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A Guide to Funding Applications

Presented by: Night Sky ConsultingFor: Volunteer Manitoba

Proposal: a document that lays out an 'Ask' for either funding, support or some type of strategic partnership.

1. Designed to request money or partnerships from an organization that doesn't have a formal grant process

2. Request support of an idea, event or strategy

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Grant Application: a formal application form requesting funds

1. Intended to support the activities of a non-profit organization, community or sports group or individual.

2. Business may also apply for grants in certain circumstances.

The main characteristics of a good funding application are:

◦ Thorough in research and preparation

◦ Demonstrates solid analytical thinking

◦ Clear & concise flow of ideas

◦ Careful attention to fine tuning and packaging

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40% of efforts are in Preparation◦ Assess the Funder & your Organization

◦ Gather Details

◦ Organize Information

40% of efforts are in Writing◦ Write Proposal

◦ Compose story

20% of efforts in Submission◦ Edit & Revise

◦ Gather Documents

Consider these four steps in the Grant & Proposal writing process:

1. Scoping

2. Planning

3. Writing

4. Submitting

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STEP #1 - SCOPING:

BEING AWARE OF OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FUNDING

LANDSCAPE AND YOUR ORGANIZATION'S READINESS

TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM.

Organizational Scoping: Assessing your organization's readiness to attain and administer funding within your existing structure.

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Consider using this checklist as a starting place.

Grant Needs Assessment

Does your organization:

Have a Vision Statement

Have a Mission Statement

Have a Values Statement

Existing Programs & Staff

Have a Board of Directors (or Steering Committee)

Have a clear Financial History (audited statements)

Have a history of Strong Partnerships

If you answered ‘No’ to any questions, do you have leadership in place who can work on building-up what

you don't yet have?

Do you have clear program goals – Do you know what program (or needs) you want to fund?

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Landscape Scoping: Assessing the funding landscape in your sector for an appropriate fit.

Find the right grant for the project – shared focus (i.e. Seniors, food access or recreation)

Building relationships with Funders BEFORE you get the funding...◦ Keep a list or spreadsheet of funders in your sector

◦ Find the funder on twitter and follow them – carefully

◦ To whom are they are awarding money?

◦ Read about the grants online first and then go to the info sessions and ask questions

◦ Listen to the questions other people are asking

Funders generally want to help make the process successful for you.

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Keep building relationships with Funders AFTER you get the funding...

Send them your newsletters

Invite them to the ribbon-cutting or celebration

Send them good news stories, but be careful not to inundate them

Be aware of Mission Creep

When an organization slowly moves away from its mandate by taking on new programs

Moving away from your Mission Statement and your values.

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Consider using this checklist as a starting place.

Project Alignment Checklist:

Do we meet their eligibility criteria?

Do we have a shared focus - does this grant make sense for us?

Can we afford to pay for the areas of the project they won't fund?

Do our staff have the expertise to support this project?

Will our board support this project/program?

Can we be successful within the given timeframe?

Where can you look for grants?

Where is the money?

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STEP #2- PLANNING:

GO THROUGH THE FUNDING

REQUIREMENTS AND MAKE SURE YOU

ARE AWARE OF ITS SPECIFIC PROCESS AND

TIMELINES.

Gather Project Details :

Funding Information Guide - This is your friend!

What are you looking for in the guide…◦ Eligibility criteria

◦ Funder’s objectives & priorities

◦ Eligible and ineligible expenses

◦ Submission deadline(s)

◦ Proposal review timeline

◦ Acceptable proposal format

◦ Contact for more information

◦ Budget details to include

◦ Evaluation process and criteria

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Gather Project Details Cont’d…

Go through the application and make a note of important elements

Designate team member’s responsibility - avoid overlapping work

Have a clear timeline for the project

Consider creating action plans

STEP #3 - WRITING:

CLEARLY COMMUNICATING THE ISSUE OR NEED OF YOUR

ORGANIZATION AND A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT WILL BE

ACCOMPLISHED IF FUNDING IS GRANTED.

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The process of Writing has the same considerations whether you're filling sections in a grant application or creating a proposal from scratch.

How to start?

Don’t start with perfection in mind – you’re going to revise it.

What to consider when writing:

◦ Be true to your organization, but write for your audience.

◦ Match your tone to that of the funding application and the funding organization.

◦ Don't rely on jargon, but also don't be afraid of it.

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◦ What to consider when writing (cont’d)...

◦ Think about what the funder would find important about your work and highlight those areas.

◦ Develop your story and talk about what makes your organization unique.

