How to Write and Win the Grant

Introduction 

Grant writing is an art form. Why? Because the grant writer who wins the grant is the one who writes the best story of need, and who also presents the best plan of action to satisfy that need.

If non-profit or social entrepreneur organizations are in need of a grant, there are a few procedures they can use to expedite the process. The first thing is to realize that there is a secret to winning great grants. That secret is that funders don't give money to the organization for what the organization wants to do, but they give them money to do what they want done.

So what does that look like on paper? Well, it's a picturesque display of writing that lets the funder know that you want to provide the program, product, or service that they are willing to pay for. This becomes a marriage, and as you know, without the compatibility of a good partnership of the grantee, grantor, and stakeholders who benefit from the services, the marriage or, in this case, the grant funds, may not take place..

Before Writing the Grant 

Before attempting to write a grant it is important to understand the vocabulary used in the grant writing community. This is as easy as going online and researching grant writing terms.

Secondly, you want to be sure that you have the regulatory requirements met for legally operating your organization. This includes your licenses and permits, EIN Number, Duns number, and state and federal recognitions.

When you have located your organizational records and registrations then you are ready to organize your team. Your team should include representatives from all stakeholders. In soliciting stakeholder participation, locate partners that compliment your program, including potential members, their contributions and their contact information. Once this is established, you are ready to assign duties to the final grant team who will help with the research and preparation of the grant.

Writing the Grant 

Before you write anything, you want to make sure that you have a grant that will go the distance. That means conducting what I call the grant test. Here are a few questions to ask before you write.

1. What is the name of the grant? 

2. Who is the agency giving the grant? 

3. What is the identifying information of the grant? 

4. When is the grant due? 

5. Is a match required? 

6. How many grants are they funding? 

7. What is the award ceiling? 

8. What is the award floor?

Once you have answered those questions and you are happy with your answers, it is time to engage your grant writing team. Otherwise, you could waste a lot of time, energy or money on a grant that just won't fit your situation.

When you have found the perfect grant, you want to determine what are the requirements of the organization and develop the components of your grants to match them.

Even though grant proposal instructions are technical and each one is different, this is not rocket science. You can take the mystery out of grant writing by understanding that there are really only 4 components to the majority of grants as listed below:

Part 1: Executive Summary 

Part 2: Narrative 

Part 3: Budget & Budget Narrative 

Part 4: Supporting Documents

In part 1, the executive summary briefly answers the questions, who, what, when, where, why, and how much money do you need.

Secondly, part 2 or the Narrative thoroughly expands on the answers above and adds the questions how will you develop, implement and evaluate the program to meet the needs of your target audience.

The budget & budget narrative explains in detail how you will spend the money over the grant period.

Lastly, the supporting documents will support and verify all of your statements within the grant.

Finally, if you use the tips and tools above your grant writing should be much easier. You can also research sample grants similar to your project to use as examples using your favorite search engine.

business

business

Eight Things Event Planners Must Budget For

In my over thirty years of planning many hundreds of events, conferences and conventions, I have discovered, often the hard way, many of the pitfalls and potential pitfalls involved in successfully planning effectively. One of the areas that has the greatest amount of ramifications involves meaningful budgeting, so as not to be unhappily surprised during the event. While there are many other factors that a professional event planner with negotiating expertise plans for during the early and continuing budget phases, these eight seem to be perhaps the most continuously overlooked.

1. Never assume anything will be done, unless it has been specifically agreed to. While you might assume that something is obvious and necessary, when it comes to event planning, doing so is often dangerous and potentially disastrous. One example is many inexperienced planners assume that if their contract reads that there is a complimentary microphone, that means there is no cost for audio- visuals related to the microphone. In most cases, that is anything but true, and organizations find themselves billed for microphone hookups, audio- visual personnel monitoring, hookups to central system, etc. Make sure the language in the contract is crystal clear, even if it might otherwise seem unnecessary. Another example may come from the area of bringing in outside contractors versus using the hotels services. While the rate may appear lower, the add- on charges imposed may end up not making it worthwhile.

