Marc Bowen Grant Writing 101

Grant Writing Tips :

Grant Writing Tips Marc Bowen OVTA Region 2 Director TN/NC Line - Morganton

Background :

Background Charlotte raised – soon Lake James UNC-Charlotte BA/Business – 1982 UoPhx Online – MBA/e-Business - 2006 Computer South – Retail Stores NC/SC First graduating class IBM Personal Computer in August 1981 – 4.77MHz 8088 CPU! Piedmont Technology Group – CAD/GIS Sun Microsystems – Education/Research Sales and Academic Grant Administrator. Managed team of 15 – #1 out of 2300 sales teams in ‘07

Interest in OVTA :

Interest in OVTA Lake James – 1780 Community Linear National Park Bowen / Jenkins Clan

Grant Experience Out There? :

Grant Experience Out There?

Grant Resume 2003 - 2007 :

Grant Resume 2003 - 2007 North Carolina Community College System – 58 schools – average grant size $50K South Carolina Technical Colleges $50K Universities / Teaching Hospitals $100+K Clemson University Duke University Medical University of South Carolina Wake Forest University Clemson ICAR (BMW, Michelin) Matching Grant $8+Million Success Rate = 90+%

Major Sources of FundingSolicited :

Major Sources of FundingSolicited Solicited Funds Publicized grants, Getting harder and harder to find – grants.gov Even harder to prevail – highly competitive Strings attached? Tendency to adjust program needs to suit the grantor versus aligning with the specific needs of the non-profit. Increased focus on minority, a.k.a.“underserved,” “marginalized” communities

Major Sources of Funding Unsolicited :

Major Sources of Funding Unsolicited Unsolicited Funding Requests / Letter of Inquiry In my experience, the best way to source funds Less strict, more adaptable to the specific needs of the grantee Less competition Re-funding more likely than solicited funds Relationship based, less sterile than solicited funds

Where to find unsolicited grantors :

Where to find unsolicited grantors Corporate Websites “Corporate Responsibility” – Look for titles such as Community Relations, Social Responsibility, Local Initiatives, Corporate Giving or Foundations Many large corporations give 5% of profits “Social Entrepreneurship” – skoll.org – Jeffrey Skoll, first full-time employee of eBay and President, not Meg Whitman - $2B cash out

Giving in 2009 - Forecast :

Giving in 2009 - Forecast According to The Foundation Center, some foundations are actually increasing support. These include: Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation (WA) Assets declined 20% in 2008 John D. & Catherine T. MacAuthur Foundation (IL)

Giving in 2009 – Forecast (cont.) :

Giving in 2009 – Forecast (cont.) In their just released March report, The Foundation Center lists the following foundations as reducing their 2009 giving. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (CA) David and Lucile Packard Foundation (CA) Starr Foundation (NY) McKnight Foundation (MN) Daniels Fund (CO) Anschutz Foundation (CO) Madoff Casualties Chais Family Foundation JEHT Foundation Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation Picower Foundation

Finding Sources of Funds :

Finding Sources of Funds Not sure about this approach…. Matthew Lesko “Free Money From The Government”

Finding Sources of Funds (cont.) :

Finding Sources of Funds (cont.) Where to find grantors? Focus on Foundations & Corporate Philanthropy Philanthropy News Digest RFP Bulletin www.foundationcenter.org GrantStation Insider www.grantstation.com Fundsnet Services www.fundsnetservices.com Annual Reports – great source for previously funded grants – financial tab on website IRS Form 990 info – GuideStar www.guidestar.org Research the grantor especially with respect to current/past funding history

Be careful what you ask for…. :

Be careful what you ask for…. What are your funding goals? Why? Clearly define how much money is needed and how it will be used. Proper planning eliminates the panic of getting funded and then asking “now what?”

Lessons Learned :

Lessons Learned Establish a Grant Team Can be local or virtual – use word processing “track changes” tool. OpenOffice.org “Calling all writers and storytellers” – using a blend of statistics and imagery, the applicant must convincingly explain how the grant dollars will solve a problem that must be solved.

Know your audience :

Know your audience State the problem Paint a picture of the people who will be served Use imagery that illustrates “gloom, doom, drama, and trauma.” Help the reader visualize the benefits that will result from funding. Highlight the benefits to the foundation, and therefore the individual, if he/she decides to fund your project. Not hearing much about anonymous philanthropy. John Scully story

Guiding the Grantor to “Yes” :

Guiding the Grantor to “Yes” Compel the grantor to action by making the problem real on an emotional level and then lead them to an inescapable conclusion that your request must be funded. Storytelling = writing that leads to action driven by an emotional connection to the story….or cause. People want to be inspired and associated with goodness…”warmth, humanity, and heart.” Goosebumps led to a $20M award in 1969 that has touched I suspect everyone in this room

Storytelling for $$$ is not new :

Storytelling for $$$ is not new New England’s First Fruits Ann Pamela Cunningham

$20 Million Goosebumps :

$20 Million Goosebumps

Q&A :

Q&A Marc Bowen marc.bowen@att.net 828-925-8000 Suggested Reading / Websites: “Writing for a Good Cause – The Complete Guide to Crafting Proposals and Other Persuasive Pieces for Nonprofits” by Joseph Barbato and Danielle S. Furlich “Storytelling for Grant Seekers – The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising” by Cheryl A. Clarke “Grant Writing for Dummies” – by Beverly A. Browning “Fundraising in the United States: Its Role in America's Philanthropy” by Scott M. Cutlip “Ask Without Fear!” by Marc A. Pitman http://fundraisingcoach.com/meet-marc/ Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) http://www.afpnet.org/ The NonProfit Times http://www.nptimes.com

How are my Heels doing??? :

How are my Heels doing???