◦ Have a few case studies available to add to your application, if it's appropriate.

Writing Tips:

Be clear and be concise - do not hide your message

One idea = one sentence; be careful of run-on sentences

Sometimes it's OK to use bullet points

Fully write-out abbreviations at least one time

Writing in the third person is more professional

Use gender neutral language

Use consistent terminology throughout

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Program or Organizational Description:

This is description of your program or organization -concise explanation of who you are and what you do overall. ◦ Short version (25-50 words)

◦ Long version (100-200 words)

Example:

Program Description- Friends Catering Company

Friends Catering Company is a social purpose enterprise operating within the Fred Victor organization. We provide employment for marginalized people in our community through the operation of a professional catering company.

Short version (31 words)

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Funding Outlines

Some funders will have a form and some funders will require a formal proposal submission -

Both Grants and Funding proposals share a basic

outline and require a clear flow of information.

As you can see, the middle sections are transferable, but there are special considerations for the beginning and the end.

Grant Application Funding Proposal

- Program or Organizational

Description

- Case for support (problem

statement)

- Proposed Project or Program

- Goals & Objectives

- Methods

- Organizational Suitability

- Evaluation

- Budget

- Cover Letter/Title Page

- Table of Contents

- Executive Summary

- Program or Organizational

Description

- Case for support (problem

statement)

- Proposed Project or Program

- Goals & Objectives

- Methods

- Organizational Suitability

- Evaluation

- Budget

- Conclusion

Attached:

- Supporting Materials (i.e. letters of

support, financial statements)

Appendix:- Supporting materials (i.e. letters of

support, financial statements)

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Executive Summaries

Summarizes everything in the proposal and doesn't add anything new.

It should give enough information to invite the reader to keep reading and lays out the problem statement, the goals and objectives, an outline of the methods and the amount of funding requested.

This should summarize key points, but not be greater than 1 - 1.5 pages in length.

Program or Organizational Description

As discussed, you should have a short and long version of a program or organizational description ready to go.

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Case for Support:

Your Case for Support should clearly outline the problem your organization is trying to address.

Sometimes known as a Problem Statement

A problem statement sets the stage for the 'ask' and answers the following questions:

What is the issue or need that your organization or program is focusing on?

What is the supporting evidence available to substantiate the existence of the problem or issue? (i.e. statistics, quotes)

What are the causes or factors contributing to this problem?

What is the impact on your constituents - tell the story.

What are the consequences of not having a program, solution, services or resources to address it?

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The Case for Support is one of the biggest & challenging sections of your grant or funding proposal.

◦ Consider writing it out in point form to make sure you have captured everything.

Define the issue & impact What is the cause? What is the supporting evidence?

Consequences of not addressing issue

- -

The Case for Support is one of the biggest & challenging sections of your grant or funding proposal.

◦ Example:

Define the issue & impact What is the cause? What is supporting evidence?

Consequences of not addressing issue

Youth in (our area) are droppingout of school and not moving into meaningful employment

--through a survey of youth and families accessing our community centre, we learned that youth do not generally feel supported in their studies.And don’t feel like they have a direction for what employment path to take.

-Stats Canada – in our area, high school drop-out rates increased by 10% last year--A Manitoba Teacher’s Assoc. study shows that youth involved in afterschool programming have a greater probability of graduating from high school

--Increased rates of drop-out--lack of meaningful employment--increased reliance on social assistance

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Proposed Program or Project:

What is your strategy to address the need that you just laid out?

Why are you asking for this funding?

What’s the goal?

Goals and Objectives.

Start with developing your organization's

Goals and Objectives.

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Goals and Objectives

“This section of your proposal describes what your organization hopes to accomplish with your project. It also spells out the specific results or outcomes you plan to achieve.

You'll have to convince your funder, that your goal embodies a worthy vision and that you can realistically achieve your objectives.“

Goals are your means to an end:

◦ Should be broad

◦ Organization’s vision to address an issue

◦ Direct correlation to the Case for Support

Goals Use action words such as:

◦ To provide...

◦ To develop/establish...

◦ To create...

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Objectives outline the 'who', 'what', 'how' & 'when'

SMART Objectives:

Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Results-focused -Time-bound

Why? So we can evaluate them later…

Methods & Sustainability

This section provides a detailed project description (activities) that details how your organization will achieve the objectives you've laid out.

This is also an opportunity to speak to the sustainability of the project you are proposing. ◦ How will you move forward & what is the timeframe of the

project?

◦ What do you have in place and what needs to be set-up?

◦ How will this fit into your existing programs?

