Posts by Grants Plus
Breaking the news: Telling grant funders the executive director is leaving
We are in a season of change across the nonprofit landscape. Numerous reports and studies have predicted a sector-wide shift in leadership that is now actively unfolding. Nonprofit executives of the baby boomer generation are steadily retiring and a new pipeline of leaders is stepping up. Add to this context troubling indicators of nonprofit CEO…
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Expert Tips for Winning Your Next Federal Grant
Successfully competing for federal grants is about more than following the application instructions. The formal Request for Proposals (RFP) usually tells only part of the story. Savvy federal grant seekers know to seek out the broader context about a federal funding opportunity in order to assess their organization’s competitiveness and prepare the most complete and…
Read MoreThree Tips for Getting Donations from Donor-Advised Funds
“How can we receive grants through donor-advised funds?” Savvy fund development professionals feel confident pursuing grants from traditional foundations but are less sure about maximizing funding from donor-advised funds (DAFs). The donors who give through DAFs are often high-net-worth individuals with the propensity to volunteer and make major or planned gifts. That means that nonprofits risk…
Read MoreClient Spotlight: Akron Art Museum
Maintaining your grants program during staffing transitions A solid grants program is built on consistent attention to opportunities and relationships. So what happens when the staff person responsible for managing your grants program leaves? Would you know when proposals and reports were due? What was the last stewardship step with a funder? Whether replacing an…
Read MoreClient Spotlight: Merrick House
Merrick House achieves funding wins within one year of new grants strategy For a grant seeking effort to gain momentum an organization must do more than grant writing: it must pursue a targeted grants strategy. Michelle Curry recognized this when she assumed leadership at Merrick House, a Cleveland-based organization with a 90-year history of service…
Read MoreClient Spotlight: Stella Maris
Together, Grants Plus and Stella Maris submitted 18 funding requests, totaling $620,000. More than $580,000 was awarded—a success rate of 94%. This funding has helped Stella Maris build toward its upcoming capital expansion and better serve individuals affected by the opioid crisis. The Cleveland-based addiction recovery agency Stella Maris had received small grants from a…
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Hallmarks of Effective Grant Writing
Part 1: Tailoring the Proposal
There’s a saying in the world of grant seeking: “If you’ve met one funder, you’ve met one funder.” Part of what makes grant seeking challenging is that every funder wants something different. The essence of what they want is the same—what do you propose to do, what difference will it make, and where do we, the…
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