GRANT RESOURCE CENTER

March 2005 Featured Article

How to Research a Grant 

Pat Bohse, President of Bohse & Associates, Inc.

In this world of grant making, there are private and public monies available (see “Different Types of Funders”).  While municipalities are eligible for public monies (Federal, State, Counties), we are seeing some Foundations provide opportunities to municipalities.  We are also seeing municipalities partnering with local not-for-profits to bring into their communities, more money, goods, services and professional volunteers. 

I am very excited about the March article for the Grant Research Center.   I am working in collaboration with Cindy Adams, CEO/ President of GrantStation.com (see special offer for free access GrantStation.com in the article).  GrantStation.com has an established relationship with the League, and upon request, is providing all League members a 10 day free trial offer so that they can explore GrantStation’s Web site, and use all of its tools and resources to help you identify and secure new grant funds for your municipality.  This offer will be available to you beginning March 1st and ending March 11, 2005. 

There are six easy steps to research funding. If you complete them all, your success rate for securing grants will increase dramatically. The concept is to look at all sources of funding for each and every project – sometimes combining sources (private and public) - to get the best possible result.

Before you begin your research, summarize exactly what you need. If you don’t do this, your search will be scattered. You need to focus the search and not be distracted with other possibilities.

Begin by filling out this search form:

      1.  Short description of the project/program:

      2.  Approximate cost of the project/program: 

      3.  a.)Timeline for the project/program (i.e., start up costs for one year; need the clinic built within   

                two years; must open trails by April 2006; etc.).

           b.)Who is the target audience? (i.e. Our youth, ages 12-17; abandoned animals in our

                community; low-income individuals throughout the region; etc.)

      4. a.) What community need are you addressing? (i.e., juvenile crime; old playground equipment 

                that has caused accidents; high unemployment rate; high domestic violence rate, etc.)

          b.) Do you already have any funds dedicated to this project?  And if so, how much and from

                whom?

In fact, if you are often bombarded with requests from others to help find funding for various projects, this form can be used to help focus their request to you.

Establish a procedure for doing funding research for projects, which includes, as a first step, filling out and submitting this form for your review before you set up a time to go over the project with them.

Once you have this information, you can begin with a literature search. This is relatively simple now that most of this information is available online.

You want to look at all three major grant making institutions: private grant makers (which includes foundations, corporations, corporate foundations, associations, and religious grant makers), and state and federal agencies.

To actually undertake the research using the GrantStation website, login to www.GrantStation.com.  Once you’re on the main page, just click on “Member Login” and type in: Username:  GS93 and Password:  88799.

Once you’re logged in to GrantStation, you can easily follow these steps:

Step 1

First you want to identify any local, regional or national private grant makers that are likely to fund your specific needs.  If you are using GrantStation you go to the Find-a-Funder yellow bar and click on Advanced Search. This will take you into the database, where you can search all the private grant makers that will consider requests from New Jersey.  There are numerous ways to search the database, so you will want to play around with it a bit the first few times until you get used to how it works. Print off any grant maker profiles that appear to work for your project.

Next, identify - or eliminate if not applicable - government sources for your need. In the GrantStation website you can click on the Federal Deadlines link to complete the federal research right from our site. You can do a word search for each month listed to identify any federal sources of funding that might work for your project.  Be sure to peruse the listing in the Federal Registry to make sure the program truly fits your needs. Print off any programs that appear to work for the project.

Step 2

Once you have accumulated a comprehensive set of grant maker profiles, you need to call or email each grant maker to request their latest application guidelines (sometimes they are posted, so be sure and check that before you ask). If the grant maker files an IRS Form 990 (only private foundations, associations, and corporate foundations file these documents) you can go to www.Guidestar.org to pull up historical information (i.e., who they have granted to in the past).

For federal and state grant making agencies, request application packets and a copy of the enacting legislation.

Step 3

Once you have gathered all of this background information, you want to set aside some time and read through the materials. Eliminate those grant programs that obviously don't fit the proposed project. Your list will shrink considerably. Remember: One strong lead is worth 20 weak ones!

Step 4

Flesh out the brief description of the project that was written or submitted to you before you began the search. Add a few more paragraphs about the project itself, and write up a few paragraphs on the immediate need you are addressing. Don’t skip this step, as you need to have that information in front of you before you begin talking with grant makers.

Compile a list of questions you want to ask each funder. (Visit “Ask the Funder” on the GrantStation Web site for suggestions; you must first login using the username and password listed above, which will allow you to access this site during the trial-offer period only.)  Make a note of the person you should speak with at each organization, and send them each an email asking if you can schedule a short phone call to “determine whether the project for which you need funding meets the objectives of their grant making program.” In this email (or this could be a phone call if no email address is provided) let them know you only need 15 or 20 minutes of their time. You want to start this email (or phone call) by letting them know that you have done your homework.  Say something like; “After reading through your application guidelines and last year’s Annual Report, I felt there might be a match between what you fund and what we intend to do.”

Step 5

Call the prospective grant maker.

This is the crucial step that many grant seekers avoid, but it is by far the most critical element of the funding search process. When you reach your contact person, let him/her know you will take only 15 to 20 minutes of his/her time.  To make sure you keep your word:

• Keep the discussion brief and focused
• Use your written descriptions from Step 4
• Set a timer or keep track of time to be sure you take ONLY the time you requested.

After a few minutes of discussion, you'll have a clear idea if you should pursue this grant maker. When your time is up – even if you haven’t gotten all of your questions answered – say something like, “I promised to only take 15 or 20 minutes, so I’d like to thank you for your time today, and if I have any additional questions can I just email them to you or perhaps schedule another brief conversation?”

Because you have been so respectful of their time (and Program Officers are always super busy) they will be open to additional conversations.

Take plenty of notes during this conversation so that you can review them afterwards.

Step 6

Complete a final review of your prospective grant makers. Eliminate those that won't work. File them for another project, if appropriate. You should have a list of three to five solid leads. Incorporate these leads into a funding strategy for the overall project.

And now you can begin preparing grant requests!

I hope that you take advantage of this free offer to use the GrantSation.com Web site to see how these types of tools can help you to do you business better and more efficiently. 

Please feel free to contact me at 732-291-8038, or email me at pbohse@bohse.com. 

My special thanks to Cindy Adams for her contribution to the March article and making the special offer available. 

Sincerely,

Pat Bohse

Pat Bohse

President of Bohse & Associates

Full Article Available in PDF Format