At GrantWorks, we work together with non-profit organizations as partners, sharing our expertise as we become extended members of your team. Our goal is to take the projects you assign to us and handle each with creativity, flexibility, and professionalism. We save you time, secure the funding you need, and make the whole process as easy as possible so you can focus your time on the most urgent needs of your non-profit.

Unless a client has specified an “on call” type of relationship for grant proposal review or other individual tasks, this is the time that the real work begins. We have developed a full line of planning, implementation, and success tools:

• A Checklist for Success. We’ll walk you through a list of what funders typically look for in a fundable project and organization. We’ll identify any gaps your organization might have and brainstorm ways to fill those gaps.
  
  
• Information Gathering. To streamline the grant proposal process, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive list of the documents that funders often request with grant proposals (budgets, organizational documents, proof of 501 (c) 3 status, track record, etc.) and ask that you gather them or begin putting them together within the first 30 days of our contract period.
  
  
• Potential Grant Maker Grid. Together with you, we’ll use a “potential grant-maker grid” tool to match your organization’s projects to the specific funder’s mission, vision, goals, and history of funding.
  

Writing the Grant Proposal I: Learning about Your Organization
The learning process gets underway the day we begin working with you and continues throughout our partnership.  We begin with a series of conversations about your project, your mission, and your goals. As we talk with you, we begin to feel your passion, absorb what makes your organization and volunteers excited about what they’re doing, and internalize the difference your organization makes to its clients and causes. All of this allows us to present your case to funders with passion and authority.

We dig deeper into your organization by spending time on your website, taking notes, and asking you questions. We read through a wide range of other documents that we request from you: brochures, news and feature stories, detailed project plans and summaries, research, testimonials, field reports, evaluation instruments, evaluation logic models, annual reports, and previous grant proposals. All this raw information gives us the background we need to write a grant proposal that converts your organization’s vision into concrete language that is specific, detailed, and tells a compelling story.

Writing the Grant Proposal II: Potential Funding Sources
At your request, we’ll evaluate your list of past grant proposals, successful and unsuccessful, and our expert researcher will come up with a comprehensive list of possible funders and a rationale for approaching them, along with deadlines and the types and amounts of funds available. We’ll also pursue opportunities you’ve uncovered but haven’t had time to pursue.

Writing the Grant Proposal III: Writing the Grant Narrative and Gathering Attachments
For each grant project that we undertake for you, we start with a strategy session with you where we consider such questions as: What is the specific program you want to fund? How does this program fit with your overall strategy and mission? What need are you serving? What outcomes do you expect? How will you evaluate the effectiveness of your program? What dollar amount do you want to apply for? How will you use the funds?

Next, we develop a compelling grant narrative that is customized to your organization's short and long-term goals and to the funder's guidelines, mission, vision, and funding priorities. We'll compile a checklist of required attachments, work with you to gather and update existing documents, and, as necessary, create any new content required.  Timing, attention to detail, and follow-up is crucial, and we will work with you to set up a schedule that ensures that your proposal is complete and is in the funder's hands in advance of the published deadlines. 

To set up an initial, free consultation, please contact us at grantworks1@gmail.com or (505) 281-1501.