The NonProfit Times - February 15, 2008 - (Page 12)

GRANTS CAROLINE HERBERT All About The Money Insider tips for writing a strong proposal I t’s amazing how some organizations always nab those grants and others are left empty-handed. There are reasons for winners and losers and it has everything to do with the strength of a proposal. It’s not only about writing, but also managing the proposal process, which includes planning, research, writing, and communicating with prospective donors. FIRST STEPS Start by thinking about the purpose of the proposal document. The purpose is to convince the funder that your project addresses a specific need or issue they care about. It should also assure the funder that your organization has the competencies and capacities in place to do the work. In very concrete terms, you’re telling the foundation how you propose to spend its money. Many grant writers make the mistake of focusing on the prose and leaving the budget stating in general terms how important the program is without providing details to back up the claim.” In addition, remember that program officers are inundated with requests. To make your proposal stand out, the answer is not flashy graphics or color, which can make the program officer think you’re all “style” and no “substance.” Instead, clearly and concisely focus on three questions: • What are you going to do; • Who will benefit; and, • Why is it important. FINDING THE RIGHT FIT until last. In fact, the detailed budget you send with the proposal is often one of the first proposal sections the program officer will examine. Consider the program officer’s role, which is to find promising projects that most closely match the goals and priorities of the foundation, and then make the case to colleagues and, ultimately, to the foundation’s board of directors. Think about how you can make the program officer’s job easier. Will this information help make your case? To quote one grantmaker in the Foundation Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing, 5th edition, by Jane C. Geever,“Proposal writers should avoid ‘fluff,’ repeatedly The good news is that the number one reason proposals are turned down is that the “fit” isn’t right, and you have control over this. It sounds simple, but do your homework and apply only when you fit the funder’s guidelines. Of course, guidelines might not always be clear, or you may want to Grants, page 13 MARKETING Continued from page 11 stituents,” he said.“But the point is the donor acts no differently than the consumer -- the donor is giving an emotional purchase to help someone.” Much of Make-A-Wish’s national effort is focused on the Web site. For example, Destination Joy is sponsored by the national company Frito-Lay where people can visit the Make-A-Wish site to help grant wishes to seriously ill children. These viewers donate frequent flier miles, hotel points, or professional services. The new “Ways to Help” section also enables visitors to explore volunteer opportunities and wish-granting needs at Make-A-Wish chapters nationwide. In the past, the volunteers would get in touch with local chapters. Now the site is a sourcing tool to allow people to offer various services. “We had to build an interactive tool to receive in-kind donations,” Maher said. “We raised around 360 million airline miles, but we need more.” Developing the national site didn’t mean that local chapters had to upgrade.“We made sure that the national site had cutting edge technology,” she said.“Currently,local chapters continue to have local sites with local news and they can use Web templates.” The templates are being designed now, and part of a continuum of tools means the chapters will have local URLs, according to Maher. “For the campaign, we provide a lot of the Web tools for chapters to have key banner 12 The Web also allows the national to develop an intranet presence.This sets a tone so the nonprofit can regularly sort out the top 10 priorities for the year. ads about Destination Joy,” she said. Nonprofits could have the situation where people volunteer in major market cities instead of some rural areas. “That’s why we have the tool,” she said.“Chapters can communicate about other areas of volunteering from a national resource as the national site forwards the information to the local level.” Other results promise a lift in the FEBRUARY 15, 2008 frequent flyer points. “We’re starting to see an increase and we never promoted it well before.” The AFP recently brought local chapters more together by helping each chapter to access the same technology.“This way a small organization can be at the top because technology allows the smallest and largest to be on the same platform,” Lawson said.“Technology isn’t as expensive as before.” www.nptimes.com The Web is a unifying force with the brand and the messaging. While the use doesn’t mean that major cities utilize the tech less, the smallest chapter has the same Web presence, according to Lawson. Lawson points out that most nonprofits see a benefit in the Web by having a page as a site.“But they need more,” he said.“They need a Web presence -- you don’t want the L.A. chapter to be linked to most national multimedia while the functions of the small town site deals with a content that rarely changes.” The largest role for the national office is to help out those local units, he explained, and that means feeding content they can’t manage on their own, he said. The Web also allows the national to develop an intranet presence. This sets a tone so the nonprofit can regularly sort out the top 10 priorities for the year. Today the Make-A-Wish chapters can download banner ads that they didn’t have to recreate, and receive shipments of posters, and fliers. “We wanted to be able to have a campaign that our media partners could join as a powerful mechanism,” Maher said. “Communication is always a challenge and one thing we’ve learned from local chapters is that the process is a building one like reinvesting in a small business.” NPT Tom Pope, a New York City-based journalist, writes on management issues. THE NONPROFIT TIMES http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - February 15, 2008

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