Describe freedom of information act
SKILLBOX: GRANT WRITING ESSENTIALS On June 26, 2006, renowned investor Warren Buffett wrote a letter to Bill and Melinda Gates, formerly of Microsoft fame and, more recently, the driving force behind the namesake Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The letter praised the Foundation’s operations and described a series of forthcoming stock gifts to the Foundation from Buffett, valued at more than $30 billion, to “materially expand its future capabilities.”1 The recipients were left “speechless” upon word of the “the biggest single gift anyone ever gave anybody for anything.”2 Without the support of people like Warren Buffett, many government and nonprofit organizations are forced to look to outside organizations for support. A key lesson from Buffett’s gift for those seeking grant funding is that external resources flow to effective, capable, focused, and well-managed organizations that demonstrate results. Or, as Buffett wrote to Gates, “both of you have applied truly unusual intelligence, energy, and heart to improving the lives of millions of fellow humans who have not been as lucky as the three of us.”3 The Basics of Grants Grants are a primary mechanism for redistributing resources from one organization to another. Major categories of grant makers include foundations (independent, operating, corporate, and community), charitable nonprofit organizations, and governments (federal, state, and local). Grant making occurs from governments to other governments, governments to nonprofits, nonprofits to other nonprofits, and nonprofits to governments. The focus here is on grant writing, but the process for responding to a nongrant Request for Proposal (RFP), like those associated with contracting work, is very similar. An example of a grant from a nonprofit to government comes from the Bloomberg Philanthropies effort to support “temporary public art projects that engage communities, enhance creativity, and enrich the vibrancy of cities.” In June 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies awarded up to $1 million to four winning cities out of 237 applicants for the Public Art Challenge.4 The Public Art Challenge demonstrates that grant making tends to focus on specific activities and receipt of funding is highly competitive. There were 233 losing cities that dedicated substantial time and effort to apply for the grant funds. The following describes the steps and considerations associated with grant writing. 390 PART III Control Mechanisms Understand the role of grant funding in your organization. The uncertainty associated with grant funding means that it is frequently complementary to core revenue sources such as fees for services or donations. In fact, the philanthropy-supporting Foundation Center’s “most important things you need to know about finding grants” begins with this warning: “you can’t survive on grants alone.”5 Grants are used to kick-start new projects, expand existing activities, or support capital campaigns, but are less frequently awarded for general operating support. Scan grant-funding opportunities for appropriate fit. There are three primary strategies for identifying grant-funding opportunities: • Search. Organizations need to stay up-to-date on funding opportunities from governments and foundations, who release both periodic and regular calls for proposals. Funding opportunities are publicized online. Although not exhaustive, federal government and foundation funding opportunities can be found in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (http://www. cfda.gov) and Foundation Center (http://www.foundationcenter.org) websites, respectively.6 • Focus. Although monitoring all funding opportunities is useful, most organizations quickly get to know the primary funders in their area of operations. Get on the e-mail and social media lists for those key organizations to stay informed of opportunities. • Interact. Use professional networks to establish a positive reputation for your work and develop working relationships with funders. Get to know foundations’ priorities and interests. Do not pester, but seek out brief informational meetings with funders to better understand if your organization’s work is aligned with funder interests and to become acquainted with their specific proposal process. Once a specific funding opportunity is identified: • Determine whether existing projects, or ideas for projects, align with the call for proposals. Most organizations have more project ideas available than funds. Fit works both ways. Do not let a grant opportunity divert attention and effort away from the organization’s existing mission. • Check for similar projects already underway in the targeted geographic area. If duplication exists, a funder will want to know what distinguishes the proposed activities from the existing projects. • Consider partnering with another organization for the proposal, particularly when additional expertise or capacity is needed to credibly carry out CHAPTER 11 Contracting 391 the proposed activities. Collaboration is perceived positively by funders and can often help scale up a project. Decide whether to apply for the grant funding. • Seek input. Internally, involve all of the relevant parties in the organization in the determination to move forward with a proposal. It is not unheard of for different departments of the same government to unknowingly prepare, and even submit, proposals for the same grant funding. Colleagues may have experience with the funder that informs the decision to apply. Externally, reach out to the contact at the funder for a brief call or meeting about the proposal. A discussion prior to embarking on a complete grant proposal can save both parties a great deal of time and effort if the project is not a good fit with the funder’s priorities. • Invest (time) wisely. Applying for a grant is a significant investment of time and resources. For that reason, organizations should be selective in applying for grants. On the other hand, sometimes even an unfunded grant pays dividends by increasing a funder’s awareness of an organization for future consideration. Assign an owner of the grant proposal. Applying for grant funding is a team effort, but it is a good idea to put someone in charge of the process. This means that at least one person is keeping an eye on the overall proposal requirements and ensuring that deadlines are met. Follow directions, customize, and sell the proposal. Proposal requirements vary dramatically in formality and depth. Give the funder what they want. As one foundation program officer notes, rules exist for a reason so “when we say ten pages, we’re really serious about that.”7 Track the grant requirements in a spreadsheet to ensure that directions are followed, all components are present at submission, and the organization qualifies for the funding. Learn from and model the proposal after strong and successful examples available online through sites like Grantspace (http://grantspace.org/tools/sample-documents). Understand the funder’s goals and frame the proposal in a way that reflects those goals. In addition to being well written, be careful to avoid technical jargon and acronyms without explanation. Detail the proposed activities. Graphical representations are a plus. Thinking through the inputs, outputs, and outcomes is critical and also helps with development of the narrative and budget. 