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GRANT
APPLICATION HELP
Frequently Asked Questions
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Following are
some Frequently Asked Questions about Grant Writing and
Applications.
Read
Answers to Grant Questions by clicking their
links (below); once you've finished reading the Answer,
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Note:
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Why Use a Grant
Services Firm
If One of My Staff Can Do the Work?
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How Successful is T-21 in Obtaining Grants for
Its
Customers?
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Isn't
It Cheaper to Just Write One Grant Proposal and Send It to Many Grantors?
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What Do I Have to Do to Get Started in the Grant
Process?
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What
Are Our Chances of Getting a Grant Award?
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Do
We Need to Be a Non-Profit Organization to Be Funded?
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Can
We Apply for More Than One Grant?
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Which
Categories of Grants Get the Most Monetary Awards?
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What's the Difference
in Applying for a Foundation Grant vs. a Federal
Grant?
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What
are "Matching Grants?"
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What Can We Do to Improve Our Odds of Getting a Grant Award?
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Can
We Get a Grant for Our Operating Costs?
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Do
We Need to Be Registered and With Whom?
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What
is an AOR?
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Once
We Hire a Grant Assistance Firm, Do We Have to Do Anything Else?
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Does
T-21 Submit the Grant Application for Us?
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How
Much Lead Time Do We Need to Allow When Making a Grant Application?
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Once
the Application is Submitted, Do We Just Wait for Results?
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Why
Do Grant Assistance Costs Rise If We Miss Deadlines for Data Submission?
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What
is a Good 'Ratio of Administration-to-Fundraising Cost?'
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Should
I Create a Special Program Just to Match a Grantor's Interests or
RFP?
Q. Why Use a Grant
Services Firm If One of My Staff Can Do the Work?
A.
There are four reasons:
Time, Money, Training, and
Experience.
In
theory, anyone can write a Grant Application. In practice, the inexperienced are
rarely successful.
One of your staff may be technically capable of writing a Grant Proposal,
but success in obtaining Grant Awards requires: Training,
Knowledge, Skills, and - most of all - Experience.
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There is much more to being successful in Grant
work than first meets the eye.
The process must be well organized and thorough - combining: Proper
Planning, Research, Meticulous RFP
(Request For Proposal) Analysis, Good Interpersonal Relationships, Succinct
and Cogent Writing Skills, and Personal
Connections to the Granting community.
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Employees must "learn the ropes" and continuously work on Grant
Proposals to achieve
proficiency if an organization elects to do "in-house"
Grant Research, Application, and Follow-up.
Even if an organization is large enough to submit many Grant Applications every year, it still
may not be cost-effective. That's where T-21
can help. Our expertise is on-call, whenever you need
it. When you don't - your cost is zero.
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Most organizations can't justify the time and expense of "in-house" Grant
staff when the need for Grant Writing is sporadic or
unpredictable, so they economically use T-21's services -
only when they need it. All of our customers find our on-call services
inexpensive, reliable, and convenient.
Why?
Because, when using T-21, they don't bear the fixed cost of
Salaries, Facilities, Supplies, Employment Taxes, and
Benefits for dedicated Grant employees or rehiring and
retraining expenses if they resign or retire.
With T-21
assistance, they only pay for services when they need them.
When they don't need help, it costs them nothing - yet they still have trained, experienced Grant
help on-call.
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With T-21 support, organizations can
concentrate on their main work
and use our expertise only when they need
it.
And, if they maintain an on-going relationship with T-21, our professionals continually search for new, applicable funding opportunities and notify them immediately.
When assigned, our professionals quickly help with Development Plans, Research, Application,
and Follow-up - and always meet deadlines.
Q. How Successful is
T-21 in Obtaining Grants for Its Customers?
A.
The T-21
Privacy
Policy does not permit us to release information on specific
clients. But consider that our Grant Specialists have years of
experience and have received meritorious awards
for their work.
They have obtained
Grant Awards for clients from Federal and State Governments, Private Foundations, Corporate,
and State-Corporate-Private Partnerships in the areas of
Programming, Education, Public Outreach,
Tourism, Capacity Building, Conference
Support, and more.
T-21 is
thorough. The quality of your completed Grant Application will always rank
highly with Grantors.
Since many factors are at work in the Grant allocation process, we expect to see a 60% - 75% success rate on
project proposals which: Meet RFP (Request for Proposal) Criteria, Have Defensible
Plans, Are Well-Researched and Documented,
and Are Properly Budgeted.
Q. Isn't It Cheaper to Just Write One Grant Proposal and Send It to Many Grantors?
A.
This is called the "shotgun" method - and it
rarely works. From years of experience, we know that the
Purposes, Application Requirements, and Submission Formats
for every Grant RFP (Request For Proposal) are different. Grantors' most frequent complaint is that applicants don't follow
Application instructions, often commenting, "Why should we trust someone with our money if they can't even follow our format to request it?"
and, "A project proposal can't mean much to someone who won't even apply for the money properly."
We advise our clients to
never use this method. It's
generally a waste of time and resources and cripples their chances of getting a Grant Award.
Even worse - Grantors may remember Applicants as organizations that "don't care" - or are
"looking for a cheap and quick way to get money." Neither result is desirable.
Q. What Do I Have to Do to Get Started in the Grant Process?
A.
Numerically, the most successful Grant Applicants are:
Strong, Well-Administered, Not-for-Profit Organizations. However, individuals and "for profit" companies can also be successful.
