Empowering nonprofits: Insights and inspiration for mission-driven leaders

Grants Plus Guide: Under pressure? Just pause.

Managing a grants program can be stressful, and too much stress can lead to burnout. When we feel under pressure, our impulse can be to push, but it’s important to pause. A few mindful moments can recharge us and transform...

Federal Grant Writing

Guide to Emergency Federal Grants During Crisis: Updated February 2021

Over the past decade, nonprofit fundraising has been rapidly transformed by new ways to give. In particular, donor-advised funds have soared as a popular way for generous donors to support nonprofits of all sizes, creating an opportunity for nonprofits to...

Grants from Donor Advised Funds Since the COVID-19 Crisis: What Nonprofits Should Know

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have been a fast-growing giving vehicle for years, but they have grown faster in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession. Experience shows that during economic downturns, philanthropic giving through DAFs remains strong. The recession...

Grant Prospect Research

Emergency Grant Seeking: Engaging Grant Makers in the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond

Adapted from an article originally published by Grants Plus on Foundant The nonprofit sector is still struggling through the uncertainty and upheaval of the COVID-19 crisis. Social distancing and “shelter in place” decrees forced the cancelation of fundraising events and...

Grant Writing Support, Partner Plan

What’s a Donor-Advised Fund? Understanding the Essentials

Over the past decade, nonprofit fundraising has been rapidly transformed by new ways to give. In particular, donor-advised funds have soared as a popular way for generous donors to support nonprofits of all sizes, creating an opportunity for nonprofits to...

Grant Prospect Research, Grant Writing Support

Dos and Don’ts to Hit the Grants Bullseye

Every grant application has an opportunity cost: the time and effort to pursue this grant could have been spent elsewhere. This makes it crucial to focus your available time and effort on the most promising grant possibilities for your organization....

Staffing Transitions: Ask the Grant Makers

For an organization facing an executive director transition, it is crucial to manage the impact on the grant seeking program. What are the right steps to communicate the leadership change? We decided to consult the best possible resources: grant makers...

Federal Grant Writing, Partner Plan

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...

Federal Grant Writing, Grant Writing Support

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...

Should Your Nonprofit Go for a Government Grant?

NEW: Guide to Emergency Federal Grants During Crisis The CARES Act passed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak has designated billions of dollars to federal agencies to be made quickly available in the form of competitive grants to organizations...

Federal Grant Writing, Grant Writing Support

Open the Door to “Invitation Only” Grant Funders

Is the door closed to a proposal? Don’t be discouraged! Build a strategy to open the door.  When you throw a party, you don’t open it up to the public. Instead you invite those with whom you share a connection,...

Spotlight on Nonprofit Marketing
Q&A with Ceci Dadisman

Having a smart marketing practice in place for your organization can influence the success of your fundraising and grant seeking effort. To learn more, we talked to Ceci Dadisman, a national expert on nonprofit marketing and communications. Ceci is a...