We're All in This Together!

By Jim Jenereaux, Grant Writer at Granted

A well-organized nonprofit is a lot like a symphony orchestra. In an orchestra, musicians from all different backgrounds with heavily varied skill sets gather into sections and are led by a conductor towards the common goal of creating beautiful music. In a nonprofit, business people with all sorts of career backgrounds and skills work in various departments and are led by an executive director towards their mission to make the world a better place. Both nonprofits and orchestras work best when each section/department is performing their duties to the best of its ability and complementing the other sections/departments around it. Just as we wouldn’t expect a flutist to get up and start playing the violin, we also wouldn’t expect a marketing strategist to start performing finance duties. When everyone is working or playing in their areas of expertise, a perfect harmony is created, both literally and figuratively.

Grant applications frequently challenge this harmony by creating a unique set of circumstances that can blur distinctions between departments and leave a grant writer (regardless of whether or not they hold this professional title) to fulfill the duties of multiple departments. It’s best to think of grants like an orchestral solo. Though they’re called “solos,” the lead instrument is rarely unaccompanied in a solo; they’re just the ones drawing the audience’s attention. Other instruments are often playing subtly in the background to provide atmosphere and harmony. Similarly, while the grant writer may be the one attracting the attention of potential funders, they need help from the other departments to create a truly harmonious grant.

Grant applications are a team effort! Our grant writer should be responsible for composing and submitting the application to ensure the writing is cohesive and all required documents are accounted for, but they’ll need a hand with the particulars. When it comes to program details, demographic information, financials, and document gathering, our writer is a great resource for tying all of this information together and turning it into a successful argument for providing our organization with financial support. They cannot possibly keep tabs on all of this information throughout the year, however, as they have a calendar’s worth of grants to keep up with, so it is up to the rest of the organization to track, assemble, and ultimately provide this information for the grant writer when it is needed. Fortunately, grant writers understand just how busy other departments are, so sometimes they lie a bit and use internal deadlines to avoid having to chase down information during the week of the actual deadline.

In addition to simply having information and documents available to our grant writer when they’re needed, being proactive can make a world of difference, especially in staying prepared for unexpected opportunities. Here are a few ways we can help prevent any last-minute scrambling and ensure the grants process runs smoothly:

• Funders are always looking for up-to-date financial information, so the finance department can help by having statements of activities, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets available quarterly.
  
  
• Grant writers are not mathematicians, so handling both financial and demographic math in their respective departments can save a lot of time and error. This includes calculating demographic percentages, budget values, and such, while also breaking them down into full-organization and program-specific versions.
  
  
• Speaking of numbers, funders have a soft spot for data, so anything that can be tracked should be tracked. Client satisfaction, improvements, staff and client demographics, and anything else that relates to our organization and its mission should be monitored. (Tracking this information is also important for helping our organization understand its strengths and weaknesses.)
  
  

Without help from the rest of the organization, our grant writer will be spread far too thin between writing the grants themselves, requesting the necessary information, and constantly checking in on team members who miss the internal deadline. For successful grant proposals that are well written, submitted ahead of time, and give our organization the best shot at getting funded, let’s work in harmony and give our grant writer some help.