FIND FUNDING™: FREE Newsletter for Grant Writers
February 2007
Read and Subscribe online at www.FindFunding.NET
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In this issue: (click number to jump directly to that section)
1) Editor’s Remarks: In the Thick of It
2) Feature Article: Planning for Grants During Non-Grant Season
3) Q&A: Readers Ask: Grants for a Day Care Center
4) Success Story: Strategic Planning Before Writing
5) Advice from Grant Makers: A New Type of Grant: Internet Advertising
6) Jobs for February 2007: 30 Grant Writing Jobs
7) Find Funding Contact and Legal Information
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1) EDITOR’S REMARKS
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This month, I had to pull in the backup - a few guest writers. I am in the thick of writing several grants, all of which have deadlines in the end of March. It is frigidly cold outside, so I am happy to stay inside, glued to the keyboard for a few weeks. Hopefully, when it is all over and I can finally look up from my computer, it will be Spring.
You are in for a treat with the variety of articles in this issue. Lisa Merritt, president of Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc., writes about how planning ahead in your off-season will help you in the long run. Greg Miles suggests places to look for day care center funding. Angela Belcher Epps shares her strategic planning, which has helped her win over $20,000,000 in grant funding. Amy Passmore writes about a new type of grant from Google: a grant for free advertising on the internet.
Enjoy this issue, and remember - if you want to write an article for an issue of Find Funding, I welcome your suggestions! Email me at katie@findfunding.net
2) FEATURE ARTICLE
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For organizations that have a busy season of service or production (an Arts Org., for example) it is important to stay focused on grants during this time, in order to facilitate successful grant writing in the “off season.”
Season of the Arts
By Lisa Merritt
Fall and winter comprise what is known as high season for many different types of performance and exhibition organizations – Ballet, Opera, Theater – all are in full swing, taking advantage of the increased audiences during the school-year routine schedule and holidays.
Even though directors and producers may be swamped with all of the details of planning for and producing shows, you should also remember to organize all of your attachment information for next year’s fundraising campaign.
This is absolutely the best time to gather and organize everything you will need to make your grant writing campaign a success for next year:
- Keep plenty of samples of your most impressive programs to use as grant attachments. This goes for brochures, newsletters, advertisements, and email campaigns too.
- Gather all of the wonderful press you receive – news stories, mentions on websites, reviews. This is terrific support material for showing community support and artistic growth.
- Keep all letters that you receive – even emails – from patrons who enjoyed your spectacular production.
- Get the stats – how many people attended each show or exhibit, how much did you earn, who performed, tickets sold, waiting list that could not be accommodated – this is great justification for increased funding for a larger venue or additional performances.
- Make sure to collect each and every email address, phone number, and address that you can from anyone attending – then conduct that fundraising drive in the off season using all of this information.
- Keep track of expenses – advertising, space rentals, etc. – for each performance and revise your operating budget for next year accordingly.
File and track all of this information by show, event, or exhibit. Then for each grant application, you can combine it accordingly –by venue perhaps if you want to prove that you need extra nights in smaller venues, or by type of programming if you want to approach a children’s funder, or by type of artist if international programming proved particularly successful. Think of new types of funders to approach for your basic programming. Or ask your grant writer for advice.
It may be hard to plan ahead, but it is easier to keep track now than it will be to try to recover lost information later, in the middle of a grant request and up against a deadline.
Lisa Merritt is president of Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc., a full-service grant writing company, and author of Simply: Grant Writing – ranked 5 stars at Amazon.com. Please visit her website www.PegasusWriter.com for more information or to purchase Simply: Grant Writing or a select few other eBooks today. Article Source: EzineArticles.com
=================================================================3) Q&A READERS ASK
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Q. I am interested in starting a day care and looking for funding - any suggestions? Also, is there any advantage of being a non-profit day care in terms of funding? -Spencer, IA
This Month's Answer Comes from Greg Miles:
A: If you're starting or running a daycare center in the US, you'll be happy to know that there are grants available from various sources for daycare providers. However, most private and for-profit child day care business can only get grants from new business start-up programs and a few other programs operated by provincial and state governments, usually under the department of Children and family services. Most of the grants for daycare are only available to care providers with non-profit status.
Private and for-profit daycare businesses may be able to get grants for daycare from the Child and Adult Care Food Program, local, state, or provincial programs being offered through licensing offices, Child Care Resource and Referral Agency and the Children's and Family Services Office.
Your business may also want to look into special loan programs such as those administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Businesses may also be able to get some grants for daycare from organizations that finance business started by women, minorities and businesses located in certain regions. Other sources of financing include bank loans, venture capital, gifts and loans from family and friends and local small business associations.
