Grant Writing & Funding

Is your nonprofit stuck in survival mode? Planning is key, but taking the time to do it is where you need to start (refer to GWF 0015 to see how to set a schedule). Once you have taken the time and have reviewed your previous year, it is time to set your goals, objectives, and activities, so you can go from struggling to thriving. So what the heck are the differences between goals, objectives, and activities? Goals are the overarching, comparable to a large globe of aspirational destinations you want to reach. Objectives are the tangible flights or boats on how you are going to reach those places. Activities are how you do the day-to-day work of saving up for your trip. Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com for more info on how to get your nonprofit from surviving to thriving! Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com Share this podcast and blog on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. To get involved with the Grant Writing & Funding Community: Join the Tribe!

Are you struggling with figuring out how to crowdfund for your nonprofit? Do all podcasts and blogs only discuss how to crowdfund for products? In this podcast Steve Vick, Founder of Nonprofit Ally, discusses how to run a successful crowdfunding for your nonprofit. As executive director for Noble Paws, he has had his own share of crowdfunding and has learned what to do and NOT to do. Check out this podcast if your nonprofit is looking for additional streams of income and are trying to master, or heck, just figure out how to crowdfund. Stop struggling when it comes to crowdfunding for your nonprofit! To visit Steve's website and to get a FREE e-Book on Crowdfunding for Your Nonprofit, visit: www.nonprofitally.com. Want the full e-course? Get it here: www.nonprofitally.com. Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com Share this podcast and blog on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. To get involved with the Grant Writing & Funding Community: Join the Tribe!

You’ve started your organizational strategic planning, now you are ready to evaluate last year and move into planning for this year. If you haven’t, no worries, just go ahead and listen to episode 0015 on Grant Writing & Funding. Or better yet, visit our website at www.grantwritingandfunding.com/episodes to get the free downloadable to set yourself up for 2018. You may be at the point where you have completed your “Why,” reviewed your organization’s mission and vision statements, conducted a S.W.O.T. analysis, outlined your agenda, and now you are ready to review last year and get going on this year. But how do you do this without it turning into a griping session about all the failures or only celebrating the wins and dismissing any lessons to be learned? Today’s podcast will discuss how to conduct the best evaluation. Visit https://grantwritingandfunding.com/gwf-016-reviewing-wins-and-challenges to download the free printable! Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com Share this podcast and blog on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. To get involved with the Grant Writing & Funding Community: Join the Tribe!

It’s a new year and you are ready and organized with all your quarters outlined, projects in place, and all fund-raising events set up, right? I mean, you know when you will be applying for grants and have your calendars synced for all employees and board of directors…or do you? Or, like many other nonprofits, you are starting 2018: ● stuck in survival mode ● too busy to make time for planning ● have been meaning to do some research but are preoccupied ● don’t even know where to start as things change quickly and constantly If this sounds like your organization, like so many nonprofit organizations (i.e. the majority of nonprofits), then this article is for you. It is time to change the way that you have been functioning, get organized and prepare for the new year so that your capacity and revenue will increase. This article will change the life of your nonprofit. This isn’t hyperbole, it is the pure facts. This podcast will take your organization for survival mode to thriving zone. 1. What is your Why? 2. Mission and Vision Review 3. S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis 4. Evaluate what worked and didn’t work for the previous year (we will go over this more in the next article and podcast) 5. Outline Goals, Objectives and Activities 6. Brainstorm and list all resources and partnerships 7. Take out a calendar and list down usual and new major events, such as fundraisers, crowdfunding, or projected grants 8. Make a list of all committees required to get each task done 9. Schedule a monthly (at least) review meeting of the plan To download the toolkit agenda, visit https://grantwritingandfunding.com/grant-writing-funding-015-your-agenda-strategic-planning-2018. To watch this podcast on YouTube, please visit: http://somup.com/cFV16GVUOY Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com Share this podcast and blog on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. To get involved with the Grant Writing & Funding Community: Join the Tribe!

