THE DIRGE OF GRANT WRITING . . .

When was the last time you EVER heard a nonprofit leader exclaim "I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE A BUNCH OF GRANTS" to everyone in the office? Our guess is that it happens very rarely, if at all. It can be stressful task for many, so below are just a few short tips to keep in mind:

1) Make sure the right person is writing the grants. You need someone who is creative, yet detailed, and willing to check over their work a billion times over. Not everyone has the right personality for this.

2) Data, data, data, and outcomes. Gone are the days you can just write a sappy story and hope to get money. Pre and post tests, client data, and outcome measurement goals are needed. Trust us and don't push this advice to the side.

3) You don't need to hire a FT grant writer. This goes back to tip #1. Sometimes our ego wants us to have someone FT on our staff, who we can say is on our growing team. If you have it in your budget to hire a FT experienced grant writer, then go for it. However if your budget only allows you to hire someone "with potential" that has never written grants before, then be very careful. The last thing you want to do is throw good money at something which may not get the results you are looking for. Consider hiring someone PT or someone on contract (Shameless plug to us at MSG). Either of these options can save you money and MAKE you money, in the long run.

Finally . . . if you did not get the chance to do so yet, be sure to check out the included video with Steve Taylor, who is part of our grant writing team. He has experience writing for millions of dollars in grants and shared some other great tips. Remember . . . the better your grants . . . the more money you bring in. The more money you bring in . . . means more clients, being better served, more often.

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Midwest Studies Group helps nonprofits to increase their resource development capacity by connecting them stronger to their community through feasibility studies/capital campaign coaching, community impact studies, planned giving studies, and grant writing. For more information please visit www.midweststudiesgroup.com.