One of the best sources of information about organizations that provide grants for daycare is books about starting a daycare business. These books often include detailed information about where to get the grants including telephone numbers and website addresses. One such book is the Day Care Center Start-Up Guide Kit, which includes information on daycare business financing. More information about this book is available at www.businesstartupsguide.com/daycare
When researching possible sources for daycare grants, look for foundations and organizations or corporations that support families and children. Also, you should register with www.fdncenter.org which provides a listing of foundations that award grants to individuals. Remember that there's a lot of competition for grants. You'll need to apply to a lot of organizations and foundations. If you get a negative reply from one organization, don't give up - try another. Some foundations will suggest other organizations that may be able to help.
Copyright © 2007 Greg Miles. Click here to get a complete business package to help you easily and quickly start your own profitable day care business: www.businesstartupsguide.com/daycare or visit The Start-up Guide online. Article Source: EzineArticles.com
If you have a question for the editor, please email Katie@findfunding.net with Q&A in the subject line.
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4) SUCCESS STORY
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Angela Belcher Epps has won more than $20,000,000 in competitive grants for school systems, churches and community organizations and uses the following strategic planning procedures when writing grants.
Strategic Planning Before Grant Writing
By Angela Epps
People sign up for my grant writing workshops to learn to write grant proposals. I often find they have great ideas, big hearts, and lots of activities that they believe will make a difference. What I tell them all—even those who want to hire me as a grant writer—is they need a sound plan before they start writing. There are an infinite number of activities that one can engage in on behalf of hunger, literacy, homelessness, pollution, etc. If these activities aren’t linked to objectives plotted to reach a goal, you will be exhausted with no measurable differences occurring over time. If you’re attempting to address the root causes of issues, plan first, and focus your energies in ways that are more apt to move your organization toward your realization of long-term goals.
How is planning different from answering the questions posed in a grant application? Strategic planning is a process of thinking through a project in light of every imaginable detail. A great plan is based on reality. It factors in:
- what you intend to accomplish;
- the resources that you have as an organization;
- any partners or stakeholders who care about and support your vision; and
- your strengths and weaknesses.
After you’ve identified this information, you can begin to plot the kinds of activities you might deliver. There are so many ways to tackle a problem or issue. Your approach must be based on the above information, as well as the specific needs of the clients, environment, or issues addressed. This requires hours and hours of research. Consider how many agencies and organizations receive grants and run full time, and yet there are negligible changes after years or decades of project implementation.
Which brings us to research-based approaches. Many funders now want to know whether there is research that supports your proposed methods for grant implementation. We can all brainstorm and come up with lovely ideas, but successes are based on more than fantasies. Just think of how many concerns there are about the education system. In spite of billions of dollars invested, significant numbers of children still can’t read. Now, however, there is a growing body of research that supports using particular strategies to ameliorate specific conditions and challenges. Such research reinforces the wisdom of your choices for intervention or prevention programs.
Strategic planning can be a time-consuming endeavor, and it delays our desire to get the money yesterday; however, writing a winning grant proposal that will make a difference is hinged on in-depth thinking beforehand.
Angela Belcher Epps www.TheWritingClinic.com has won more than $20,000,000 in competitive grants for school systems, churches and community organizations. With experience as a Grants Specialist for two large New York City school districts, and a decade of freelance consulting, Epps has mastered techniques for researching and writing successful Federal, State, and foundation grants. Sole proprietor of The Writing Clinic, Angela provides a range of support services for individuals and organizations, including grant writing assistance, proposal writing workshops, proposal review and feedback, funding source identification, and strategic planning sessions.Angela's creative writing has been published in Essence Magazine, Redbook, the Dan River Anthology, the Conservatory of American Letters Anthology, and others. Visit Angela at The Writing Clinic online at www.TheWritingClinic.com Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Would you like to inspire and encourage the over 300+ readers of Find Funding with a success story from your grant writing work? I would love to publish any reader's success, no matter how large or small, so please contact me with your ideas!
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5) ADVICE FROM GRANT MAKERS
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In a world of constantly changing technology, nonprofits are faced with the challenge of effectively connecting with people via their website. This article offers one possible solution: an advertising grant from Google.
Google AdWords Grants Awards Free Advertising to Nonprofit Organizations and Charities
By Amy Passmore
Does your nonprofit organization or charity have a website? Would you like to bring more visitors to your website so you can raise awareness for your cause or program?
One way to bring visitors to a website is to use the Google AdWords advertising program. Most nonprofit organizations have a limited advertising budget and in response to this Google has a grant award program called Google Grants. The Google Grant is an in-kind award of free AdWords advertising credits.
