Grants are an important funding source for nonprofits as this extra money enables you to help more people in the communities you serve. This means that obtaining grants is just as important to your mission as receiving donations from individuals and businesses. Grants can either be offered by local and federal government entities or from foundations or corporations that are looking to partner with nonprofits.
Applying for grants can be a time-consuming process, and there is usually a lot of paperwork involved. The organizations offering grants want to ensure that they are giving money to nonprofits that can do the best with the money that is offered.
Grant writing software has been one of the major needs for nonprofit organizations. In order to apply for grants, nonprofits have to write proposals that need to have a specific structure. The grant writing software mentioned above helps create proposals of a certain structure so they satisfy the requirements of the grantor.
A grant writing software is a software that helps grant writing service providers to send grant proposals to the foundation, government, and other funding services. The grant management software assists the grant writing needs of nonprofit organizations. In order to succeed, nonprofits must be equipped with the proper software for their purpose. Grant writing software, designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, will help provide the organization with an organized format, which can make managing their grants easier; thereby maximizing funding opportunities available.
How to Write a Grant Proposal
Learning how to write a grant proposal is the first step to securing funding. Put the time in now to learn the best approaches for appealing to funders. Otherwise, a poor proposal can make a bad impression on funders and weaken your chances of winning grant funding.
As a general rule of thumb, know that good grant writing is simply good writing. To create a convincing ask, you’ll need to tailor your proposal, communicate ideas clearly, convey a core compelling idea, and write to persuade.
However, simply remembering these phrases is not enough. You actually need to apply these tactics when crafting your proposals in order for them to be effective. Let’s take a closer look at each of these components of successful nonprofit grant writing.
Tailor Your Proposal:
There’s a common saying in the world of grant seeking: “If you’ve met one funder, you’ve met one funder.”
Requesting grant dollars can be quite intimidating, especially when you’re new to the grant-seeking process. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to requesting grant dollars. In other words, don’t create one generic proposal and then “shop it out.” Rather you need to tailor each proposal you craft. To stand a chance at securing grant funding, you’ll need to do the following:
- Tailor the format. Each grantmaker has different instructions for composing and submitting a grant request. When going for a grant opportunity, make sure that your application follows every guideline. Even if you have a solid relationship with the funder, don’t be tempted to believe that you can cut corners. Disregarding their instructions can land your proposal in the reject pile.
- Tailor the message. Writing a truly compelling proposal means tailoring your content and message, too. You’ll need to brainstorm the unique alignment between your organization’s mission or project and the interests of the funder. Then, articulate this in key places—especially the cover letter, introduction, and conclusion of the narrative. Finally, acknowledge your appreciation for the funder’s vision and attribute future success to them, stating how you envision your partnership. Showing gratitude can go a long way in grant seeking.
Overall, keep in mind that funders don’t exist to fund your organization’s mission. Rather, they exist to fulfill their own missions by supporting relevant organizations. Maybe supporting organizations like yours is simply part of their philanthropic initiatives. Tailoring your proposal format and message is just the first step in showing a funder that your organization can be trusted, putting you one step closer to securing the grant.
Communicate Ideas Clearly:
When you’re under pressure, it can be tempting to skimp on the review and revision process to save time. Instead, take a step back and consider how clearly you’re communicating your ideas. They may make perfect sense to those who are directly involved with your organization, but you need to write for an outside party.
Letting clear writing fall through the cracks is not a challenge you want to create for yourself. Write your grant proposal to be clear and easy to follow.
Make it part of your grant writing discipline to communicate complex ideas simply. To communicate in a straightforward but compelling way, try the following:
- Think before you write. Clarify what your intent is before putting it on paper.
- Use familiar, concrete words. Avoid pretension and unhelpful jargon as these can bog down the reader.
- Limit sentences to a single idea. Choose several short sentences over a single overly complex one. Quick and simple sentences are easier to follow.
- Write in active voice. Active voice is when the subject performs the action. For example, “The Board approved the request,” not “The request was approved by the Board.”
When constructing your nonprofit grant proposal, how you shape and sequence your ideas is key. It enables the reader to gradually build a better, more logical understanding of the reasoning behind your request. Follow these suggestions to achieve a compelling, logical flow:
- Don’t bury your points. Clearly articulate your main ideas. Lead paragraphs with topic sentences to orient your reader.
- Develop transitions. This helps you link ideas, arguments, paragraphs, and sections instead of abruptly jumping to a new topic.
- Organize using signposts. Use headings, lists, and bullet points to help the reader navigate your ideas.
Remember, one of your main goals is to make your reader’s job easy. The hard work should be on your end, not theirs. Aim to create a compelling proposal that’s clear and logical.
Convey a Core Compelling Idea:
What really sets your proposal apart is a unifying narrative thread. Once you’re comfortable clearly articulating your thoughts, you can apply these skills to express your core compelling idea.
Simply put, a core compelling idea is an overarching theme that sticks with the reader. In the case of nonprofit grant writing, it’s an idea that clarifies how your organization’s work is important, urgent, unique, and deserving of funding. It’s the answer to why the funder should want to fund your request, helping them to picture their own mission coming alive. This is simple to understand but difficult to master.
