Grant Writing & Funding

Have you ever wondered how to write the evaluation section of a grant proposal? Maybe you sat there at 2 a.m. (of course the night before a grant is due) and scratched your head as you came across this section towards the end of a grant. You think, “You want me to write how I am going to run a program and now you need to know how I will evaluate that the project is running how I said it will run?” Er, yep. Funding sources do want to know how you will evaluate what you say you are going to do. Are you proposing to house 30 sloths within 12 months? Well, you better include how you will evaluate that those 30 sloths will be housed! But seriously, we do need to showcase this in grants. In this week’s podcast, Dr. James Pann goes over how to write the evaluation section of a grant proposal (and he gives his top tips!). Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

What is the difference between an output and outcome in a grant proposal? The difference between an output and outcome in a grant proposal might not seem quite different at first. In fact, it might feel downright like the same darn thing. For many grant writers this difference between an output and outcome can feel a little abstract and confusing. You might be thinking, "What are the differences and why do grants have to be so meticulous?" Are grant funding sources just trying to trick you with these output and outcome words? Are they chuckling in the background while you scratch your head and think, “to-may-to / to-mah-to”? Nah, grant reviewers aren’t that bored, although they do have a good sense of humor. But it's good for you there is a quick way to know what this differences actually are and a way you can remember outputs and outcomes, and better yet, understand them. Once you understand what the differences (and similarities) are between grant outputs and outcomes it will make your grant writing SO much better. ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

Find out where you can get SO many free nonprofit fundraising courses! Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

✨ Get the Free Workbook: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/167-how-to-write-objectives-for-a-grant-proposal/ ✨ Learning how to write objectives for grant application proposals is essential to your grant writing success. This is often overlooked. Many people think an objective can just be a wish. Such as, "We hope to accomplish this program." Let's just start with Captain Obvious. Would you be willing to give someone money for a project if they only hoped to accomplish it? Or would you be willing to shell out dough for a project that had a goal of 'Ending Poverty for All" but there was no plan on how to accomplish that goal? Sometimes it helps to flip the script and pretend you are the funding source, rather than the applicant. But how do you create a plan (objectives) for a grant proposal? What is the secret formula? Check out this week's article and podcast! ✨ Get the Free Workbook: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/167-how-to-write-objectives-for-a-grant-proposal/ ✨ Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

Are you looking for tips to increase donor giving on your nonprofit's website? You might be frustrated because you finally went through the work of installing a donate button and connected it to your nonprofit's PayPal account, but you are getting nada.  Why aren't donors giving? Your website is up. The donor button is up. But still, no transactions. Ugh. It makes you want to crawl under your desk with a box of Kleenex. You might think, "Do people even care about my nonprofit?" The fact is, that plenty of people probably care about your nonprofit and the mission it provides. But have a think. Just think about all the times you have donated (or tried to donate) to nonprofit's online. Have you ever been on a website where you hit the 'donate' button and it brought you to a 404 Error Page? Or maybe your baby started crying in the background and the nonprofit was requesting a survey for you to fill out before you gave so you just hit the X button and closed out the page? There are a lot of reasons that people might not become donors online. And most of them aren't because they don't care about your nonprofit. (So throw that tissue away). A lot of times it is because of the friction to actually become a donor.  This could mean an error page, too many questions to donate, and lots, lots, more.  In this week's podcast, Brady Josephson from NextAfter Institute will this and more including: Online Donor Friction Worksheet Donor Giving overall was up 2 -10% in the United States in 2020 2020 was the Biggest Year in Online Giving (up at least 30%) in the history of the world Transition to investing in technology for nonprofits Digital fundraising ideas Important to remember when online marketing "You are not your donor" Why email marketing and nurturing should be more frequent than once a month Why you should do both online and offline donor updates (emails, social media, phone calls, direct mail) Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

