Karen D’Or Grant Writing Services

Just finished watching President Obama on 60 minutes.

Continue to marvel at his honesty and his authenticity. Our President ‘s courage is remarkable: he takes on the miserable legacy of torture (and Dick Cheney’s continuing rationalizations for it) and then goes right up against Wall Street’s defense of unimaginable salaries.

I am honored to be among many who traveled and volunteered for Obama in the primary and in the general election, a life-changing experience as most volunteers will attest… and I’ve made a decision to re-start my grantwriting/consulting career to help make my community better.

So what’s next?

So will the non-profit sector benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009? It is pretty murky reading the document, and the non-profit sector is finding its way in the challenge of the economic crisis.

Thankfully, I just I found John Hopkins University’s Forward Together Declaration:

This declaration, and the list of impressive organizations that have signed on to date, rallies the citizen sector (much stronger word tan either non-profit or philanthropy) to “renew our commitment to serve as partners in public service in addressing the challenges our nation faces…This renewal process will involve work for all of us:

• For citizens, it will require greater commitment to service and community, to giving and volunteering;

• For government at all levels, it will require flexibility and new approaches, investment in nonprofit capacity, a nonprofit seat at the policy table, heightened responsiveness to citizen-sector innovations, and greater protection of the
distinctive functions such as advocacy that make the citizen sector so vital;

• For business, it will require strengthened partnerships with citizen sector organizations and continued integration of socially responsible objectives into central business operations;

• For organized philanthropy, it will require greater commitment to leveraging, as opposed to preserving, assets, to fostering innovation, and to taking risks;

• For nonprofit leaders and organizations, it will require effective management, continuous innovation, recommitment to mission, broadened engagement of citizens, and attention to measurable results; and

• For everyone, it will require a recognition that no one set of institutions has all of the answers or all of the resources needed to address the problems we face, and that cooperative action by all of our institutions—government, business, and nonprofit—holds the real key to the progress we need.”

Sign the Declaration

So I hope you will join me by  signing the document and pass it along to your networks…the citizen sector!

Here is the url www.jhu.edu/listeningpost/forward/

~ Karen

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I have loved to write since I was  young, but I’ve only begun to enjoy running in the last few years. I have joined  legions of adult-onset athletes who bike, swim and run, often in the company of lifelong athletes.  I believed it was some sort of genetic destiny that aimed me towards the cerebral and away from the physical. Now that I’ve become more athletic, I realize this was a big rationalization. So as someone who has always been more comfortable in the pages of Hamlet than in the drama of torn hamstrings, l now realize that physical and mental are complementary … and that lessons learned in sports can translate to the world of words.

Preparing for the Event

Our first triathlon

Celebrating the correlations between writing a good proposal and running a good race, I suggest focusing on a solid base, protection from the elements, and sustenance. My base foundation is a pair of well-fitted running shoes, my protection is a trustworthy all-weather running outfit and my fuel, or sustenance, is water.  (Sure, the sports magazines entice runners with the gorgeous GPS gear, the special diets, and fancy recovery drinks but one of running’s appeals is its simplicity and purity; rather than get tempted by excess gear, I’ve try to keep it simple.) Can we do the same for grant writing?

Preparing for the Proposal Race

In writing proposals, a strong base is research that fits funder priorities with needs of the organization. Without the correct match, the process is fruitless. Most foundation and government agencies provide background on their philosophy and priorities. As well, most publish past grants and success stories. I’ve seen prospective grantees to try to adjust organizational realities to the grant maker, an transparent and counterproductive effort. If this initial research and “match-making” is ineffective, there can be discomfort, unnecessary delays and futility. Just like finding the right running shoes, grant research can take time, it may involve some wrong turns (or returns!) but finding the the right fit is essential.

Protection is the grant writer’s understanding of the subject, an ability to show that the outcomes of the project are measurable and attainable. A good grant shows that vision and goals of an organization will translate into strategies that will create public value. The grantor’s objectives will be manifested through the performance of the grantee, and that performance can be measured and evaluated at the end of the grant period. Some projects are lofty in intent, visionary and inspirational, but like the emperor’s clothes, are not rooted in reality and reasonable outcomes. Developing a program that has measurable and quantifiable objectives may seem as mundane as putting on that reliable set of running clothes, but without them the proposal is nakedly uncompetitive.

Sustenance. It’s frightening to watch an runner dehydrate: a strong athlete’s legs turn rubbery and their face white. You may have read stories of illness and even death when pro and amateur runners do not hydrate correctly; it is serious and can be fatal. So now, in the midst of an economic crisis many charities – and even foundations – are failing, running out of “fuel” and even declaring bankruptcy. The Madoff financial scandal has wiped out important private charitable foundations. See http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/29/news/newsmakers/zuckoff_madoff.fortune/index.htm

Will a non-profit dry up if one major funder goes out of business? Most foundations, and even government grantors, see their funding as temporary,  not permanent fuel for a non-profit organization. A demonstration of future sustainability and development of a diverse funding stream – or multiple fuel sources – is a high priority for most grantors. A strong proposal will address sustainability and future funding sources. A runner will make sure he or she knows where the water stops are located, and if there is any doubt, a smart athlete brings their own supply of water – to ensure they are not dependent on any one source!

Finish Line

The non-profit grant writing process can feel like a long run: sometimes lonely, sometimes triumphant.  Staying on task with the core essentials- the base of savvy research, the protection of measurable outcomes and the sustenance of funding diversity – can help an organization cross the finish line with successful proposals. Are you ready to run?

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A Successful Proposal Must Match the Needs of Grant Makers with the Needs of Grant Seekers and Vice Versa.

“As philanthropy continues to grow, so too does the number of grant makers and grant seekers. Consequently Grant Makers may request more complex or in depth information within their application process. However, there are many consistencies across various grant makers and over time some common principles have lead to the development of somewhat generic application processes, with the main differences being related to the depth and quality of information various grant makers require, rather than the type of information they are looking for.”

“In today’s grant writing environment, a successful proposal must match the needs of grant makers with the needs of grant seekers and vice versa. Essentially, there are two key strategies involved in developing successful proposals. First, there is the bringing together of well-matched grant seekers and grant makers; second, the crafting of meaningful proposals that will stand out from the scores of other applicants. Therefore, the starting point of any successful grant writing program is hard work and extensive research. While anyone can surf the internet and find a grant opportunity that looks attractive, professional grant writers build their proposals on well researched information about both the grant maker and the grant seeker and its programs.”

See Wikipedia, Grant writing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_writing (as of Feb. 21, 2009, 00:24 GMT).

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