December 3, 2024
The Impact Issue #38: Freshen Up Your Grant Strategy!
Revamp your annual grant strategy with tips on goal-setting, agile workflows, and corporate giving trends. Explore expert insights, grant opportunities, and more!
Hi there!
In this week’s issue, we’re excited to bring you a fresh take on your annual grant strategy planning. We’ll cover:
- How to work backwards to achieve your goals
- What’s on the mind of corporate leaders as they look to give back
- Tips to integrate an agile workflow
Like always, we’ll share some networking and upcoming grant opportunities to consider as well.
Welcome to The Impact.
Data-Packed Insights
Did you know that grant funding is increasing in all but nine states?
We analyzed year-over-year (YoY) funding trends between 2021 and 2022 to understand which states are lagging and which are leading in average grant size, funding availability, and more.
How does your state stack up?
👉 Read the full report here to find out.
Let us know if you’d like to receive more Insight Reports like this by subscribing.
Pitfalls and Pointers
An annual grant strategy is one of the most important resources your nonprofit can have.
But just because it’s valuable doesn’t mean every organization takes the time to develop one.
⚠️ Pitfall: Being Reactive With Your Grant Pursuit
Without a firm strategy, you risk being too reactive in your grant pursuits. Maybe you lack the time, resources, or clarity on priorities for the year ahead. You’re left looking at the need right now instead of seeing how it fits into your long-term strategy.
Here’s why this is a problem:
- You’re always facing the danger of running out of resources or funding.
- You end up chasing the latest shiny object without thinking about how it fits with your mission.
- You don’t win much funding because the “spray and pray” approach isn’t effective.
A lack of focus can cause the grant pursuit to feel like a misguided ad hoc adventure.
💡Pointer: Start With the End and Work Backwards
One of the best ways to create a successful grants strategy is to start with the end in mind and work backwards.
Consider these questions:
- What percentage of revenue are you, your financial team, and your board comfortable with coming from grants?
- What is your funding goal and how many grants do you need to apply for to hit that goal?
- What is your timeline?
- If you’re awarded funds, what is your team’s capacity to add reporting and follow-up on top of your current priorities?
- What is the contingency plan if you don’t receive this funding?
👉 Check out our full guide to developing an annual grants strategy that wins!
The Latest Numbers
The Annual Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) Summit brought together 300 corporate leaders to discuss trends in corporate giving, social impact programming, and community investments.
Here are the biggest learnings from this year’s summit.
- Purpose is key. Companies want to invest in something they believe in—even if it means taking a risk. As nonprofits, it’s important that your passion shines through all your messaging.
- DEI is still a priority. Corporate leaders want to make sure that the people closest to the challenges have the resources to address them—and quickly.
- Corporate social responsibility is alive and well. Big companies are continuing to invest and give back to organizations who are making a difference in their communities. (Here’s how to find corporations giving to organizations like yours)
📎 Check out the full report summary for additional insights!
Expert Perspectives
🏆 Diane Leonard on Being More Agile
We start the year with the best-laid plans, but sometimes we struggle with how exactly to execute them.
Diane Leonard, Grant Professional Certified and Approved Trainer of the Grant Professionals Association, has a solution.
She encourages nonprofits to integrate an agile framework to help them organize their workflow into manageable bursts of work.
Here’s her expert advice:
- Establish a Backlog: A backlog is a fancy way to say a to-do list. With each grant, you want to identify the biggest requirements that need to be delivered to submit your application. Break them down into individual chunks of work for each grant.
- Commit to Sprints: Your quarter should be laid out in a series of sprints, which are time-bound increments that often span 2-4 weeks. You and your team should commit to what you will accomplish from your backlog during this timeframe.
- Organize Daily Stand-Ups: Meet with your team for 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the day so you can review progress, identify barriers, and determine any curve balls that come your way. These daily check-ins are critical in helping you and your team pivot when needed.
- Conduct Sprint Retrospectives: After each sprint, take the time to reflect on what worked well, what could have been better, and what didn’t work at all. Take note of unfinished work and carry it to your next sprint.
Agile is a shift in your teams’ ways of working, but it’s a good one. It can break silos and help your team execute your annual grants strategy more effectively.
🏃Keep learning about agile ways of working in the full webinar!
Opportunities Spotlight
🌟 Venable Foundation Grants
Who It’s For: Nonprofits invested in uplifting local communities
Next Deadline: Feb. 3, 2025
Grant Amount: Average $10,000
The Details: The Venable Foundation believes in empowering disadvantaged communities. They support projects that provide access to equitable employment opportunities, healthcare, housing, food, and more to help communities thrive.
🍗 Kentucky Fried Wishes Grant Program
Who It’s For: Nonprofit organizations improving community health and wellbeing
Next Deadline: May 31, 2025
Grant Amount: $10,000
The Details: The KFC Foundation’s grant program helps uplift communities by focusing on mobile health clinic creations, playground improvements, domestic violence shelter upgrades, and disability accommodations. Priority is given to projects that can be completed within 6 to 12 months.
🔍 Explore even more grant opportunities now!
Networking Nook
💻 Webinar: Beyond One Source: Crafting a Balanced Fundraising Strategy
Thursday, December 5th | 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. ET
Is your nonprofit's financial future at risk? Join Sabrina Walker Hernandez, MPA, President & CEO of Supporting World Hope LLC, as she explores the critical 20% rule for funding sources and shares strategies for creating a resilient fundraising model that withstands economic uncertainties. You'll learn how to transform board members into diversification champions, shift from single-source dependency to sustainable multi-stream income, and uncover and tap into overlooked funding sources.
Don’t miss out!
💻 Webinar: Grantseeking Masterclass: The Solo Grantwriter’s Guide to Success
Tuesday, December 10th | 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. ET
Whether you're juggling deadlines solo or rallying a small team, a laser-focused strategy can make all the difference. Join Jenna Grimm, Director of Development at JASON Learning and the sole grantwriter responsible for securing over $2.5 million in funding, for a workshop designed for resourceful grantwriters balancing multiple roles. This session is your ticket to long-term funding success, no matter how many hats you're wearing.
Sign up now!
To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.
In Case You Missed It
📑 Article: Best Grant Writing Podcasts for 2024
Discover the best grant-writing podcasts to help up your game and make your applications stand out. This list features everything from high-level nonprofit topics to a basic grant writing master class.
Proactively Plan Your Grants Calendar
Looking for ways to build out your grants strategy? Instrumentl can help.
Our robust grant database makes it easy to locate new opportunities, and our intuitive and built-in calendar helps you track it all in one place.
✅ Sign up for a free 14-day trial to experience it for yourself!
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