Grant management needs to be made easy otherwise you will miss a grant or funding deadline!  Let me know if you resonate with any of the following: You've woken up in the middle of the night with a start and pry out your phone realizing you just missed a grant deadline Or maybe you submitted a grant a year ago but can't find the final application anywhere. Or a combination of the above! Yes, whether you are a nonprofit leader that is juggling your actual job and had the role of grant writer thrown on your lap or if you are a freelance grant writer and are having a hard time keeping up with grant opportunities (or plain management) of your nonprofit clients, then this episode is for you! In this week's podcast episode Rachel Waterman, CEO and Founder of GDS Grants, shares her Grant Management System Made Easy (GEMS). She also discusses her unique system of managing clients and her background on how she got started with writing grants. (wink-wink, it might include the Peace Corps). What We Discuss in This Episode: How Rachel got started in writing grants How leveraging your strengths can help you as a grant writer Rachel's unique grant writing methods Writing out objectives and goals in grants  How federal and foundation grant writing are similar How to manage upcoming grants and funding opportunities to never miss a deadline How to manage nonprofit clients How to be more professional as a grant writer About Rachel: Rachel Waterman has over 25 years of community development and grant writing experience, is Grant Professional Certified (GPC), a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), a Grant Professionals Association (GPA) Approved Trainer, and an expert in grant management. She holds a Master’s degree in community and economic development with a concentration in applied social research from Illinois State University and a Bachelor’s degree in international studies from Barry University. Her career has encompassed a broad spectrum of professional experiences, including serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, nonprofit executive director, community organizer, city master planner, researcher, and Mayor of the city of Lake Worth Beach, Florida. Rachel is CEO and Founder of GDS Grants. She is responsible for client strategy, new program & budget development, data tracking systems, outcome measures and data analysis. Rachel also oversees the GDS Professional Development Program and personally coaches GDS interns, fellows and mentees.

Are you not sure even what a SWOT Analysis is or how it relates to strategic planning? Well, I am definitely not saying get rid of the SWOT analysis altogether, but I am saying the old tired way of just shoving it in your planning and not knowing how to utilize is so over. How? Well, you do need a SWOT Analysis for your nonprofit’s strategic planning, however, it doesn’t have to be boring. It is actually one of the most FUN activities in your strategic planning. A SWOT Analysis A SWOT stands for: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats (or Challenges) Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

This is a question I get a lot... “Holly, how do I find federal grants for my nonprofit?” Federal grant research expert Jason Adkins, gives us 5 steps to find those pesky federal grants. Well, er, they seem pesky until you find them, and then federal grants rock. I know you might feel like federal grants are elusive, but after Jason breaks down the steps (and gives you websites to find them), then you will be feeling like a pro. So if thinking about finding federal grants makes you immediately zone out and start stress-chewing your nails, then you will want to listen to today's podcast episode on finding federal grants (and save that precious manicure). Some Highlights We Discuss: Why sometimes having an English Degree doesn’t automatically equate to being a Grant Writer Why ‘failing forward’ is important Keeping a flipchart list of grants secured to make sure you have moments of celebration and don’t go from grant deadline to grant deadline How Jason uses the same strategies of writing a foundation and federal grant How being a federal grant reviewer has been helpful in writing federal grants Grant writing is best at a 9th to 12th grade level Why formatting a federal grant is  important Schedule time in your workday to find grants Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

A common question I get, as a grant professional, from nonprofit clients, is, "Can you guarantee that the grant you write for us will get awarded?" There are a number of reasons that I say no. Very simply put, these are some of the determining factors: 1) It depends also on the nonprofit's capacity and experience in winning and managing grants that depend on their competitiveness with getting a grant awarded. 2) It depends on how well the grant project aligns with the priority of the funding source. 3) It depends on how 'trendy' the project is with current funding overall. 4) It depends on how many grant applications the funding source receives. These are just a few, but there are many more reasons. Listen to this week's podcast to hear them all and how you can respond to this question!

