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Grant funding has the power to transform your growth and impact, and yet, it is also the most competitive funding to win. I'm sharing a few learned lessons that everyone seeking grant funding should know.
Whether you love grants or find the whole process completely overwhelming, grant funding is an attractive source of revenue for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. And I completely understand why. Typically, grant funding is larger in scale and long-term support that you can potentially rely on for years to come. It also helps to have the credibility of a funder behind you to crowd in other revenue and funding from individuals.
But, why is grant funding so competitive and complicated? Today, I'm diving into a few reasons why and sharing my grant writing tips to help provide some insights.
1. It's a competitive market
Let's take a look some stats to put this point into perspective. There are over 33 million small businesses and 1.5 million nonprofits. That's a lot of competition. With limited funding to go around, it's critical to think about how you are standing out above the other applicants.
I don't take these numbers lightly. I often am approached by people who want to apply for grants and when we begin diving into the details, they often get so much more clarity about what they need to do in order to become grant ready.
That's why I refer to my process as "Not Your Average Grant Writer". Because I'm tired of seeing grant writers just take whatever materials they're provided and write a bunch of technical jargon with buzzy words. That's not what works in a competitive market.
Businesses and organizations have layers. Taking the extra step to learn what those layers are and how best to translate that into a grant application is key.
2. Limited creativity
Most grant seekers have limited time, energy, and resources to dedicate to grant writing. By the time the deadline rolls around to submit a grant, it's usually all about doing what you can with the time that you have.
I like to think of it like a college application. If you don't have the time to write an essay that is thoughtful and stands out, you're less likely to move through the process.
It's similar for a grant application. If you take the time, care, and attention to put together an application that left no stone unturned, then your chances for approval are pretty good.
But I often see proposals that are lacking in creativity and strategy. One of my favorite things to do is to dream up possibilities to share with a funder, tell more of the story behind the proposal, and make strong connections between shared values.
People are often so consumed with answering the technical questions, they forget that there is another person at the other end reading the application.
3. Lack of understanding
Grant applications often come with intricate guidelines and requirements. You have to navigate through lengthy documents and understanding the specific expectations which can be confusing and time-consuming.
The grant writing process takes time. And it needs a methodical system to make sure you're prepared. If you don't have your own system in place now, you should start to put one together.
The challenge with creating a system is that most people don't know where to start. I'll give you a hint: create a meaningful project concept and a budget to start. Those two pieces of information will help guide your entire process from what you're pitching to who you are pitching it to.
And if you find yourself needing more support, I have a shameless plug for my newly launched workshop: Grant Writing Secrets to Success. If you are curious, I invite you to check it out here.
Nicole Shaia is an Innovation Strategist, Founder + CEO of Tolma, a consulting company that focuses on helping leaders and teams transform innovative concepts and ideas into fund-worthy solutions.
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