◦ Do you have support for this in the community?

◦ How does this match-up to the funder's priorities?

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Organizational Suitability

This could be combined with the 'Methods' section in some way, but at some point in the funding proposal, there should be a description of what makes your organization (uniquely) suitable to address the issue.

Include Mission Statement, Vision or Values, partnerships, Board of Director involvement and relevant achievements.

Evaluation

An Evaluation plan is designed to measure the success of the program. Very simply - have you met your goals & objectives? If not, what happened?

Why Evaluation?Funders are looking for value for their money - did the funding solve the problem?

◦ They may be specific in what they want or they may ask for a more general evaluation plan.

◦ It may seem like an extra step, but it has value for your organization as well – course correction

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What goes into an evaluation plan?

Two areas of Evaluation:1. Process Evaluation: - evaluating the steps (or process) taken

in rolling-out program and activities

Much of this qualitative

Did you have the right inputs, participants or activities?

2. Outcome Evaluation – evaluating whether you achieved your objectives (long and short-term)

Much of this is quantitative

Did you achieve your anticipated measurements?

Activity to be measured

Indicator to be measured

Frequency Method of Data

Process Evaluation

-engagement of stakeholders-planning process

-did we get the timeframe right for the project-did we include all relevant stakeholders and reach the right people

1 x year -Examine internal documents- Feedback at staff meetings-survey stakeholders-status of project (did it get off the ground)

OutcomeEvaluation

did we achieve our objectives?

# of youth attending job fair#of businesses attending

3 month -Monitor statistics -Client interviews-Focus groups

Job fairMentorship

# of youth acting as mentors

6 months Staff keeping track in weekly meetings

# of youth being mentored

6 months

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Project Budget:

◦ Outline the cost of the project and all revenue sources.

Though it might overlap, do not confuse this with your organization’s overall budget

Steps to preparing a Budget

◦ Review your goals and objectives and itemize all potential project costs

◦ Don't guess - research actual costs

◦ Determine eligible and ineligible expenses

◦ Confirm internal, partner and in-kind funding

◦ Identify other sources of revenue (i.e. sales or services provided)

◦ Develop budget following the categories provided by funder unless the project officer indicates flexibility

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STEP #4 - SUBMITTING:

THE PROCESS OF ENSURING THAT YOUR

FUNDING APPLICATION IS COMPLETED

AND REVIEWED BEFORE SUBMISSION.

What’s in the Review Process?

◦ Establish who will be involved in the review process - will it be just the proposal committee or does the ED or BOD need to sign-off on the application?

◦ Consider an outside review committee with a mix of people inside and outside of the organization.

◦ Double-check the calculations in your budget (or formulas on spreadsheet)

◦ Give enough time for people to review and to implement feedback.

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Submit for Review Time for Feedback (4 days)

Revisions (3 days)

Final review & Signatures

(1 day)

Final Edits & Submission

(1 day)

Online Applications:◦ Completing applications directly on your funder's website is

becoming more popular.

◦ Alternatively, you could be sent a PDF with an auto-fill option.

◦ In both cases, coordinate who will be responsible for imputing information either online or with the final PDF.

◦ Be aware that in the online funding submissions, there is a difference between 'Save' & 'Submit'.

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III. Selling your Organization

Competition for funding is tough – How do you stand out from the crowd?

Its not enough to do good –

you have to explain that you can do good, well

Use business techniques to market the work of your Org.

◦ Be Strategic – Polish the right stones.

◦ Use storytelling – find the thread that tells the right story for the situation.

◦ Develop Case studies that you can use repeatedly.

◦ Check-out “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek

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Tips from a Program Officer What’s the biggest mistake organizations make?

Budgets –this is a challenge for people

Lack of clarity – Can’t tell what they want even after reading the whole application.

Clear link from issue to Objectives & Methods– how are you going to solve the issue?

Tips from a Program Officer What are you most impressed by?

Organizations saying thank you – that’s appreciated

A well-thought out proposal with clear goals, objectives and achievements

Consultation with other stakeholders in the project (i.e. Feedback from participants, neighbours, law enforcement)

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Last Tips from a Program Officer

◦ We can tell when you’ve put it together last minute.

◦ A well-written proposal is impressive but we recognize the diversity of the groups that we work with – and their skill level.

◦ If you are working with a vulnerable population we want to know if you have safety measures in place for them. Attach your safety policies if needed. Are you culturally aware?

◦ Form letters are OK, but genuine letters of support are noticed. Keep us in the loop If the project needs to change once it starts, let us know.. .

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