Knowing how to write a grant proposal means centering your writing around the idea you wish to stick with the reader. By anchoring your nonprofit grant proposal around a core compelling concept, you’ll stand a better chance of persuading the funder and cutting through the competition.
First, aim to make it memorable. While facts and figures are significant for conveying urgency, the program officer will likely soon forget these numbers—no matter how impressive they are. Think of it this way: the program officer’s job is to boil down the main ideas of each proposal and then summarize what’s most important to the foundation’s board of trustees.
Consider this: an hour after reading the proposal, what’s the bottom-line impression or message you want the reader to remember?
Once you’ve answered this question, define a core compelling idea that is unique and will distinguish your organization from your competition.
Keep it intentionally simple and memorable, while summoning the reader’s attention with powerful language. Most importantly, your core compelling idea should respond to what the grant funder cares about. For instance, if you’re writing to a local community foundation, orient your core compelling idea around the distinct impact that your organization or project will make in the community. After stepping away from your grant proposal, the reader should be able to understand and remember exactly what a difference your organization proposes to make.
Write to Persuade:
A grant proposal must not only inform but also inspire. It’s up to you, the writer, to create a proposal that convinces the reader that your organization is worthy of funding. A well-written grant request should convince the reader that your organization or project addresses an urgent need, is staffed by qualified professionals, and has achievable goals.
Persuasive nonprofit grant writing begins with remembering that you’re writing for a real person who can be converted to belief and action. Consider appealing to your reader through three different modes of persuasion:
- Ethos: The Gut. Ethos is an appeal to ethics. Give the reader the gut sense that you can be trusted by establishing your competence and credibility. Achieve this by including impressive credentials and qualifications that showcase the best about your organization and staff.
- Logos: The Head. Logos is an appeal to logic. Use well-supported facts, data, and testimonials to back up your claims. This gives your reader a reason to believe that your compelling claims are true. Use bulleted lists, explain facts via narrative, and insert graphs to help data stand out.
- Pathos: The Heart. Pathos is an appeal to emotion. Show, don’t just tell. Instead of explaining the impact of your programs in the abstract, use real-life examples to make your proposal more gripping and memorable. When possible, use vivid imagery and powerful quotes to put the reader in the story.
At its best, nonprofit grant writing should be lively and motivational. To stand the best chance of acquiring grant funding, appeal to the reader’s gut, head, and heart
Grant Writing Softwares
Salsa CRM
With Salsa’s grant management software, you can attach documents to your grant profiles, configure and assign custom tasks to different members of your team, and have multiple users working on one grant.
Plus, Salsa includes a built-in word processor so that you can write your grant proposal directly in the system.
Salsa’s grant management software is a part of a larger suite of tools that your nonprofit can use to raise funds and engage with donors.
WizeHive Software
WizeHive is a flexible, cloud-based platform designed improve the collection, review, and management of applications for grants, scholarships and other mission-driven programs. The system offers tailored workflows, reporting dashboards, automation, and built-in grantee communication tools, all designed to help teams at foundations, CSR programs, universities, and government programs more easily power their programs, better harness their data, and facilitate true impact in their communities.
WizeHive integrates with a variety of email, accounting, and CRM software, as well as 2000+ other cloud-based programs.
Fundly CRM
Fundly realizes that tracking grant proposals can be tricky without the right tools. That’s why they’ve created a system that makes it easier.
Their software allows you to set deadlines and make edits to multiple grant profiles at once.
Fundly’s grantmaking features can be paired with their other powerful fundraising tools, so your nonprofit can raise even more funds for your cause
eCivis Software
eCivis is a cloud-based nonprofit software designed to help organizations centralize and manage grant management and fund activities of tribal, local, and state governments. The solution allows government entities to search for the right grant and track the entire pursuance process.
Features of eCivis include training management, grant research, award tracking, goals tracking, collaboration, and project planning. Professionals can utilize a portal to manage grantees, report on performance, and track recipients of funding.
Pricing is available on yearly subscriptions and support is extended via email, phone, and ticketing.
SmarterSelect Software
Smarter Select is an online application management system designed to help businesses build and share application forms with their respondents. It offers tools to create and share online forms and collect, analyze and evaluate responses. Links to forms can be embedded into websites or added to custom applications or shared via emails.
Smarter Select offers rule-based customization tools that help to set application deadlines, configure evaluation criteria, design scoring methodology, and more. Forms come with dynamic workflows that change the sequence of questions based on previous responses submitted by users.
Form developers can use standard maths formulas as well as design their own custom formulas to calculate respondents’ scores. A wide array of reports along with custom charts are available to view and analyze results.
Smarter Select is used across various industries including education, healthcare, association, and government. The solution offers an annual subscription package that includes customer support via phone, email, and web.
Conclusion: The importance of grant writing is widely underestimated by most nonprofit organizations. It is essential for nonprofits to apply for grants on a routine basis in order to secure funding. Grant money is the lifeblood of every nonprofit organization. Being able to generate more grant proposals is the key to securing more funding for your organization. This post presents an overview of some general rules needed when it comes to grant software for nonprofits.