Earlier this year, I was contracted with a small nonprofit, and things started out great. Within the first six months, we were awarded $20K. After six months, they discontinued my contract because they recognized they had “internal issues” to sort out. I talk about the whole situation here.
Recently, I received a few emails from a foundation letting me know that the organization was awarded a grant, but no one had cashed the check, and they were checking back to see if it had been received.
The email was sent to the Executive Director, and I was copied on it. I didn’t respond at first, but after three emails, I felt I needed to protect my reputation.
I sent back a brief email explaining that I was the contracted grant writer and thanking them for the award. I also explained that my contract ended several months ago, and I have not been able to reach the Executive Director either. I am not sure if they will rescind the award or how they will handle it.
This situation got me thinking about the role of the grant writer following the grant award.
Unless your scope of work or job description specifies that you will manage the use of funding and/or track impact, grant writers are not responsible for what happens after the grant money is awarded.
I provide grant reporting services for my clients, but I simply report the numbers provided to me by the Program Director. It is the organization’s responsibility to follow the grant contract and budget and report back to me about impact and expenditure when it is time for the final report.
Grant writers do have a vested interest in ensuring that the grant guidelines are being followed because:
- If the grant guidelines aren’t followed in year one, it will be challenging to snowball the grant.
- If word gets out that your organization doesn’t follow grant guidelines, getting other grants may be difficult in the future.
Grant writers can guide our organizations, but in most cases, we do not influence post-award activities.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants
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