Grant Writing Simplified
Jun 1, 2021
40: Should You Make the Move to Be a Grant Writing Consultant?
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Should you make the move to be a grant writing consultant? Sign up for Fast Track to Grant Writer: www.teresahuff.com/vip Join me today as I talk through seven questions to consider before becoming a grant writing consultant. Related Episodes: Connect with Teresa Huff: Website: Take the Quiz: Social: Get on the Fast Track to Grant Writer:
More episodes from Grant Writing Simplified
36 mins ago
135: TEDx Talk: The Real ROI of Grant Writing
Join me on the Fast Track to Grant Writer: As a grant writer for about two decades and winning over $7M for my clients, I’ve learned that grant writing isn’t magic, but there is a formula to increase your chances of winning grant. Today I’m sharing my secret sauce with you in my TEDx Talk! You can read the abbreviated version below or watch the full presentation (complete with pictures!) on . Where NOT to Start with Grant Writing Imagine you're at work when your boss walks by and says, "Hey, I need a favor. I’m supposed to help at the youth shelter fundraiser on Saturday and I can't make it. Can you step in for me?" As a team player and fan of the youth program, you say, "You bet! Happy to." Relieved, he says, “Thanks, you’re the best!” On the way out, he adds, "Oh, by the way, it's a marathon. Just get some good running shoes and you'll be fine." Wait - what? A marathon? I don’t know about you, but I’m sure not ready for a marathon on Saturday. …Yet I hear the equivalent of this all the time in the nonprofit world. People hear someone wants to start a nonprofit and say, "Oh, you should just get a grant for that!" Or, "You need a new building? I've heard there's grant funding out there.” Grants aren’t that simple. You don’t “just” get a grant. Like training for a marathon, grants require preparation, strategy, and hard work. Successful grant writing takes consistent effort, uncovering misconceptions, and willingness to approach strategy through a new lens. We must look at grants as part of a much bigger process. Start with ROI In business, we know investors are looking for a Return on Investment, or ROI. We put money in and calculate, "How much profit will I get back?" In the nonprofit world, ROI is more about creating a Return On Impact. You won’t get your investment of time, money, or resources back when you donate to a nonprofit. In the same way, grantmakers are looking forward. They want to know, "How much impact can we make through this work? How much of a ripple effect can we create by partnering together?" Even better, by giving forward and investing in others, we do get a return back - by way of meaning, relationships, and fulfillment. That's why it's so important for us to band together to help nonprofits build this kind of ROI. A Return on Impact. ROI Framework How do we go about showing Return on Impact? We do this through what I call the ROI Framework: Relevant, Optimize, and Interact. That’s how we get the results that lead to impact. Rather than simply writing more grants, let’s move upstream to look at the bigger picture and see how each grant opportunity fits in as part of the whole puzzle. When we put grants into their proper context, that’s when we can effectively build the nonprofit’s ROI. Relevant Relevance is twofold in the context of building our ROI Framework: Establish the relevance of our work to society. Ensure our work’s relevance to the grantmaker’s mission. First, we need contextual research to ensure the community need for this project: What statistics and data support this mission? Why is this work so critical? Then we should consider the relevance to the grantmaker: Whose funding priorities best align with the nonprofit's mission? What community gaps does the nonprofit fill? How can they partner to meet those needs? When thinking through this Relevance, we should consider the logical proof of ROI. To read today's full epsiode: Challenge Question: What can you do to increase your nonprofit’s ROI? Connect with Teresa Huff: Website: Watch the TEDx: Take the Quiz: Social: Get on the Fast Track to Grant Writer:
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May 23, 2023
134: What is a Transformational Economy, and How Can it Help a Nonprofit?, Interview with Mark S.A. Smith, Co-Founder of Nimbility Works
Join me on the Fast Track to Grant Writer: The collective values and priorities of a society change with each generation. We express our values with our time and money, so those values then drive the economy through the demand for relevant products and services. With each economic shift, the value proposition and marketing methods adapt to the current priorities to provide the most perceived value. As a nonprofit, you want to be on the peak of the value curve. During our discussion, Mark provided a journey of economic shifts through the history of America to help us understand where we are today and how nonprofits can take advantage of the current transformational economy to engage supporters. Join us for a journey through history to discover how you can help your nonprofit grow using assets you already have on hand. What is the Transformational