2. Planners must evaluate data from previous events, to enhance their understanding of what they need. What does this group use a lot of, and what seems less important? By doing so, a planner and negotiator may effectively prioritize their demands/ requests.

3. Remember that everything is negotiable. Always ask because either you may get it, or if not, you can treat it as a giveback that then permits you to let the other side feel like they've won one!

4. You must take into account breakage/ attrition. While effective event planners usually end up with considerably less attrition than inexperienced ones do, because they take measures to address that area (and are better at accurately forecasting and estimating), professionals always budget for attrition to be on the safe/ conservative side when it comes to their budget. In the industry, the rule of thumb is generally to budget with a ten percent (10%) attrition rate built into the numbers.

5. Negotiate to pay for actual usage or consumption in areas where there is generally high costs and ways to actually measure. Pouring iced tea or lemonade at the table (or having pitchers available on the table) can often be negotiated, either as a complimentary item, or minimal cost. On the other hand, when sodas are included, costs go up quite a bit. In that case, organizations should create a system and a pre- negotiated discounted rate per soda, and a measuring system in place.

6. Beware of over charges or surprises. If a contract has not been properly negotiated, there is often a flurry of little unexpected charges. In a multi- day event, event organizers should have a review system in place on a minimum of a daily basis, to review the previous days charges. Never be afraid./ embarrassed to ask for details/ explanations about any charge you may not understand.

7. Expect contingencies and plan for them. There is always something that comes up, so the better prepared and ready for them, the better off you are. I generally recommend at least a five to ten (5- 10%) "fudge factor" to be prepared from a financial/ budgetary perspective.

8. Remember those extra/ additional charges that hotels invariably charge. Have all additional charges spelled out in detail in the contract, and have language prepared that these are the only additional charges that will apply for this event/ conference. Often, taxes and service charges alone, for example may account for close to 30%. Be sure to adjust your budget to include those costs, because imagine how difficult it is to address that amount of unexpected costs.

These are only the very basic types of items to consider in preparing a budget for an event. Those planners who create a meaningful budget consistently have more successful end results!

With over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, Richard Brody has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs. He's negotiated, arranged and organized hundreds of events.

Why Go to a Wedding Expo?

At a wedding expo, there are endless vendors who offer services ranging from wedding limousine hire to food catering and invitations. When I was a bride, I never went to one. I lived in Wales at that time. For the most part I was finishing my final year of university. In the holidays, the groom had found three places on his own for us to look at. We went to a local party/print shop to pick out invitations. They could also have designs printed on napkins.

Back in Wales, I worked on making my own dress. Everyone was a bit dubious if I could achieve such a feat since I had little experience in dress making. I had never made anything except for a knitted top as a class project in primary school! I was inspired by another girl who threw together a dress for a university dance. She claimed you could do it with "sticky tape and glue." At one point she put it out in a small cement court yard so she could spray paint it! It was completely haphazard but she was just having a go. When she finally showed up at the university ball, I was amazed! She gave me the confidence to have a go at doing it myself. I reasoned - if she could do that, I could do that too!

I never even thought about hiring a car for the wedding. I never thought to ask for a limousine when my parents offered to hire a car. They actually called an airport car transfer company. It was basically a simple town car. I would have happily stuck myself in the back of a small run -down car that belonged to a friend and bridesmaid, without a clue! Neither did we hire a getaway car. The wedding and reception were in the same place and we drove off to another state in our own car which the groomsmen decorated.

Looking back at my ignorance, I would have to say that a wedding expo can help so that even if you do not use any of the services offered at a particular expo, you know what is available. You might find some really great vendors and can book their services in advance for your special day. Or if you are a D.I.Y. type, you can get some fuel for your creativity - even dress making.