Did you know that you can do grant research as a stand-alone service or in a package that you offer nonprofit clients? You write grants, but did you know you can charge separately for researching and finding grants?  (jaws drop). Yes! Here's the thing...sometimes nonprofit clients will approach grant professionals with a list of grant opportunities and just want you to write the grants. But more often than not, nonprofit clients will also want you - the freelance grant writer - to research the grants, too. Sometimes nonprofit clients may not understand that this is an additional service or will increase your grant writing rate. Why? Well, grant research takes: an investment of your skillset (yes, grant research is an art), your time (the research rabbit hole), and money (most grant research databases charge you to use their database).  So grant research can actually be a standalone service you provide or in addition to the grant writing (first you find the best X # of best-fit grants, then you write them). In this week's podcast, I go into more detail on the how, why, and what of grant research! Be sure to give it a listen :) ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/

✨ Join my Free 5-day FB Challenge: Confidently Pitch Your Grant Writing Services to Nonprofit Clients" Click here: http://grantwritingandfunding.com/5-day ✨ Grant Writing Certificate. To have or not to have?  And then... from where? This is a question I get all the time.  I get this question from freelance grant writers and aspiring freelancers, but I also get it from potential nonprofit clients.  Do you have a grant writing certificate? This question, and 7 more common questions asked by nonprofit clients, I will go over in even more detail (and give you a fill-in-the-blank script) in my upcoming 5-Day FB Challenge, "Confidently Pitch Your Grant Writing Services to Nonprofit Clients" on March 8th - 12th. Sign up above. But for this week's podcast, I will uncover the answer to the elusive question, "Do you have a grant writing certificate?" Here's the thing though. Grant Certificate or not, it doesn't really showcase your grant writing abilities. To have long-standing credibility and a reputation and to implement your learned skills, you need to write grants. Real-world grants. Not just a sample in a grant workshop. You need a pen to paper (or, er, keyboard to monitor?) and get out there and write some grants.  So, yes, a grant writing certificate can increase your resume and improve your skills, but grant writing certificate or not, you need to actually write grants. If you aren't sure where to start, then check out nonprofits to volunteer at! And believe me, if you start volunteering the nonprofit won't ask you for a grant writing certificate! But you may be able to ask them to pay for your grant writing certificate and then you will volunteer ;)  So do you really need one? No. However, a grant writing certificate can be helpful in increasing credibility, knowledge, skills, and confidence. But you still will need to actually start writing grants. Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/

✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ These are 7 myths about grant writing and freelance grant writing that I have heard time and time again. In this week's podcast episode, I am going to break down each of the following: #1: Grants Are Easy To Get Grants are not super easy to write. In fact, if you are a grant writing you are probably chuckling right now. Grants are competitive. They aren't impossible to get, nor are they so easy that you don't need to learn the technique behind grant writing.  #2: Grants Don't Have to Be Paid Back No Matter What Sure, overall grants don't have to be paid back. However, if grants aren't spent properly they might need to be paid back. Always check with the program office if you need to modify a budget to get permission before you spend for something not approved! #3 Grants Can Cover My Personal Debt Moreover, you are not going to get a funding source to pay off your BMW. Grants are created for specific purposes, and those purposes usually don't include a direct deposit to pay off your personal debt. #4: Grants are Similar to Writing an English Paper Writing English literature papers is not like writing a grant. Grant writing has specific technical methods and is different than writing an English paper. That said, writers in other genres and disciplines can learn how to write grants! #5: I Should Write Grants For Free Eek! If you have the skillset and experience, you can definitely charge nonprofit organizations to write grants or get a position as a paid grant writer! #6: I Can Get Paid on Commission No, no, no. This is unethical, against Best Practices, ineligible to be charged for in federal grants, and is a product you create! You should get paid to write a grant with other funds.  #7: I Can Get Paying Clients With No Grant Writing Experience Okay, I know  I said you should get paid to write grants. You should - if you have the experience. However, if you are new to writing grants, then you may need to volunteer for a few months to get some grant writing experience, take a course to learn some skills or do an internship. This will help build your skills so then you can charge for it! Make sure you listen to the full podcast to get SO many more details and examples about the  7 Myths You Need to Know About Grants & Freelance Grant Writing! Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com

