Greetings, fellow grant seekers!
To state the obvious, there are a number of funding opportunities out there, and some of them are decidedly better than others. So how do you know what’s worth spending your limited time and resources applying for, and what isn’t? Here’s a list of some of the main criteria to look at and weigh against one another.
Deadline. When is the application due? This is obviously an important one, because it has a direct impact on how you’ll spend and schedule your time. Look at the deadline, and then pull up the application. Skim it, and make your best guess as to how long it will take to complete—making sure to factor in other people and organizations you’ll need to work with in order to get it put together—and weigh that against the application’s due date. Remember that that time should also include time to review and revise before submitting! Ask yourself:
How long will it take to put together the application? This includes gathering all of the supporting documents that most applications will ask you to include—for example, if you’re a nonprofit, do you have a copy of your IRS determination letter readily available? If the organization is asking for audited financial statements that you know you’ll have to get from your accountant, factor in time for them to get the documents to you. When it comes to how long it will take to write the actual application, make sure to always budget for more time—particularly when you’re first starting out, this will take longer than you think.
Can you outsource it? Is there someone else on your team who could feasibly do this? Is there an external grant writer you could work with to efficiently complete the application? Particularly with shorter timeframes, if the application isn’t particularly complex, outsourcing can be a great strategy. Remember, though, that you’ll still need to factor in time to bring the writer up to speed on the project and possibly on your organization, along with time to review his or her work (not to mention time in between to answer the writer’s questions).
Requirements. This ties closely in with the first factor. How much is the grant-making organization asking for from you? There’s tremendous variation among organizations on this; while some simply want you to answer a series of questions and maybe provide an itemized budget, others want to see more detailed financial information and project plans, or pitch decks, or biographical information. So make sure to carefully read all of the requirements—consider making a checklist, if that helps—and think about how long it will take you to gather everything, or even if you would be able to within the timeframe. Weigh it against the above and below factors—is it worth the time and effort?
Award amount. How much is the organization potentially offering, and is it an amount that would really be helpful to you? Here, you need to think carefully about your organization’s financial goals. What kind of funding are you after? This varies so much from organization to organization; while some smaller organizations might find micro-grants useful, others simply don’t feel like it’s worth their time to apply for grants that are less than a certain amount of money (and that’s fine; it’s all about knowing your own goals and needs). While of course the case could be made that any amount of money can be useful to a nonprofit in a difficult fiscal climate, you again need to weigh this against the amount of time and effort required to complete the application.
Note that you also need to consider the grant-making organization’s restrictions, if any, on how much funding you can apply for (some have restrictions based on applicants’ budgets), as well as any restrictions on the use of the funds.
Sometimes organizations will offer services to grant recipients other than funding; for example, giving winners assistance with publicity, or offering mentorship. Make sure to also take these non-fiscal benefits into consideration.
Organization making the grant. See what you can find out about the organization making the grant, and weigh that information. Do they have a good reputation? Is this an organization that you’re dying to work with and make connections at, making any extra effort required to apply more than worth it if you’re selected? Take this into consideration.
Feasibility. What are your odds of getting the grant? This last one can be very hard to gauge, particularly if it’s a new grant program, and also just knowing that, when it’s a competitive grant, it’s always going to be a numbers game. But you can sometimes get a general idea by looking at details on past recipients (with federal grants, for example, this specific information must be publicly available); or, if there’s a pre-application call or meeting, by finding out which other organizations participated (and therefore are likely to apply). Have past recipients been similar to you? If you’re able to look at previous grant agreements, are the services you’re offering of a caliber similar to successful projects? Who are your likely competitors (and how might you distinguish yourself from them)? Again, weigh any available information to the best of your ability.
When it comes down to it, there’s no mathematical formula that can tell you whether a grant is worth applying for. Sometimes it comes down to instinct, which is something that you’ll develop as time goes on and you apply for more grants. But these are the key factors that you should be looking at and weighing as you make these decisions about grants.
P.S. Looking for help with grants? Contact me for more information on ways we can work together!