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Tip of the Month
Three Top Strategies for
Successful Grants
- Walk around.
That's right: get up and walk around the office.
Talk with your colleagues. Learn about the projects
they're working on now, and what they plan to
be working on in the future. Besides learning
about things for which you may well be preparing
grant proposals later this year, you're building
up lines of communication. We can all become
isolated even in the most bustling organizations,
hunkering down over our desks and losing sight
of other people. You will need to help, and
be helped by, those same people as you work
toward common goals. So walk around and meet
people. Better yet, arrange to walk outside
and have lunch together.
- Take out your
long-range calendar.
Take a long look backward as well as forward.
What proposals and evaluation reports did you
do last year? Are these likely to recur this
year? Plan them into your schedule, and start
gathering the information you'll need. What
new opportunities will you want to pursue? Plan
ahead to get your request in promptly.
- Get organized.
Pull together the written documents you're most
likely to refer to when writing proposals. Typically
these include your organization's annual report,
brochures, newsletters, and documents pertaining
to the specific programs or projects for which
you're seeking funding. Photocopy the pertinent
pages and keep them all in one folder. When
you need a fact, you'll know where to find it.
Set up files of frequently
requested materials. Almost all funders will want
a copy of your organization's 501(c)(3) tax determination
letter, list of board members, financial audit,
and budget. Make lots of copies, so you won't
be taking time to do so later when you're on a
tight deadline. And keep the originals of all
these important items in a plastic sleeve on which
you've written prominently: "Original--do
not give away." You'll be glad you did.
Carolyn
E. Kourofsky
Excelsior Editorial Consulting
carolyn@rpa.net
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