You may not be familiar with AdWords but, if you have ever done a search on Google you have seen the AdWords advertisements. The advertisements that appear above the search results and on the right-hand side of the search results page are AdWords advertisements. These are paid advertisements and this is the advertising space that Google awards to nonprofit organizations to help them increase traffic to their websites.
Google has donated over 30 million dollars worth of free advertising to nonprofit organizations throughout the world over the past several years. The grants are awarded every quarter to organizations meeting the eligibility requirements that Google has specified. Grants are awarded to organizations that have a mission to help the world in the areas of science, education, health, the environment, youth and the arts.
Google accepts online grant applications year-round. Your organization must be a nonprofit organization and provide proof of your 501(c)(3) status in order to apply. Applicants are instructed to familiarize themselves with the AdWords program before submitting their application because part of the application process involves setting up a sample advertising campaign. However, if you are awarded a grant you will be assigned to a Google Grants specialist who will help your organization set up an effective advertising campaign.
The AdWords grants are awarded on a quarterly basis and organizations receive a minimum of three months worth of free advertising. AdWords advertising involves bidding money on keywords that people use when they perform searches on Google. Then, you write a short advertisement for your charity using the keyword. When people search on Google using the keyword you have chosen, your advertisement will appear on the search results page. If this sounds complicated, it is. That is why it is extremely advantageous to have the help of the grants specialist that Google provides.
The in-kind awards have a monthly cap of $10,000 worth of free advertising credits for three months. That is $30,000 worth of free advertising for your charity or nonprofit organization. Google will also allow you to raise your spending cap to $40,000 per month if you pay 5% of the cost. In addition, awards are commonly extended beyond the three month period.
Grants are awarded to small local nonprofit organizations as well as national organizations such as the American Red Cross. Your organization should investigate this opportunity. Recipients of Google Grants have reported great success and significant increases in traffic to their websites using AdWords campaigns.
Article by Amy Passmore for DIYFundraising.com. DIYFundraising.com has do-it-yourself fundraising ideas for nonprofit organizations, clubs, schools and groups. Visit the the DIY Fundraising Blog and subscribe to our free RSS feeds.Article Source: EzineArticles.com
6) JOBS
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Manager Foundation Relations Special Olympics Southern California Culver City, CA |
Grant Development Specialist Clayton County Public Schools Jonesboro, GA |
Grant Writer NADAP New York, NY |
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Grant and Research Associate Asian Pacific Women's Center Los Angeles, CA |
Assistant Director, Foundation Relations Washington State University Pullman, WA |
Director of Development DC Primary Care Association Washington, DC |
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Financial Associate II (Grants Manager) Harvard Medical School Boston, MA |
Grant Writer AIDS Project Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA |
Grant Writer Futurestep, A Korn/Ferry Company Las Vegas, NV |
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Grant Writer Oakland Museum of California California |
Foundation Relations Manager Global Health Council Washington D.C. |
Grant Writer Berklee College of Music Massachusetts |
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Grant Writer American Heart Association Texas |
Director of Grant-Funded Research Community Health Center Connecticut |
Associate/Senior Associate - Global Grants Program KPMG LLP California |
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Associate Director, Grants Programs National Association of Security Dealers D.C. |
Director of Foundation and Corporate Giving Children's Defense Fund D.C. |
Business Process-Specialist / Foundation Grants Program AARP D.C. |
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Grants Writer Jewish Social Service Agency Maryland |
Major Gifts/Grants Officer Rush-Copley Medical Center Illinois |
Foundation and Government Grants Manager Capital Hospice Virginia |
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Director, Fellowships, Grants & Research American-Scandinavian Foundation New York |
Institutional Grants Manager Enoch Pratt Free Library Maryland |
Development Officer - Grants and Foundations Planned Parenthood of Western Washington Seattle, Washington |
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Development Associate, Grants Covenant House New York |
Grants Manager International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Virginia |
Grants Specialist/Financial Analyst Nature Conservancy California |
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Director of Grants Management Edison College Ohio |
Director, Awards & Grants American College of Rheumatology Georgia |
Corporate and Foundation Relations Director/Grantwriter Point Park University Pennsylvania |
7) FIND FUNDING™ INFORMATION
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Find Funding™ Grant Writing Newsletter is edited by Katie Krueger. All rights reserved. This publication may be distributed but only in its entirety. Articles may be reprinted with editor’s permission. The publisher cannot accept any liability whatsoever for any inaccuracies or changed circumstances of any information herein or for the consequences of any reliance placed upon it. The fact that an organization is mentioned in this publication should not be construed as an endorsement. Use common sense and take normal precautions in how you use any information. Copyright 2007 Katie Krueger.
Contact Katie Krueger, Editor : Katie@findfunding.net
