Starting a Nonprofit? Advice from a Grant Writer
Nonprofit work is challenging in all its stages, but starting up a nonprofit can be especially bewildering for leaders coming in from a for-profit background.
From time to time on social media we're approached by startup nonprofits that are looking for a grant writer. We love being able to help people who are making a difference in their communities, and so we’ve compiled the following tips from some recent conversations. We hope it helps you on your path to funding!
Research for a good fit
Before you contact a grant writer, potential source of funding or anyone else in your journey to starting your nonprofit, take the time to do some research into the person or organization you’re contacting. In the nonprofit sector, the question is often not so much if someone can help you but if they are the right organization or person to help you. You’ll find this time and again with grant proposals too—of course your project is worthy of funding, but is it the right project for that funder to support? A lot of your success as a startup nonprofit will be from seeking out relationships with other organizations that are a good fit for you and your programs.
For example, our organization, Weathervane Strategies is based in Alaska and Wisconsin. Most of our clients are Alaskan nonprofits and Alaska Native Tribes. We certainly welcome clients from outside Alaska, but our current client base and our location are definitely something you should take note of when seeking assistance with grant writing, grant management or the other services that we offer.
Likewise, if you’re looking for a funder to support your projects, it’s best to find a funder who has previously expressed interest in the community that you’re serving or who has a logical tie to that community, geographical area or other related projects.
Take your organization’s size into account
Small nonprofits do an enormous amount of good in our communities every day. But a small nonprofit and a large nonprofit are going to need to have different strategies for just about everything. And, one of the differences between a small startup nonprofit and a larger, more established one is going to be the factors contributing to the decision of hiring a grant writer.
Because grant writers cannot be paid from the grant money itself (its unethical) and will have to be paid whether you receive the grant or not, small nonprofits with a shoestring operating budget may find that it makes better financial sense to send one of their team members to grant writing training and take on the grant-writing duties in-house.
Look for partnerships
If you are starting a for-profit business, let’s say a hardware store, you’re not going to go around to the other hardware stores in your area looking for advice and assistance. But you should do that if you are starting a nonprofit. While there is some sense of competition in terms of reaching out to the same funders, nonprofit organizations with similar missions, or who are serving the same community in different ways, often team up.
When you are starting a nonprofit, or in the early stages of an established nonprofit, it’s essential to reach out to similar services.
Be flexible in your programming
A lot of great nonprofits start with the idea of helping a community in a particular way—making the roads safer for motorcyclists or supporting the arts in a particular way, for example—but your nonprofit may enjoy longer-lasting success and increased interest from funders if you are flexible in how you achieve that core mission of helping a particular community. Funders also want to be sure that your programs are sustainable. For example, if your end goal is to help community youth go to college, a scholarship program may be a great idea. However, so are after-school programs, mentorship programs, leadership seminars…there’s a lot of other programs that might address your same mission and be more attractive to funders, or more attractive to one funder in particular.
To help you set your programming, look for private foundations in your area. These foundations will be aware of other funders giving in the same region. A conversation with the Grants Administrator will help direct you to an appropriate funding source. Then you should meet with the Program Officer or Grants Administrator for those foundations and discuss the program ideas that you have. These foundations can give you advice about what programs would be the most attractive for potential funding. Through a series of conversations, you will develop a program that will get funded.
Think you’re ready to approach a grant writer? See if you and your team are fully prepared to answer these questions:
What are your plans to help your community? When you find funding, how will you use it to help your community?
What nonprofit organization are you working with (partnering with) now? How are they helping you reach your goals?
Can you describe in detail how your projects/programs will function?
Do you have a plan or outline for how to create and run your programs?
Are there any local entrepreneurs who could help you achieve your goals or support your mission?