“Crafting an effective grants strategy is so easy!” Said no one, ever.
As a grant professional, you surely know that developing a strategy and setting goals can be a challenge. Trust me, I can relate!
Here’s the good news: this article can guide you through some of these complexities, offering practical examples and expert advice to help you set strategic, achievable goals for your nonprofit.
The strategies we will share aren’t just about securing funds for short-term financial needs; they’re about using grants strategically to advance your nonprofit’s mission.
Whether you’re a new grant professional or a seasoned pro that’s looking to refresh and refine your approach, we want to empower you to view grants as a tool for achieving your organization’s broader goals.
Let’s take this journey together! Ready? Let’s go!
Why? Because relying too heavily on one source of funding can be risky. If that funding stream dries up, your nonprofit is left without any revenue streams to fall back on.
Here are some key funding streams that your nonprofit should incorporate:
Grants: Whether from the government, corporations, or foundations, grants can provide substantial funding for program development, capacity building, and more.
Individual and Major Donors: Cultivating relationships with individual donors and seeking support from major donors can provide consistent, long-term funding.
Fundraising Events: Hosting events such as galas, auctions, or charity runs can generate significant revenue and engage your community.
Planned/Legacy Giving: Encouraging donors to include your nonprofit in their wills or estate plans ensures ongoing support for years to come.
Earned Revenue: Offering fee-based programs, services, or products can generate revenue while also advancing your mission.
Here’s the bottom line: by diversifying your revenue streams, you can reduce dependency on any single source and create a more stable financial foundation for your nonprofit. For advice on how to incorporate grants into your fundraising strategy, check out this guide: Grant Strategy: Building a Year-Long Funding Plan for Your Nonprofit.
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Many nonprofits aim to expand their programmatic impact but lack the resources to do so successfully and in a sustainable way.
Here’s the good news—Grants can serve as a catalyst for innovation and growth, allowing your nonprofit to expand its reach and better serve your community. Your ability to leverage grant funds strategically is key to breaking barriers and reaching underserved populations.
This all sounds great, but you might find yourself wondering how to get started with pursuing these types of grants.
Industry expert Rachel Grusin, Project Coordinator at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, shared this hypothetical scenario with us that will help paint a clearer picture for you:
“Suppose a nonprofit, “Community Arts Initiative”, runs various arts education programs in underserved communities. They could approach a local foundation known for supporting arts and community development. In their proposal, they could highlight their significant community impact over the years, showcase testimonials from program participants, provide clear financial records, and articulate how general operating funds will allow them to expand their reach, improve program quality, and increase organizational capacity.”
Furthering your impact is exciting, but we want to share a word of caution with you as well. It’s critically important that you avoid falling into the trap of “mission creep” or “chasing the money”, which can damage your nonprofit’s long-term sustainability.
Grants play a pivotal role in strengthening organizational capacity by allowing organizations to make strategic investments, rather than simply covering immediate financial needs.
Here are a few ways that capacity grants grants can strategically support broader organizational goals:
Staff Training: Grants can fund professional development, such as training courses, certifications, or conference attendance. This enhances your team’s skill set and ensures they are qualified for their roles.
Infrastructure Improvements: Grant funding can support essential infrastructure upgrades, such as building renovations or updated security systems. For example, you can improve accessibility to your facility by installing wheelchair ramps, lifts, accessible restrooms, and even elevators. This ensures that your building is accessible for your entire community.
Technology Updates: Grants can also be used to acquire new technology, such as laptops, software programs, phone systems, or even smart boards, which can optimize processes and expand your organization’s reach. For instance, investing in a new database system can improve data management for better program evaluation and reporting.
By leveraging grants for capacity-building, you can guarantee greater resilience and effectiveness in fulfilling your organization's mission.
For many nonprofits, advocacy and policy change are central to their mission. By securing grants, they can fund campaigns, research initiatives, and legal efforts aimed at advancing their policy agenda and creating meaningful change.
Here are a few examples:
Funding Innovative Campaigns: Grants can support innovative campaigns aimed at driving change in policy or public opinion. For example, nonprofits may launch public awareness campaigns or advocacy initiatives to coincide with major elections.
Real-Life Example: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched the “Let People Vote” campaign, which aimed to raise awareness about voting rights and advocated for policies that promote voter access and combat voter suppression. The ACLU often uses grant funds to finance its organizing efforts, research, legal work, and public education campaigns.
Supporting Research Initiatives: Grants can fund research projects that provide data and evidence to support advocacy efforts. Research findings can be used to inform policymakers, shape public opinion, and drive policy change.
Example:The Urban Institute conducts research on a wide range of social and economic issues, including housing, education, and health care. This research is often funded through grants from a variety of sources, including government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Research findings are used to inform policymakers about effective policies and interventions to address societal challenges.
