I have shared the following information on Facebook @carolynmappletonfornonprofits, and felt it was important enough to merit sharing on my blog. This discussion is linked to my popular article, “Grant Writing: A Reality Check.”
I have researched and written many successful grant proposals over the years. But you must always keep in mind, if your nonprofit and its mission are not a good fit for the goals and objectives of the grant making organization you are approaching, regardless of how well one writes a grant, it may fail due to lack of proper focus.
For example, I have written many successful requests to The Meadows Foundation for such organizations as Nature Conservancy of Texas, Dallas Zoological Society, Dallas Arboretum, NFWF, CKWRI, Art Museum of South Texas, Chinati Foundation and EcoRise Youth Innovations, valued in excess of $2.5 million. But the reason these nonprofits were able to succeed is they were a good fit with the then-current goals of the Foundation. And those goals change. The most important aspect of one’s work as a grant writer is often research, in my opinion.
And yes, sometimes you can skirt by the guards at the gate if you have a relationship with someone associated and influential with the grant making organization. But not necessarily at The Meadows Foundation, which is strongly staff driven. But you have to know that before you start.
Some foundation decisions are driven by Board members, many of whom may be family members of the founder(s). But others may be staff driven. The reasoning behind the latter is often to protect the Board and the organization from emotional, poorly thought-out requests for funding, some of which could backfire on the funder. I have found in these cases, staff members are your allies: rely on them to guide you as you develop your pitch for funding, as they know what will or will not be acceptable to the foundation. Ask for guidance.
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