How Do I Know If My Nonprofit Is Grant Ready?

All nonprofits need to fundraise to make their missions happen. In the nonprofit sector, funding from government and foundation grants is an important element. The biggest sources of nonprofit fundraising comes from foundation and government grants. Grant writing is a part of nearly all nonprofit organizations fundraising strategic plan. Sometimes a competitive environment with other nonprofits is created when writing for grants and organizations want to be sure they presenting their organization to distinguish themselves from other similar nonprofits.

Nonprofits often wonder how they can get started to write for grants in the first place or, if they have written grants but not received one, how they can set themselves apart from other nonprofits pursuing the same funds.

Foundations are seeking to partner with nonprofits whose programs show proven results or a strong capability of fulfilling their mission through their programs. In order to evaluate nonprofits they look for organizations meeting basic requirements and those exceeding nonprofit standards and guidelines in their operations.

Implementing Nonprofit Standards And Guidelines

Before writing for your grants, make sure you are implementing these requirements in your organization which may increase your success in receiving grants.

Grant Readiness is the process of ensuring the nonprofit organization has met all organizational needs to be a successful and sustainable organization.

Foundations desire to fund organizations who have the capacity and resources to deliver their programs and create desired changes in the community they serve.

Being prepared as an organization before writing for grants will increase the changes for grant funding success.

To be grant ready, nonprofits should ensure all aspects of their organization operations are working:

1. Meeting IRS and State laws, rules and regulations
2. Have compelling vision and mission statements that truly reflect the organization in a clear and concise manner
3. A board of directors that is engaged, meeting regularly, and following the mandated Duties: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty and Duty of Obedience
4. The day to day operations of the organization is efficient and properly staffed
5. Programs are meeting the community need and conducted regularly
6. Has financially stable with a variety of income sources
7. Is marketing to increase public awareness of your mission
8. Has partnerships and collaborations with local government, businesses and other nonprofits

Grant Readiness Checklist

Of course in each of these areas there are several considerations which can be found in our Grant Readiness Checklist.

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Consulting

Some nonprofits need professional help to ensure the areas are all properly implemented.

Grant Templates And Grant Strategic Plans

Once in place, the nonprofit should complete a grant template that provides a narrative of programming, compiles all documents into a grant notebook and prepares for customization into grant proposals. The nonprofit board and staff should work on developing relationships with foundation staff by calling them, attending founder forums, trainings and attending networking events.

Grant Strategic Plans are used to identify, prioritize and track grants you will pursue.

Be Prepared

Writing for grants requires preparation. A nonprofit who wants to have a successful grant program should be ready for the scrutiny funders will bring to the organization. The checklist helps organizations understand and implement standard policies and procedures evaluated by funders.