What Can We Say Besides, "We're Still Here?"
Your nonprofit has been around a long time—congratulations, statistics suggest that a third of nonprofits fail after 10 years, half of all new nonprofits shrivel up after only a few years. If your...
View ArticleWhen a Funder Looks Under the Hood
The good news—a foundation wants to look closely at your nonprofit organization because there’s the possibility of a major grant. You’ve heard that a site visit is planned, a review of your board’s...
View ArticleTeaming Up to Tackle a Proposal
When it’s time to write the winning proposal, it can turn into a scene from a bad movie: the writer, alone at a cubicle, staring down the guidelines, cramming thousands of words into tiny boxes,...
View ArticleGrowing a DEI Culture
Most, if not all, funders now expect your nonprofit to address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in your proposal. Funders want to know what you have to say about whether and how your organization...
View Article“You Never Call, You Never Write. . .”
Many nonprofits are probably “guilty” of this understandable habit: you contact a foundation to see if you can apply; then you submit a proposal; and if you’re awarded the grant, you wait until the...
View ArticleCoins in the Can
In a proposal writing workshop one of the participants (call her Roxanne) despaired of anyone wanting to help her raise the money she needed. “All we need is a van to carry some equipment,” she...
View ArticleWho Reviews Your Proposals?
Sending off a well-written, credible proposal is the first act in the drama. Now comes the mystery – someone, somewhere is going to read it, evaluate it and decide whether or not to fund it. Who are...
View ArticleFive Elements of a Compelling Proposal
Are there really essential pieces and parts of a persuasive proposal? Things you absolutely need to include: no matter the subject, no matter the funder? Experience suggests that the answer is yes,...
View ArticleWhat Are the Odds?
One request for a grant, one lottery ticket: which has a better chance of winning? A false equivalence, for sure, because there’s a lot you can do to improve your odds with a proposal—even a single...
View ArticleMany Types of Proposals
The proposal is an appropriate way to submit a request for funding, but it’s important to make the right kind of request—matching the format of the proposal to the ‘kind’ of funding you’re after. Some...
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