Grantwriting presentation for Puppetmongers
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The document provides an introduction to the grant writing process, outlining key steps such as researching different types of funders, developing a project concept, writing a grant proposal that follows funder guidelines, and following up after submitting an application. It discusses best practices for writing grants, including being prepared with required materials, tailoring applications to specific funders, and developing budgets. The workshop also offers exercises for participants to identify relevant grants and develop plans for submitting applications.
Grantwriting presentation for Puppetmongers
- 1. An Introduction to Grant Writing November 2016
- 2. Where to start? Begin at the beginning! “Begin at the beginning” said the King, “and stop when you get to the end!
- 3. Workshop Goals • Increase knowledge of the grant writing process (gov’t, corp, foundation) • Experience in reviewing funding information to determine alignment with your institution’s needs/goals • Develop a project outline/concept paper addressing a grant RFP
- 4. Best way to never get a grant Don’t Apply! Best ways to get a grant Apply by deadline Read the instructions carefully. Follow the rules Answer the questions
- 5. Be Grant-ready Know who you are and what you want to accomplish Have a project description written Have all your attachment information in hand Have a plan for signatures/finalizing copy
- 6. Types of funders Government Funders Know what programs your organization is eligible for Contact Officers Attend any provided info sessions Corporate Grant Programs Separate from donations or sponsorships some foundations have specific grant programs with a formal process Foundation Grant Programs Foundations differ in the formality of their application processes Trade Associations, Sororities, Fraternities, Service Clubs Artsvest (Business Council for the Arts), SOCAN, Kiwanis, etc.
- 7. Differences in Approach for Types of Funders Where there is a formal grant process differences in government, foundation and corporate grants are fewer than you might think. Major difference is where personal contacts will help. Personal connections/contacts will help with: Understanding government grant processes but not with access or success Will help with information about and success of corporate grants (can be essential). Can help with access, information and success with foundations (mileage varies)
- 8. A couple of examples of Sponsorship Decks For an opera project For a youth program Featuring compelling pictures and diagrams to tell stories
- 9. How to find funders: Research who funds organizations like yours. If organization is not new, who funded them in the past. Look for funder links/info on non-profit service sites such as Charity Village, arts service organizations Invest in a fundraising database like Imagine Canada for more leads Sign up for all funder newsletters, mailing lists you find Snoop private funders’ CRA information returns online Join fund-development networking groups Develop your own database of funders and outcomes
- 10. Researching funders Don’t just read the guidelines and think you know the funder, where available read: • What they fund (other organizations they support) and look for patterns • Annual reports and general information on funder priorities, news releases • Borrow their language for your application where there is congruence.
- 11. Assemble and save basic information Save the site address, passwords, and guidelines plus any correspondence with Officers Exact deadline: Day, time. (hardcopy required by same deadline or to follow, date-stamped by) Format required: paper, online, email, both. Signatures required, board motion, proof of status Attachments and fodder documents
- 12. Annual grantwriting tasks End of arts season: Write a report on prior seasons highlights, challenges and business position Summer time: Update your organizational profile and description Example Keeping in mind your 5-10 top foundation matches, develop a foundation application template that will include: Mission & Mandate History Core Programs/Distinctiveness Awards, Accolades, press quotes, case stories of impact Recent highlights challenges and short-term goals Space for ask and acknowledgements
- 13. Specific Challenges Debt No funder wants to fund debt. Provide a solid business plan for how you are going to retire debt and assure them their funds will not fund the debt. Higher than usual surplus Explain what the surplus funds are being saved for New organization References, support letters even if not required Trustee if required Note if a PO Box is permissible, often not, physical address is required
- 14. Be Proactive Before reacting to the grant questions, know what you need to say What is the problem/need you are addressing Your idea, goals Who is involved, resources needed Timelines, schedule, plan What will success look like and how will you evaluate
- 15. Writing steps Write with the guidelines open and follow along Fill in all the basic organizational information, but then tweak it to address question asked, guidelines and program emphasis. Answer additional questions from material you have prepared in advance but review to ensure you have answered the question asked in language the funder will understand. Do phone the grant officer if you are unclear on how to respond (after looking for answer in guidelines and basic information). Before finalizing copy. Review your key grant information document and see if there is anything missing in telling your story. Plug that information into the relevant question. Proof-read for typos and grammar
- 16. Grant budgets These can vary in complexity. Start with your pre-existing project budget and adapt it to the format needed. It’s helpful to create an Excel working document before adding figures to locked forms. Establish whether the application guidelines want you to include or exclude costs outside of eligible costs If you are only including a portion of a project in your budget, make that consistent with your narrative. If a budget form is too simple to be believed in a grant, it probably is. Look for an “add more lines” button! Or, contact the Officer to see if they want a more detailed budget submitted as supplemental. When you are apportioning a reasonable amount of the grant towards staff costs, it is usually better to suggest 1 or 2 people rather than 10, even knowing that more will be involved. Divide the amount by the average hourly salary.
