In many ways, the hallmarks of a strong grant proposal are the same as the hallmarks of any good piece of writing. Factors like conciseness, voice, emotional appeal, strong subject matter and more will serve just as well in a grant proposal as they would in a high school essay. 

But grant writing also leaves more room for creativity than your traditional essay. 

While many specifications for a grant proposal are up to the funder, a host of other factors are up to the grant writer. Key creative decisions in a proposal can make or break its success. Below are some suggestions for a stronger grant proposal. 

Understand the funder

Grant applications encourage taking your reader into account. When you know which foundation or agency is reading your proposal, the content and message of a piece of writing can be tailor-made to resonate with its intended audience. Important factors such as the grantmaker’s values and priorities influence how they perceive any message. By understanding the funder before even beginning the writing process, you have the opportunity to ensure your message is the one that will stick.

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The health of the social sector is dependent on the trust instilled by its clients and community members that their existence will continue to serve the relative needs of the community. The immediate and sustained economic and social impact the nonprofit sector contributes to the communities it serves relies on the organizations within to be financially savvy and well-equipped to sustain its institutions for many years to come. Below are strategies that can be implemented into an organization’s strategic plan or as a full financial sustainability plan.

Develop a financial sustainability plan

Start by painting a picture of your organization’s full operational costs, all your revenue sources and their level of reliability, and of your assets and cash reserves. Next, identify areas where you may be financially vulnerable. Do you have less than a month’s worth of cash reserves? Have you never heard of proper policies and procedures? Or maybe 99% of your funding is sourced from a single entity. Whatever it may be, realize those areas where opportunity lives and build a plan from there.

Develop financial policies and procedures

Financial policies and procedures can…

A nonprofit organization is only as successful as the staff behind the mission. Building a successful team means attracting the right people for the right job, but what is the value of attracting the right talent if you cannot retain them? According to the Internal Revenue Service, there are more than 1.8 million registered charitable organizations in the United States, and nonprofits have the third largest workforce of any U.S. industry.

What does this mean?

Well, more organizations means more jobs which leads to more vacancies and the increase highlights the need for effective recruitment and retention strategies. A survey of over 1,000 nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. was conducted by the National Council of Nonprofits in 2021 and looked at the rate of open positions at a given time. They found that nearly a quarter have 9% of their positions open, 34% reported a rate of 10-19%, 26% reported a rate of 20-29%, and over a fifth of those surveyed reported over 30% of their positions being open. That same survey reported salary, childcare, policies, stress or burnout, and the draw of remote work as factors that contributed to the vacancy rates.

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Janey Pearl Starks is the Equity, Diversity and Community Engagement Officer at Mountain Park Health Center, a nonprofit community health center that aims to provide affordable healthcare to people from all stages and walks of life.

Pearl Starks was a part of the 2018-19 class of the ASU Lodestar Center’s American Express (AmEx) Leadership Academy. She was later admitted to the prestigious AmEx 2.0 Leadership Academy program at the Aspen Institute, comprising competitively-selected alumni of AmEx leadership programs…

The nonprofit sector, like other sectors, has been facing high turnover. It is time to consider strategies and innovative ways to recruit good talent and retain qualified staff. High employee turnover is costly to organizations and delays mission advancement as its focus must be filling vacant positions. So, nonprofit leaders must equip themselves with the knowledge and resources that are needed for retention.

For leadership to take proactive measures, the following list is six key
strategies recommendations for consideration and implementation by leadership and management in retaining qualified staff.

Engagement

Keeping staff engaged in the organization and the mission creates a culture of purpose and meaning, resulting in staff feeling ownership resulting in a continuous involvement in the organization. Creating a culture of purpose and meaning creates a working environment that is passionate and productive internally, which would transfer externally.

Competitive compensation and benefits

Offering competitive salaries could be challenging to smaller organizations due to financial budgets; however, it is important that the compensation offered is fair and aligns with the work being done. Offering competitive compensation and benefits ensures that staff feels valued, decreasing the need to seek other employment opportunities, thus reducing turnover. Again, the importance of employees feeling appreciated…