In either case, there are some simple recommended steps:
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FIRST -
Maintain an on-going relationship with a professional Grant Services firm, like
T-21, for reliable guidance and support through the whole Grant process - any time you need it.
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SECOND -
Compile a prioritized list of projects you would like to have funded.
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THIRD -
Organizations must work with their Management / Supervisory Board to support the Grant
Proposal process.
Individuals and sole proprietorships must also seriously dedicate
themselves to the Grant Proposal effort.
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FOURTH -
Build relationships with Foundation and Individual Grantors, since awards often result from on-going interpersonal ties between the Applicant and the Grantor.
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FIFTH -
Don't anticipate "something for nothing." Every
Grantor expects effort, dedication, and resources to be expended by
Applicants.
Q. What Are Our Chances of Getting a Grant Award?
A.
It depends on a number of factors, including:
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How well your proposal meets Grantor's RFP (Request For
Proposal) Terms,
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How good your Research and Data is,
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Your Project Plan's Detail
and Quality,
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How Innovative / Cost-Effective your Project is,
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Your Grant Application's Quality,
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Your Prior Experience in related work / Other Grants Awarded,
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Your Interpersonal relationship with the Grantor,
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Project Sustainability after the grant period (if applicable),
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Competing Grant Applications' Number
and Quality.
If your Organization,
Project, Preparation, and Application rank well in these areas - you
might expect a 60%
- 80% chance of
receiving a Grant Award, depending on the number of other high-quality
applicants. Remember that a
Grant is a contract,
requiring you to perform according to the Grantor's RFP (Request For
Proposal) and your Project Proposal.
So, propose only what you can actually do.
Q. Do We Need to Be a Non-Profit Organization to Be Funded?
A.
Federal and some other Grant funds are available to individuals,
not-for-profit
organizations, small businesses, various
governmental entities, and others.
Foundation grants are usually made only to not-for-profit organizations,
having IRS 501(c)(3) / 509(a)1 Status and filing IRS Form 990.
If needed, an individual or for-profit business can easily form a separate not-for-profit organization for specific purposes, as long as the two do not have financial or
other interlocking ties.
It is fair to say that
not-for-profit organizations have a
significant advantage over others in receiving many types of Grants.
Q. Can We Apply for More Than One Grant?
A.
In general, the answer is "yes."
You can apply for different Grants for different purposes or from different Grantors.
However, professional Grant Assistance firms, like T-21, usually advise against application for more than
one Grant per agency per funding cycle. And, of course, you cannot "double-fund" the same activities or uses of money in a project.
If more than one Grantor is involved in a project, you must inform each Grantor of the others and get their approval.
In fact, multiple Grantors supporting a project lend it credibility.
There is one
newer wrinkle in grant funding:
Once you receive an Award, the Grantor may impose a "cooling off" period before they consider you for another one.
This allows that Grantor to spread funds among more Applicants and gives them time to assess your performance on the current Grant Project.
The length of a "cooling off" period may range from 1 to 3 years.
Given this possible requirement, you should
maximize the quality of your existing project and submit well-timed, comprehensive,
concise, and cogent progress reports. This preserves vital communication and goodwill with the Grantor for your next funding opportunity.
During "cooling off" periods, you can pursue funding from other Grantors for different
projects - so it's important to have a professional Grant Services firm, like
T-21, continually searching for Grant opportunities for you.
Q. Which Categories of Grants Get the Most Monetary Awards?
A.
Recent Federal Grants
are heavy in the areas of: Science,
Medical, National Safety, and help for Disabled /
Aged / Poor.
Foundation Grant Awards
favor: Human Services,
Education, Archives, Arts, Health,
Public Affairs (philanthropy, civil rights, etc.),
Environment,
and Animal Welfare.
Q. What's the Difference in Applying for a
Foundation Grant vs. a Federal Grant?
A.
The short answer is: Time, Money, and Competition.
Foundation Grant applications generally require less production time and success is more likely.
These grant awards commonly run from a few-thousand dollars to a few hundred-thousand dollars (but can be more).
Guidance, Grantor Research, and Application
support from a professional firm, like T-21, are important in making you
successful.
Federal Grants usually have the potential for larger awards - but
more time, work and patience are necessary in research, preparation, documentation, negotiation, and submission. Careful guidance
and expert help from a professional Grant Services firm, like T-21, is even more important in
this complicated process.
Major considerations in applying for
Federal Grants
include:
(1)
Just the Registration process can require several time-consuming steps,
(2)
More in-depth preparation and research data is usually required,
(3)
Applications
are often returned to be
resubmitted with more / different information,
(4)
Award decisions may take six months after Grant Application submission, and
(5)
Federal Grants are more competitive than
State, Local, Foundation, or others.
Q. What are "Matching Grants?"
A.
Matching Grants (aka Challenge Grants) "match" money that you have or collect and
dedicate to a specific Grant Project.
They are frequently used for large construction projects, such as adding a wing to a building.
They are referenced by the grant ratio, as "1:1" or "2:1" or "3:1," - referring to
the amount of money you must raise vs.
the amount of money the Grantor will
contribute. For example - a "1:1" Grant means that for every dollar you bring in, the Grantor matches it with a dollar;
a "2:1" Grant indicates that for every two dollars you supply, the Grantor supplies one dollar.
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