- 17. Follow-up If you don’t receive an automatic confirmation of receipt of grant by email, follow-up with a note to the Officer saying “just submitted” or “just mailed”. Can save you if something goes wrong. It’s perfectly okay to email or mail supplemental information. Take care to describe it as supplemental not “corrections” as that would be inadmissible. Things like new partners, newly confirmed funds, new inkind and breaking press can help your application.
- 18. Grant-writing in a team Clarify roles, especially who is the lead writer and who will prepare the budget. Set specific target dates for stages of completion and when new draft versions will be circulated. Use reviewers tools only in small teams and/or in close proximity. Use collaborative software or platforms for larger groups.
- 19. Practice Exercise Research government and foundation grants that you are eligible for. ( pick 2- 3) Review guidelines for the program and develop key points that you’ll want to cover in your application. What materials and attachments do you need? How much will you ask? What is your work plan for writing the proposal. Share your plan. You are a small puppetry company recently incorporated as a non-profit and you do have charitable status. You are not an operating client of any of the arts councils yet and you need to find funding for a co-creation project with a community group for a local ethnic heritage celebration that will attract some audience from outside Toronto. You have an annual budget of about $150,000/year and this project is in the $25,000 range.
- 20. Additional resources useful to new organizations Introduction to grantwriting Grantwriting as a team Starting a Non-Profit- Charity Village Guide Charity Start-up Toolbox- Law Help Ontario Starting an organization – Imagine Canada
Editor's Notes
- #5: This sounds simplistic but most of the failure to get grants that are within the grant-writers control relate to failure to understand and comply with simple instructions. Remember that sometimes instructions can be in guidelines, the form themselves, websites and in a summary form of things to attach. Review them all.
- #6: (financial reports, bios, work samples, support letters) Strategic planning and mission can seem esoteric but clarity on mission is very important to funding applications and results.
- #7: Info sessions provided by some funders is mandatory for application Corporate sponsorship is a very different process from corporate grants. In a sponsorship arrangement you are essentially selling the advertising collateral your arts event can provide to the marketing department of a corporation. It is a B2B transaction and language and approach needs to be totally different. There are also some sponsorship programs available with government, none through foundations that must only make no-strings donations or grants.
- #10: Orgs like yours, if a funder seems not to fit, there may be a special relationship through Board or management Check information in databases. They aren’t always up to date. Do look at funders website if they have them.
- #11: Don’t extrapolate patterns. Foundations that fund high art and youth shelters might not fund art workshops for homeless youth. Make it easy for funders to say “yes” by using their own language in the application. As you read their mission, you’ll find certain phrases resonate with your project. Copy that language, incorporate it into your application.
- #12: Note that most government grants are moving to online but where paper applications are required most time-stamps must be from a government post office if received after deadline. There’s a 25% higher success rate for grants received before the deadline, mostly because a lot of error happens in last minute rushes.
- #13: Getting into an annual routine helps you be organized and not miss opportunities. This will provide basic fodder for grant applications and reports in the coming year.
- #14: Debt and surpluses can make you ineligible.
- #15: If you don’t know what you want to say in advance, being reactive to questions could lead you to miss important pints.
- #16: Some application forms are for multiple programs and you may be asked to skip questions that seem to pertain to your grant. Do fill in N/A as requested as no response can cause forms not to save. I like to print the guidelines and highlight them as I work to show that I have addressed an area