Not Every Grant is for You

by Aliess Kingsley, COO of Granted

You learn a lot of things about yourself and life in general as you age. Quite honestly, it’s probably one of the best things about aging. You learn about your style, your sense of self, how delightful an early bedtime can truly be… I digress. 

The point is that the list of things you learn is long. However, perhaps the most important thing you learn with age is that not everyone or everything is for you, and, here’s the kicker, that’s okay. You’ve read my blogs before so I'm sure you’ve already guessed that this universal truth can also be applied to grants. 

Not all grants are for you. You do not need to, nor should you, edit yourself (read: your program) to fit into the box the funder has made. 

Let me explain.

There are three paths nonprofits take when it comes to grants and, spoiler, only one of them is the right one. 

Path One: 
You find a grant where the funder is giving away one billion dollars to nonprofit organizations specializing in teaching kids to fish without using fishing poles. 

You go to your board and say “I know we don’t serve children, or know anything about fishing, but I think we need to expand our reach because this grant is just too good to pass up!” 

“Okay, well if you think that’s the best idea.”

“Did you not hear me? It’s one billion dollars! We can’t just leave that on the table.”

But are you asking the right question? Think about what happens when you go in for an interview. The interviewers are not the only ones trying to determine if this is going to be a good fit. The questions you ask are also ensuring you will like the position. The same approach should be taken when considering a grant opportunity.

Question One:
Do you have a program that serves the community this grant is focusing on? 

Answer One:
No. 

Conclusion:
Well then, no need to ask any other questions. 

So, not only can you leave that money on the proverbial table, but you need to. By trying to fit your organization into the box the funder has created, you’re taking valuable time and energy away from your team, stealing the spotlight from your mission, and ultimately wasting the efforts of an already overtaxed organization. 

Clearly not the right path. Let’s try path number two.

Path Two: 
You find a grant where the funder is giving away one billion dollars to nonprofit organizations specializing in teaching kids to fish without using fishing poles. 

You go to your board and say, “We already serve children, let’s make a niche program that teaches them how to fish without a fishing pole!” 

Your board: “But we don’t have any fishing instructors. Or a body of water. Also, we do not know if the children we serve are interested in fishing of any kind?”

You: “Did you not hear me? It’s one billion dollars! We can’t just leave that on the table” 

Let’s start with our questions again. 

Question One:
Do you have a program that serves the community this grant is focusing on? 

Answer One:
Oh, that one is yes. Good start. 

Question Two:
Do you have a program that fits this grant? 

Answer Two:
No. 

Conclusion:
And there we are again, no need to move forward with the application. Even if you are serving the community, if you have to create a whole new program to fit the opportunity, the grant just isn’t for you. Running an entirely new program requires additional staff, new objectives and outcomes, due diligence, and more. Again, your organization is probably overworked as it is, so why go creating additional pain points for your staff? This path may have seemed like a good choice at first, but, alas, no such luck. One last path; let’s see where it leads. 

Path Three: 
You find a grant where the funder is giving away one billion dollars to nonprofit organizations specializing in teaching kids to fish without using fishing poles.

You think, “We already serve children, but we don’t have the capacity to expand our program to fishing.” So you keep researching and find a funder that wants to support a children’s program that, wow, does exactly what you do! 

How fortuitous! 

Yup. Path three is indeed the correct path. No wasted time, no misplaced effort, no exhausted team members wondering how to make square pegs fit round holes.

In sportsball terms, this is a slam dunk. And no one needed to shapeshift. 

So remember, as you research grants for your organization, not all of them are for you. And that’s okay.