A Professional Point of View:
Grants and Local Government

The continuing revitalization of the United States, economically, and perhaps equally important, in spirit and optimism, may seem to the business community, and other seekers of grants, as a time of mixed messages. In fact however, more dollars than ever before are available if funding requests are persuasively prepared and delivered in a timely manner to the right funding sources.

Grants are increasingly important to the overall welfare of most regions when they support the important work of the growing number of community based and non-profit organizations. Why so important, easily understood if you listen to the words of Larry Triesch, the City of Long Beach's Senior Economic Development Officer. "The private non profit world helps to improve the overall education and work skills of our citizens which contributes to the improved economic condition of citizens resulting in improved purchasing power so vital to fueling the city's economic engine. When this spending occurs every business becomes a more viable entity able to grow through traditional non-grant supported activities and become eligible for traditional financial support through banks and private investors."

And the total dollar value of assistance, from public and private sources? Good question, great answer-- annually over a quarter trillion dollars, some $240 billion from the government in project, discretionary and block grants with another $10 billion from charitably-minded foundations, corporations and individuals. While nearly all the funding to business is in the form of modest start up grants, loans, or technical assistance, the overall economic development side of government is vital to creating the community condition necessary for profit, whether it is removing urban blight, attracting customers, increasing tourism or financial packages to recruit new employers and their payrolls and taxes.

However, while this positive statistical outlook is impressive, in the minds and word processors of potential applicant the distance between ideas, needs and a check in the mail ranges from daunting to desperate. The good news is that this wide open window of opportunity can be accessed by groups and individuals who take advantage of current grant writing technology, practice perseverance and time management, and get their messages in reasonably good form to the right source or sources.

What follows is a prescription for finding funding and writing a winning grant proposal, whether it be directed to the federal, state or local government, to a charitable foundation, or a combination of public and private sources.

1. Live in the world of ideas. The force of your own letterhead is a good start, but you must have an idea that, like a successful product or service, finds a niche. The best way to find the right idea can be formal or informal. Formally done, many grant seekers prepare a needs assessment or survey, some simple some elaborate. At that point, or even without such a data collection process, a round of open, non-judgmental, brainstorming is extremely valuable. Let all interested parties, high and low ranking employees, customers, etc. be a part of this process.
   
   
2. Find the right source or sources. In this step the novice grant writer likely knows more about their business or cause than the process of finding funding but new technology, especially the inter-net, makes it possible to work smart not hard. A majority of government funding sources are easily researched through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, available for purchase at about $70 , in all major libraries, and on line when you surf the world wide web. Web surfing is also encouraged when seeking information on the leading foundations ranging from the billion dollar Ford Foundation in New York to the smaller, but active and well run, Fairfield Foundation based in Long Beach. There is no one inclusive directory of all foundations in the USA but the Foundation Grants Index is the best of the large volumes. The Council of Foundations website is www.cof.org.
   
   
3. Find the forms. Every funding source has some sort of required form or format, and it is better to not fight the system but to act like your doctor, read the fine print, diagnose what the fund source wants and then prescribe the right programmatic medicine to solve the problem or meet the need. A crisp well written one or two pages is all that is needed to acquire the Request for Proposals (RFP) that most often gives a step by step outline of how the request should be written. But a warning here, there are usually one or two elements not well explained, so be ready to organize a short list of questions for the designated contact person.
   
   
4. Refine the idea. Now that you know what the funding source really wants, and will pay for, be flexible enough to revisit your original concept and adjust, perhaps setting some parts off for subsequent, year two, funding or to be solicited simultaneously from a different funding source. If all parties know about each other being solicited this is a very acceptable and encouraged practice.
   
   
5. W-R-I-T-E. Five letters, one word, and the activity that stops most interested, and deserving, parties from finding funding. Two secrets should help. One is to pre-write, early and away from the pressure of the deadline. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes each work day (not the first half hour, do the coffee pot and water cooler first) but an early and short writing session. Prepare the history of the organization, list of previous grants or contracts your organization has received, thumbnail biographies of key personnel, a short version of the key idea, who you might joint venture with, and similar elements of the proposal. The second secret weapon is to write "inside out". Don't start on page one, write what ever is easiest, it's like hanging meat on a skeleton, and the skeleton is your floppy disk in your word processor and it doesn't care what part comes on when. You will find that this method will get you to a rough draft relatively quickly and easily, and then you can edit, circulate and fine tune knowing you are near the finish (and funding) line.
   
   
6. Budget. This is easy for some and difficult for others. And in some organizations it might be the among the first elements written if your boss wants to know the BBL (big bottom line) before you spend any time on the grant proposal. In any event, budgeting also follows the suggestions of the funding source and is no more difficult than planning your vacation--miles driven, hotels, meals, consultants, equipment, supplies, etc. Don't panic; clearly indicate your actual costs and explain in a budget note any areas not clear, including the basis and rate for your overhead, indirect or administrative charges.
   
   
7. Packaging, Politicking and Refunding. The last acts of writing a winning proposal are often as important as the first. Carefully determine to whom and when an application must be sent, the enclosure of all forms and supporting documents are as critical as clearly stating the need, method, project plan and budget. The best advice for politicking is to do it before you need it. Make friends first then raise funds. Be sure that your funding source is at least generally aware of your organization before the "ask" is made but don't be reluctant to let your elected officials know that you have a proposal pending! For refunding, be ready to revise and re-submit, persistence pays off.

The vitality of every community deserves and needs supplementary government and foundation support to achieve the quality of life and economic vitality its' citizens deserve.