I am sure you have heard Eleanor Roosevelt’s timeless adage, “With freedom comes responsibility.” It was drilled into my head as a kid, but it remains relevant.
One thing I require from my nonprofit clients is freedom. I hate to be micro-managed and need them to trust my professionalism and expertise.
In exchange, I owe them a great responsibility. I take that very seriously. Being a successful grant writing professional isn’t about winning any grant at any cost.
That is irresponsible.
One of the most important parts of being a responsible grant writer is developing an appropriate “grant mix.”
What does this mean?
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When I create a grant schedule for my clients, I try to strike a balance while keeping an important goal in mind: Prevent or at least curb the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle.
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle occurs when funders have unrealistic expectations about overhead costs and ignore the fact that overhead costs and investments in infrastructure actually improve program outcomes. Therefore, they won’t fund overhead or general operating expenses, leaving nonprofits without the infrastructure needed to function effectively and efficiently.
It is true that most grants are for program expenses. However, our responsibility as grant writers is to seek out grants for capacity building and general operating expenses and make a strong case for them.
Our organizations need them. We can’t guarantee the sustainability of our programs without ensuring funds for overhead and capacity building.
Funders love giving money to programs because they can see a clear and direct impact. But that is shortsighted.
Here is your challenge- although it is easier to go for the low-hanging program grant fruit, add at least one capacity building or general operations grant to your grant calendar this week. They are out there. They are just a bit harder to find and less fun to write.
We have a responsibility to balance our organizations’ funding even if that means working a bit harder to convince funders that capacity building and general operations are integral to effective program impact.
(Heading over to GrantStation now to complete the challenge myself. 🙂 )
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants
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