Lead generators, oftentimes known as free opt-ins or email list builders, are essential for nonprofits. Online businesses have this down to a T and use lead generators on a regular basis. Lead generators are catching on in the nonprofit sector and websites, but some of you still may be saying, “Lead-what?” Just what is a lead generator? Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

Oh boy. That’s right. It’s time to address it. The big W. Your Website. This episode is a nonprofit’s crash course on different types of websites, how to communicate your brand, and what you should NOT do on your website. Nonprofit websites, in particular, can be a little overwhelming and are known for being the cause of one too many headaches. With the prevalent combination of tiny fonts, non-contrasting colors, and a scream to “Give! Give! Give!” with no clear vision of why one should give or an easy way on how to give. ARRGH! We are going to go into the overall approach to your website, give some tips on how to get the traffic it deserves and reveal ways for visitors to take the call to action that you provide. It doesn’t matter if you use WordPress, Square Space, Wix, or any of the other countless web platforms that are available. The formatting that we are going to discuss will work for them all in providing a better way to communicate your brand. Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

I know a lot of organizations are only using Facebook pages nowadays thinking websites are outdated and all they need is social media, but that is a very unwise perspective. Why? In this podcast I will share the five main reasons why your organization needs a website and not just a Facebook page(Hint: branding, emails, and credibility). Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

So why do this fancy analysis? Well, it is very important to conduct an analysis of what stage your organization or company is at and where you want to go. This is especially true when you have a new administration come in, or if you are expanding and growing. For instance, your organization may get some new grants and expand to a different target demographic. Or you may launch a new product to expand your reach and generate more income. Maybe you just haven’t really analyzed your programs and projects for several years and the workflow and projects are stagnant. Or possibly you could have high turnover rate of staff and want to mitigate unforeseen or foreseen changes. Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

What is your why? Or more specifically, what is the why of your board members, employees, volunteers, and beneficiaries? This question may seem like a no-brainer until you actually try and answer it. Is your organization challenged by poor governance, a high turn-over staff rate, or disgruntled beneficiaries? It may be due to not asking these four questions that explains what your why is. Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

The six questions that will refine your mission and vision statements from 'meh' to amazing! Get clear and concise on your culture while creating the credibility that funding sources require. Do you need to listen to this podcast? If you, your staff, or your board of directors has to google your mission statement, then, yes, you do need to listen to this. Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

Part Five of the 5 parts to write a winning grant. You will learn how to write about the following elements to write a winning grant in this podcast: • Activities • Selection process • Location • Challenges, contingencies, and sustainability plan • Nonfederal partners and resources • Leveraged resources • Oversee and monitor nonfederal resources and partners Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

It’s time to talk about the money. The budget. The good news is you don’t have to be a CPA to write a budget. You do, however, need to understand budgets. In this podcast, you will learn how to write a consistent budget and budget narrative in the format that grant reviewers appreciate. You will know which category to put each item of your budget and how to calculate costs. You will also get links to resources to help you put a reliable cost on each item. Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

This section of the grant is where the magic happens. Once you know your problem statement (listen to the previous podcast), you can figure out clear objectives, goals, and outcomes. This is the backbone of your project. A grant is like a big jigsaw puzzle, and this section is really the backdrop and what guides you to be able to find and connect each piece of the puzzle. It’s the part of the puzzle that is the backdrop fence or the house with the clean line you use to connect the pieces. If you have your objective, you will be able to formulate a budget, implement activities, and solve your problem (and build your house). In this segment, you will learn how to write clear goals, S.M.A.R.T. objectives, and measurable outcomes. Additionally, you will also learn how to implement your goal, objectives, and outcomes through the process of an action plan timeline. Looking to advance your grant writing skills? Join the Grant Writing & Funding Changemaker Membership! Get checklists, awarded grant samples, online courses, a tribe, and discounts on our services! Check out the GW&F Membership at www.grantwritingandfunding.com. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ grantwriting_funding

Needs. We all have them, but how do you make yours stand out? How do you get funding sources to think your needs are crucial? How do you even identify the community you are serving? Welcome to the second in the series of the five basic parts of writing a winning grant. This podcast will articulate your target demographic, how to clearly state (and cite) your needs, and how to write a powerful problem statement to get funded. Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @ hollyrustick

Welcome to Part I of The Five Main Parts of Writing a Grant. Today we will be looking at your nonprofit organization. Do you have everything prepared in advance so that when a grant comes around you are READY? For instance, is your tax-exempt 501(c)3 accessible, do you have a bio for all your board members and staff, and do you know all the grants your organization has received and in what year? In 25 minutes Holly will take you through the entire process of what you need to have prepared and how to prepare it. Oh, and sorry about the cold! I might have lost my voice a bit. :( Have a question related to grants or nonprofits? Send Holly an e-mail at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com! Warmly, Holly Listen to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher or watch on YouTube! To share your thoughts: Send Holly an email at holly@grantwritingandfunding.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read all of them! Subscribe on iTunes or on YouTube. Looking for more? Follow us on Instagram @hollyrustick