. First and foremost, the vast majority of grant applications are denied. If and when a grant is awarded, the money can only be used for a specific program unless the grant is a general support grant, which are rare. Many grants are not renewed and even if they are, nonprofits can risk focusing too much on certain programs merely to ensure they receive the grant. Most important, however, is the fact that grants make nonprofits beholden not to the community which they serve, but rather the foundations which dole out grants. As a result, most nonprofits, such as DCC, try to draw funds from a variety of sources, from foundations to local fundraising.
The actual grant application process starts with researching foundations to ask for grants. Foundations focus on a certain issues(adult education, environmental awareness, etc.) and will hand over grants to nonprofits that runs programs that address such issues. For example, DCC handles adult education, human services, and youth education and applies for grants from groups such as Valley of the Sun United Way that have an interest addressing problems in those fields.
Once a potential foundation and grant have been identified, the grant proposal is drafted, which begins with developing the case statement. The case statement describes the nonprofit applying for the grant, what issues the group addresses, and how the nonprofit hopes to address the issues. The case statement also includes information about the groups history, structure, and financials. The case statement is not include in the actual grant proposal; its more of a reference for when nonprofits have to describe themselves when applying for grants.
Once the case statement is finished, the cover page and executive summary, which briefly outlines the project the nonprofit hopes to fund with the grant, is written. Generally, the cover page does not exceed a page and serves to briefly summarize the goals of the nonprofit. Next, the grant proposal should further elaborate upon the issue which the nonprofit hopes to address, outline the organizational structure of the nonprofit along with its history and successes, and its goals and strategies. The proposal should also include a budget for the program, as foundations prefer to how money is being raised to help run the program they are being asked to contribute. Some foundations also require extra documents, such as the names of the nonprofits board members or a copy of the IRS letter listing the nonprofits status as tax exempt. The final part of the grant proposal is the cover letter, which, since it is generally the first part of the proposal read, tries to establish a relationship between the nonprofit and the foundation.
Once a grant is submitted, it can take often months for a response. Usually, that response will be a denial. However, if the grant is awarded, the process does not end. Nonprofits have to file regular reports with foundations regarding the status of the programs that their grants are funding. These reports include information on how successful the program is as well as what the grant money is being used for the program. Furthermore, effort has to be made to maintain a relationship between the foundation that provided the grant, so that they may be more willing to renew the grant.
That is the basics of the grant application process. There is probably a lot more I could go into, but I think I will save that for a later blog post, which I can also hopefully combine with some of the personal experience of the staff at DCC in regards to applying for grants themselves.
Sources
Robinson, A. (2004). Grassroots grants: An activist's guide to grantseeking. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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