Spoke at the Neighborhoods U.S.A. Conference in Little Rock, AR. Here's a 30 sec. highlight video. See, http://ping.fm/Ml4cc

New Video by Matt Kresling: Seventeen

Before we had Google, a grant writer needed to have careful listening skills and the talent of a professional journalist. In my case, I had an unfair advantage in becoming a grant writer because of my experience as a journalist at Hart High school in Newhall, CA. While I was still in my teens, I enjoyed the unusual opportunity of writing a weeking column in the Newhall Signal regarding what what going on at my high school under the 1960s sounding title, "Hart Happenings."

Ironically, I enjoyed the process of creating a weekly column so much that I'm still sort of doing the same thing 35 years later as an adult. I've never gotten over the thrill of seeing my words and ideas in newsprint. In fact, the thrill has outlasted my subscription to my local newspapers here in Orange County, CA.

At any rate, I've discovered this new video by one of my favorite artists, Matt Kresling. I thought you'd enjoy his little YouTube video and draw strength from your own days as a student journalist exploring a career as the next Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein.

Write the Grant First and Then Do the Research

Every once in a while, I'm surprised at the power of my own techniques. Recently, I was putting a grant application together for a new client with a new potential funder. Following my usual strategy, I started writing the client’s application without doing any research – except, of course, interviewing a staff member and a Board member.


As I wrote the application, I quickly figured out that the funder had in mind much more narrowly defined project that what I was expecting ahead of time. In other words, my efforts to answer the funder’s questions had given me a much more precise understanding of exactly what the funder was willing to pay for in terms of a model grant program.

Ironically, I was already about 3/4 of the way through the first draft when I noticed the funder’s own website had a lot of the information I was looking for regarding the proposed grant project. If I had scanned the funder’s entire website beforehand, I do not think I would have noticed - or paid much attention to - the valuable information posted there, information that was immediately relevant to my client’s grant application.

Since I was already writing the first draft of the client’s application, I was hypersensitive to the exact information I needed and it just jumped out at me when I flipped to the funder’s website.

I think you will have this sort of time saving experience too if you give this technique a try. Often, I find I do not need to do the all extensive research I anticipated once I actually look at the questions posed in the actual grant application paperwork.

Moreover, the client’s staff experts can often quickly provide me with the most relevant research - once they have read a draft and understand the internal logic of the application. In a world of severe time constraints and limited rationality, I think it is usually a waste of time to ask the client to figure out the fundamental issues of significance by reading the funder’s guidelines. I have found the client’s staff can often be more helpful if they respond to a fully established rough draft of the full proposal.

Best of all, I think that if you do your research second, you will sometimes find you already know more than enough to write a tolerable solicitation document. With this technique, I have been able to avoid losing valuable hours and minutes researching things that may - in the end - have nothing to do with my client's proposed project.

Lightning Fast Grant Writing Tips: Give Your Charity an Advantage by Starting on Your Budget Early

One of the most important things I like to teach in my Lightning Fast Grant Writing Workshops is the suggestion that charities should start working on their project budget right away.

Too often, charities work on their budget at the last minute. They will only focus on the budget after they have written much of the grant which is odd, when you think about it, because the grant writer would have a better idea of what to write if there was a realistic budget to work off of...

Ironically, busy grant reviewers will often skim (or not read at all) the text of the charity's grant application and instead turn to the budget to make an informed decision about whether the charity has a clear enough plan and a realistic understanding of their proposed project. In this context, it is easier to understand why a strong, detailed, accurate budget will always give an agency an unfair advantage over its competition.

One of the best ways to get started on your budget is to work off of a copy of an existing, winning budget. You can obtain copies of winning budget examples from other agencies, off of the internet, or from your own agency's previous grant applications.

A Couple of Great Ideas for Researching Grant Possibilities

My aim is to speed up the process of winning grants. This means that I like to bring fresh eyes to the grant writing process and place my stress on techniques that make it easier for you to move decisively and quickly when it comes to researching funders and preparing applications for them.

One of the ironic things about teaching "grant writing" classes is that a lot of the success you experience is actually due to "grant researching." Accordingly, it is important to know where to look for funding for your project.

In my experience, people who dive into the Internet searching for grants are quickly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available to them. I like to simplify things by recommending the three most important sites I use to get information about potential grant opportunities.

I turn to the Foundation Center in New York for information on corporate and foundation grants.

http://www.foundationcenter.org

I turn to the federal government's special site for federal grants.

http://www.grants.gov/

And, finally, I look to another site for full information on potential scholarship applications.

http://www.fastweb.com/

With these three sites at hand, you'll have about 90% of the resources you need to find grants for yourself, your clients, or your non-profit agency. Also, please don't forget that it is okay to ask other for help. In a fix, I like to contact the staff members of your Congressional representative for your district or your city manager's office for assistance.

Networking (oasis) for grant writers. http://ping.fm/o5HCD

Analyze impact of stimulus package on your neighborhood - go to http//:www.recovery.gov

Keep on Keeping On: Don't Get Spooked By a Bad Economy

As you may know, Tricia and I are enjoying a good year economically. Although she was laid off in March 2009 - and is still looking for work - our grant writing consulting business is growing nicely and producing more than enough to keep us afloat. Nevertheless, these are dark times for our U.S. economy.

As you can see from the private employment chart above, this particular recession is much worse than previous recessions from the standpoint of overall employment numbers. The good news for grant writers, however, is that foundations are still required to give away 5% of their assets no matter what. Even if the charity doesn't have enough money for staff, it usually has enough money squirreled away to cover the cost of a grant writing consultant to help them put together a series of winning grant proposals.

Moreover, there are a lot of people making a lot of money. Government employees are doing well. Certain sectors of the economy are taking off even as other portions of the economy slide. The danger kicks in only when you allow yourself to get discouraged and stop trying with your soliciation efforts, grant writing, and normal follow-up activities. No matter what, tough times don't last...but tough people do.