Lauren Telinde
Our class was divided into pairs of two and were each given a nonprofit organization to write a grant for. At this point in semester, we are in the planning process of writing our grants. We are meeting with our partners, nonprofit organizations, and our professor to create our course of action. When it comes to writing grants, it is very important to plan everything out before starting. Creating a timeline for when certain parts of the grant need to be written, when to meet with the contact for the agency, and a date to be finished by will make the grant writing process run very smoothly.
Before we met with our organization, Family Promise, my partner and I needed to do some planning. We developed questions to ask them about the organization, their mission, and what they are intending to use the grant for, in addition to researching everything we could about them so that we were as well-informed as possible. Having this knowledge will help us in writing the grant in the long run, and gives us passion to advocate for them.
My partner and I met with the executive director of Family Promise this past Friday to discuss more details about the grant. Our person of contact gave us a tour of the building and a general run down on how the program works; they take care of four families at a time who are experiencing homelessness and provide them with a places to stay at local churches and assistance to help them get back on their feet. We spoke at length about the families benefitting from the organization, the lasting impact of their work, how money is donated and what the grant money will go to, and details about their long term plans. Family Promise wants to expand in the future.
After meeting with them, we have moved into the planning process of writing the grant. We are starting to create a timeline of when everything needs to be done. The best way to go about this is by looking at the agency’s letter of intent and figuring out what information is provided and what information needs expansion. Our organization needs the grant money for emergency needs for the families, such as money for gas, food, clothes, and more. Since the money from the grant will be used for many different things, my partner and I need to spend time focusing on the budget aspect of the grant. Knowing that the budget will need the most time allows us to start early, so we are not scrambling at the end to put the budget together.
There are many ways that you can plan ahead on grant writing, assignments, or other activities. One thing I have found helpful is by making a checklist of everything that needs to be done and the due dates for each. This is a good strategy in general, but especially for grant writing, because it ensures all the requirements of the grants get done and in a timely manner. Sitting down and mapping everything out may seem like a waste sometime initially, but it saves time in the long run, so don’t forget to plan ahead!