Over the past eight months, TSNE’ Learning Lab has conducted interviews and a focus group with small under-resourced nonprofits to assess their needs. One of the major themes was a desire for more practical resources on identifying and applying for the right grants. In response, we asked Jessica Wilson, a development professional with fifteen years of experience, to provide some key tips on effective grant writing for the unofficial development manager, the start-up executive director, or the passionate mover-and-shaker turned fundraiser.
In this article, Jessica Wilson shares how to start identifying the appropriate grants, best practices for a winning proposal, and tips for after you receive your award letter. Wilson started her career helping youth fundraise for media projects in New York and Massachusetts. Most recently, she worked with Lowell-based community organizations UTEC, Inc. and Mill City Grows, helping them double in size over a 3-5 year period.
WHERE TO START?
There are many free and fee-based resources for finding foundations and grant programs that might be helpful in growing your organization.
Grant Advisor is a free site where anyone can post anonymous reviews of foundations. You can search by state to read more about different foundations and understand which ones might be a fit for your mission and how they work with grantees. This site won’t help you with the application process, however, so you’ll want to take what you learn here, and research further on GuideStar by Candid. There you can download each foundation’s IRS Form 990. This will provide contact information and giving history for most foundations. This multi-step approach does take some time, effort, and patience, but it will certainly give you a better understanding of your local funding landscape.