✨ Click here to download the Infographic Top 10 Responsibilities of a Nonprofit Executive Director: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/158-3-tactics-you-didnt-know-to-become-a-nonprofit-executive-director-ninja/ ​ ✨ What if you had a checklist to help streamline your duties as an executive director of a nonprofit organization? Sometimes an executive director of a nonprofit organization is stereotyped as juggling a million things and getting paid peanuts. But this doesn't, nor shouldn't, need to be the case. For a nonprofit organization to thrive, the executive director should have a roadmap. Some nonprofit organizations may not even have an executive director yet, and are even drooling at this aspect of having one! But the deal is - if your nonprofit is so fortunate to have an executive director - don't burn them out! So here's the old hierarchal order of a nonprofit. There is a board of directors that provides guidance for the nonprofit organization and then the executive director implements this guidance. Of course, the board should still support the mission in governance ways, and other staff, volunteers, and consultants can help out too! The executive director is then often tasked with a lot of items, ranging from taking minutes of meetings to writing grants! This is why they get the stereotype of juggling a lot of diverse responsibilities. Well, if you know of a busy nonprofit executive director that feels like they are virtually drowning, or if you are one, then you will want to listen to this week's podcast! Sean discusses the following: How to communicate with your board of directors How to delegate How to manage time (time management hacks) What activities to focus on most of the time (high level) What you should ask for in a contract and why one is important Much more... ✨ Click here to download the Infographic Top 10 Responsibilities of a Nonprofit Executive Director: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/158-3-tactics-you-didnt-know-to-become-a-nonprofit-executive-director-ninja/✨

✨ FREE Nonprofit Client Start Guide: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-client-starter-guide/ ✨ Ready to Start Growing Your Freelance Grant Writing Business But Not Sure Where to Start? This podcast episode and free (and highly detailed) cheat sheet will give you, as a freelance grant writer or nonprofit consultant, everything you need to know to confidently reach out to nonprofit leads and start securing clients like a pro. (Yep, even if you’re starting with no clients!) Let's face it - starting a freelance grant writing business or nonprofit consultancy can feel overwhelming! Knowing how and where to find nonprofit clients can be like facing a large ocean of obscure possibilities. But it doesn't have to be that way! That's why I created this extensive roadmap for you! So how do you find those clients? Through the following 5 steps! (download the roadmap or listen to the podcast to get examples and the full system!) #1: Identify Your Skillset #2: Identify Your Passion/Knowledge/Experiences #3: Decide Which Services to Offer First #4: Create a nonprofit client lead list #5: Pitch to Nonprofit Clients If you follow the Roadmap and do all of these steps, you will have a minimum of 50 nonprofit leads on your list! So securing 10 of those 50 just became a lot more doable. Plus, these will turn into warm leads really quickly. No more cold calling when you use these strategic steps! Be sure to download the Roadmap and listen to the podcast! ✨ FREE Nonprofit Client Start Guide: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-client-starter-guide/ ✨

In this podcast, I am going to bring up when your freelance company or nonprofit should stand up for movements or injustice. Here’s the deal. Sometimes I see nonprofits and freelance companies not sure if they should publicly support something. Most of the time it’s not because you don’t support something, but rather you might not be sure if your brand should make a stand. In this episode, I am going to give you indicators on how you can quickly decide if you want your nonprofit to stand on an issue and how you want to represent it. I am not going to shove down your throat what my stances are on issues, however, I will use my company’s stances as examples that I actually practice what I preach. Here’s the issue. Many times nonprofits and freelancers are just scared to publish a social media post or say they are in alignment with issues. They may fear losing donors, losing followers, or getting unsubscribes on their email list. They may not want to marginalize or polarize their audience. I am going to show you how to make decisions where those fears will not be an issue. Why is this important? Because we are moving more and more from a position where non-political players have an influence in the social, economic, and yes political movements. The invention of social media is has created a platform for sharing views and perspectives. I remember when celebrities first got on social media and suddenly there was direct access to their thoughts and beliefs. It was, and is, pretty cool. But social media is also your platform of your nonprofit’s view and ethics or your freelance grant writing businesses branding. To post nothing is to post something. ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