Is this you on a Monday, talking to yourself as you line up your grant writing work?
First, I have to write this grant for $5000, due TODAY. Then this one for $20,000, due next week. Oh! I almost forgot! That grant for $30,000? Due this FRIDAY? Already?….There’s that planning meeting Thursday for that $250,000 grant that’s due next month…it’s my first big grant…it’s so in-depth… I hope I can find the time to write it… The ED also wants me to apply for a $10,000 grant from the community foundation….
Phew! I bet you’re feeling spun out.
At first glance, it seems pretty good. It adds up to $315,000.
But let’s take a closer look:
- $5,000 grants? It’s likely you’ll get it, but it’s a gap-fill, but it won’t propel your organization’s work forward, let alone plan beyond the next month.
- The $30,000 one? Maybe you’ll get it, maybe you won’t, and maybe you’ll get less than $30,000 and it’s due in three days.
- Same goes for the $20,000 one due next week, and that $10,000 your ED has plunked on your desk.
- The chances of getting the $250,000 are so-so. This is your first time going for a grant of that amount, and to a new funder.
Blowing through every application that lands in your inbox or your desk is not a grant writing strategy. It is a strategy for overwhelm and burnout.
You don’t need to be a grant-writing tornado to be successful at winning grants.
You need to become more intentional with your grant writing so you can be successful at winning grants without burnout and overwhelm. Yes, you can have both.
Look, I get it. There are grant writing seasons (hello, March Madness!), and you can expect crunch times to happen. It’s par for the course of nonprofit work, and totally do-able…if it’s part of your plan.
If you learn to say no.
Wait, what? SAY NO TO A GRANT OPPORTUNITY?
Yes. Say no to grants that feel too rushed. Say no to grants that just aren’t worth the amount of time it will take to write and administer (I’m looking at you, $5,000 grant!). Say no to grants that do not move your nonprofit forward in terms of funding sustainability, organizational growth, or deepening the reach of your mission. Say no to grants that don’t position your organization to be taken seriously for large, multi-year grants.
Here’s what I want you to do today:
- Sit down and make a list of all the grants you are considering applying to.
- Include every grant call, every grant that has been forwarded to you by your ED or a member of the Board, even the ones that some random staff member has mentioned to you with a “Hey, we should go for this grant….”.
- Include amounts and deadlines in your list.
- Take a closer look. Is this donor a great match for your nonprofit, or is it just so-so? Eliminate the so-so matches. You want a love match.
- Rank the remaining grants in order of potential award amount, highest to lowest.
- Any grants with deadlines that seem to ratchet up your stress level a notch, bump them down the priority list, or eliminate them altogether.
- Finally, which grants are a stretch, in terms of a leap in funding amount, complexity or a new donor partnership for your organization? Bump those up in priority.
- Finally–make a plan. Review your list. Which feels like a best fit? Which ones get you excited? Which ones feel like they could propel your nonprofit’s mission forward? Those are the grants you are going to write first.
You don’t need to stress out over grants. You need to stress your strategy. Stop chasing money. Chase your mission instead. Be a gentle breeze, not a tornado.