392 PART III Control Mechanisms A great piece of advice is to make the proposal honest and accurate, but also interesting for the funder.8 Ask a colleague who is not involved in assembling the grant proposal to read it and provide feedback. This helps guarantee that the proposal makes sense to an outsider and presents a compelling case for funding. An organization should maintain centralized electronic records of all previous grant applications. These records avoid duplication of effort, provide boilerplate language specific to the organization, document any past history with the funder, and allow for learning about the characteristics of successful proposals. Letters of support from partners and related organizations are often required as part of the proposal. These can be used to demonstrate the need for the project, quantify resources to be contributed by partners, and signal credibility and competence to prospective funders. An organization should have a standard list of partners that can be counted on for providing letters of support. Be reasonable. A grant proposal should be realistic. Make sure that the proposed activities can be carried out successfully by the organization in the presented timeframe and for the budgeted resources. A funder should be able to review a proposed budget and understand why the amounts are being requested. In other words, clearly justify expenses, including accurate indirect costs that meet the requirements of the funder. A foremost consideration of funders is how a proposed ongoing project will be sustained after temporary grant funding concludes. For this reason, include a discussion of the post-grant plan for the project.9 One foundation director suggests that “proposals most likely to catch a foundation’s attention are those that convey plans to use the grant money to bring in other money.”10 Include an evaluation plan. Even if it is a minor part of the proposal, having the capacity to measure the effectiveness of the project and demonstrate outcomes is critical to funders. Responding to a rejected proposal. Most grant proposals are not funded, but that does not mean that the time and effort of grant writing was wasted. Do not take the rejection personally. Consider asking the program officer to share constructive feedback about the proposal either through a brief meeting or e-mail. This can both strengthen future proposals and establish a professional connection with the funder. CHAPTER 11 Contracting 393 Hands-On Exercises 1. Select an area of interest and use online grant-funding search tools to identify two to three related opportunities. In a professional memo (addressed to leadership of an agency that might pursue the funding), provide an overview of the opportunities and compare and contrast the different application requirements for each. Are there more similarities than differences in the funding processes? How specific are the funders about the focus of proposed projects? Based on the review, is this an area with ample grant-funding opportunities? 2. Select an example of a successful grant proposal online. Review the proposal and compile an inventory of the “best practices” exhibited. First, briefly describe the applicant organization and the funder. For example, are they local, national, or international organizations? Do their missions overlap? Second, based on your judgment, comment on the effective elements of the application for funding. The steps and tips described earlier can be used as guidance. Notes 1. Warren E. Buffett, “Letter to Mr. and Mrs. William H. Gates III” (June 26, 2006), http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/donate/bmgfltr.pdf. 2. Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, “Our 2017 Annual Letter: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment” (February 14, 2017), https://www.gatesnotes.com/2017-AnnualLetter. 3. Buffett, “Letter.” 4. Bloomberg Philanthropies, “Public Art Challenge,” https://publicartchallenge .bloomberg.org/. 5. Foundation Center, “Introduction to Finding Grants,” http://grantspace. org/content/download/717995/17421904/version/1/file/IFG-handout.pdf. 6. U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal, by Merete F. Gerli, RL32159 (June 9, 2009). 7. Marilyn Dickey, “Grant Makers Reveal the Most Common Reasons Grant Proposals Get Rejected,” The Chronicle of Philanthropy (April 24, 2003), https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Grant-Makers-… /183799. 8. U.S. Library of Congress, How to Develop. 9. Ibid. 10. Dickey, “Grant Makers.” 394 PART III Control Mechanisms NOTES 1. Werner Z. Hirsch, “Contracting out by Urban Governments: A Review,” Urban Affairs Review 30, no. 3 (1995): 458–472. 2. Congressional Budget Office, “Re: Federal Contracts and the Contracted Workforce,” by Douglas W. Elmendorf (March 11, 2015), https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/ files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/49931-FederalContracts.pdf. 3. Paul C. Light, The True Size of Government (Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1999). 4. Paul C. Light, Fact Sheet on the New True Size of Government, Center for Public Service, Brookings Institution (September 5, 2003), https://wagner.nyu.edu/files/faculty /publications/lightFactTrueSize.pdf. 5. “Overview of Awards by FY 2008 2017,” USAspending.gov, last modified 2017, https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/TextView.aspx?da… YearTextView. 6. Brinton H. Milward and Keith Provan, “Managing the Hollow State: Collaboration and Contracting,” Public Management Review 5, no. 1 (2003): 1–18. 7. Sandra Salmans, “Preaching Thrift: J. Peter Grace; A Budget Cutter Who Won’t Quit,” New York Times (February 24, 1985), http://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/24/business/ preaching-thrift-j-peter-grace-a-budget-cutter-who-won-t-quit.html; Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., “The Myth of the $600 Hammer,” Government Executive (December 7, 1998), http://www.govexec.com/federal-news/1998/12/the-myth-of-the-600-hammer/5271/; and U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General, Northrop Grumman Improperly Charged Labor for the Counter Narco-terrorism Technology Program, DODIG-2014-073 (May 13, 2014). 8. Fred Hiatt, “Now, the $600 Toilet Seat,” Washington Post (February 5, 1985), A5. 9. Michael Weisskopf, “Firm Backs $544 Price on Toilet Seat Covers,” Washington Post (November 27, 1985), A3. 10. Elmendorf, “Re: Federal Contracts.” Further Reading U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal, by Merete F. Gerli, RL32159 (June 9, 2009).
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