Fostering Narrative Change: Grants can also support initiatives aimed at changing narratives and perceptions on key issues. By shifting public discourse, organizations can create a more favorable environment for policy change.
Example: The FrameWorks Institute conducts research on framing and communication strategies to effectively communicate complex social issues and shape public understanding. They receive grants from foundations and government agencies to support these initiatives. The FrameWorks Institute works on reframing issues such as public health, education, and social justice to create a favorable environment for policy change.
5. Collaborating and Building Partnerships With Other Organizations
Collaboration is essential for addressing complex societal challenges. Don’t believe me? I wrote an entire dissertation about it! Practitioners and researchers both agree that it is much easier to move the needle on tough societal issues when you’re working collaboratively rather than in a silo.
By creating successful nonprofit partnerships that are aligned with your grant strategy, you can amplify your impact and strengthen your organization’s ability to achieve its goals.
Here are some practical tips on how to leverage partnerships to enhance your nonprofit’s grant strategy:
Networking and Relationship Building: Your network is a great resource. Identify potential partner organizations that share similar missions and reach out to establish connections. Attend networking events, conferences, and community meetings to expand your network and explore partnership opportunities.
Identifying Shared Goals: Work with your existing partner organizations to identify shared goals and priorities. Consider conducting a joint needs assessment or strategic planning session to align objectives and develop a shared vision.
Complementing Strengths: Identify partners with complementary strengths. Combining efforts can help both partners expand their reach and impact more people without exhausting staff capacity.
For example, my nonprofit organization focuses on dropout prevention in school districts with low graduation rates and/or high dropout rates. Recently, after encountering a student who had stopped attending school because he couldn’t see the whiteboard, we sought out a partnership with a nonprofit organization that provides vision screenings to students. Together, we hosted vision screening clinics at no cost to students across 5 different school districts in our shared territory. Voila! This partnership helps my organization keep kids in school and helps the vision screening organization reach more students.
As a grant professional, you surely understand the burden of worrying about day-to-day expenses. I would bet that you’re no stranger to the constantly-looming-dread of financial uncertainty.
Listen—you’re not alone! I can absolutely relate to those feelings. But here’s the good news: grants offer opportunities to alleviate those concerns and enable your organization to focus on delivering impactful programs and services in a sustainable way.
Whether you're looking to expand programs, replace lost funding sources, or improve financial management practices, grants can provide the support needed for sustainable growth and impact.
7. Enhancing Visibility and Recognition in Your Community
Grants not only strengthen financial stability but also boost your nonprofit’s visibility and credibility in the community.
Securing prestigious grant awards can help to solidify your standing in the community and even open doors to new opportunities for growth and collaboration. Here are some examples how:
Media Outreach: Engage with local media outlets to generate positive publicity and raise awareness about your organization’s impactful work. Develop press releases, media pitches, and story ideas that highlight your grant-funded projects, success stories, and community impact.
Community Outreach: Participate in community events, forums, and collaborations aligned with your organization’s mission and values. Building connections through community involvement increases your visibility and recognition, and demonstrates your nonprofit’s commitment beyond program execution.
Pro Tip: If you’re struggling with finding events to go to, check out your community’s Chamber of Commerce website. Chambers of Commerce often host mixers, networking opportunities, and other events that are free or low-cost!
By strategically leveraging these tactics, you not only enhance your organization’s visibility, credibility, and reputation but also create opportunities for sustained growth and impact.
8. Measuring and Evaluating Impact
In today’s landscape, measuring impact is increasingly important for nonprofits, but it can also be a daunting task.
Grants provide essential support for rigorous evaluation efforts, helping organizations gather data to refine their programs and services, ensuring maximum effectiveness and impact.
As a grant professional, you play a huge role in identifying funding opportunities to assist your colleagues in developing evaluation frameworks. This may mean narrowing your grant search to focus on opportunities that support capacity building and evaluation efforts.
In addition to targeted grant research, you should also keep in mind the importance of knowledge sharing and dissemination.
Don’t forget to develop strategies to share your evaluation findings and insights with internal and external stakeholders. Use storytelling, data visualization, and reports to communicate your nonprofit’s impact and effectiveness.
Wrapping Up
Crafting an effective grants strategy and setting strategic goals is not an easy task. However, it is a crucial step for any nonprofit seeking to achieve its mission.
By strategically leveraging grant funding, you can support your organization in achieving sustainable growth, impact, and mission fulfillment. Remember—it’s essential to think beyond immediate financial needs and begin considering how grants can support your organization’s broader objectives.
Now, you’re ready to begin harnessing the power of grants to make an even bigger impact on your organization and your community. Happy grant seeking!
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