The key to an effective grant program is to develop a holistic fundraising strategy that is collaborative, sustainable and realistic to manage based on the needs and available resources of the nonprofit. GRANT RESEARCH
Foundations who give to causes with similar missions
Foundations who give to causes within a specific area
Understanding of people involved
Giving priorities – types of causes fun
ded
Contribution histories – amounts given for similar causes
Non-monetary support (volunteers, consultants)
Donation source histories of similar causes
Social media lists of donors by cause
Call & e-mail lists of foundation contacts
GRANT CALENDARING
Creation of an easy-to use interactive calendar
Shared
Cloud-based
Application opening and due dates with e-mail/text reminders
Decision dates, funding dates and reporting periods
Acknowledgment dates (receipt of funds, PR updates, reports)
GRANT FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS & TRACKING SYSTEMS
Program and capital project budget development
Developing financial reports for grant applications
Filing and tracking systems for grant applications
Legal bookkeeping and record-keeping compliance
Development of bookkeeping systems
Grant income/expense tracking by program and funding year
GRANT WRITING
Mission and vision statements, history, purpose and proposal narratives developed to support application requirements
Editing of current or proposed narratives
Online shared access to grant documents
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Development of a call/email list of vetted prospective donors
Development of social media relationships with foundation personnel
Online fundraising including social media and fundraising campaigns
Online event services
Paula Reynolds is a professional grant writer with a specialty in arts and animal welfare funding. She has secured major grants recently from national foundations and the State of California.