Economy? Civilizations start as tribes in the subsistence economy, where we get enough to meet our needs and live. The goal is to say, “I'm alive.” As tribes settle, we move to the commodity economy where we harvest commodities such as crops, wood, and mining to buy and trade. The goal is to say, “I'm productive.” As the value of commodities increases, people move into the product economy where we buy labor savings. So instead of making your own products, we buy products someone else made. The goal is to say, “I’m efficient.” In the United States, we shifted to the product economy during the Industrial Revolution. As the need for products is met, we shift to the service economy where we free up time by paying for services we previously did on our own. Then we moved to the experience economy, where people wanted more than a service—they wanted a memorable service. Now, we are living in a transformational economy, where people want more than interesting memories. They want authentic, meaningful experiences to make things better, whether it’s improving themselves, their workplace, their family, their community, or the world. This is what people are craving and paying for today, so rapidly growing companies are providing an opportunity for their customers to be better people through their products and services. How the Transformational Economy Can Help a Nonprofit The marketing efforts of nonprofits have operated on a service economy mindset, where we focus our recruitment messaging on the services we provide. But since we are in the business of transformation, it should feel natural to embrace the shift and showcase how a contributor makes the world a better place by supporting our cause. However, amid this shift, nonprofit organizations face a larger struggle to be heard through the noise with minimal marketing dollars. So how does a nonprofit get and sustain supporters’ attention long enough to appeal to their sense of purpose? The Power of Story to Embrace the Transformational Economy The most powerful and entertaining way to showcase transformation is through storytelling. Mark explained, “You can't sell transformation with features, advantages, and benefits. A person will not understand until they have been through the experience. How we do that is by telling a story of somebody who has been through the transformation. You have to tell it as a hero's journey.” To read today's full episode: Challenge Question: What is a recent initiative you can search for stories of transformation? Connect with Teresa Huff: Website: Watch the TEDx: Take the Quiz: Social: Get on the Fast Track to Grant Writer:
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May 9, 2023
133: How Design, Creativity and Relationships Intersect With Budget Transparency, Interview with Sherry Quam Taylor, Nonprofit Finance Strategist
Join me on the Fast Track to Grant Writer: How to Shake Up the Status Quo and Raise Funds for Your Nonprofit I talk with a lot of nonprofits each week, and of course they all have one thing in common they need: more funding! That’s why I like to bring in experts in other types of fundraising too. We need to understand the bigger picture of how the strategies fit together. Today I’m talking with another nonprofit expert who is fantastic at what she does. Sherry Quam Taylor is good at shaking up the status quo and challenging people to think bigger, better, and with excellence to raise funds to serve your nonprofit fully. Listen as Sherry and I do some myth-busting about fundraising. We also discuss advice on scaling nonprofits. Transparency and the Gift of Asking, "Why?" Sherry and I discuss the importance of bringing creativity to work. Design and creativity not only help us take care of ourselves, but they also help our organizations grow and build. This can insulate us from becoming stagnant. The experience Sherry brought from the for-profit world to the nonprofit world helped her tremendously, and that transition helped her learn a lot by simply asking, “Why?” “Why can’t we say that?” Why can’t we spend that?” These questions challenged Sherry and the teams she worked with to look at “why” they were doing things a certain way, and build toward securing donors' best gifts. Giving the Gift of Time in Nonprofit Relationship Building Relationships take time. Rushing relationships does not build strong foundations. As board members, development teams, or even grant writers, relationships are at our heart. Sherry also shares tools we can use to build those relationships, specifically with investment-level donors. First of all, we need to ask questions and listen with interest. Sherry suggests this gem, “How did you become so generous?” As I share in my , building relationships means being conversational and getting to know the person, not just the dollar. Slowing down and being relational with donors can lead them to their best gift. That process can take 12-24 months or more, and that's okay. To read today's full episode: Challenge Question: What five people can you start building relationships with now? Make that list today. Connect with Teresa Huff: Website: Watch the TEDx: Take the Quiz: Social: Get on the Fast Track to Grant Writer:
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