PREFACE

Translating ideas into reality almost always costs money, but people who have good ideas often lack the necessary funds. Grants are a good source of funding to make things happen, from starting projects to building buildings. Yet many people are reluctant to seek grants because they have become discouraged by their own fruitless efforts or intimidated by hearing about the failures of others. Some people employed in fundraising exacerbate these fears by promoting the myth that grantseeking is fraught with complexities that make professional help a necessity.

Genesis

I wrote this book to dispel the myths surrounding grantseeking and to show readers that they can become successful at it, either by themselves or by maximizing the use of professional help. The book is based on my twenty years of experience working with over 100 organizations of all types and my personal involvement in raising more than $700 million.

My goal is to help people avoid the waste of time and the anguish of failure I experienced before I figured out how the system works. I spent eight months in my first position as a development officer preparing proposals that were elegant, cogent, even compelling. I mailed them to appropriate foundations—ones that had expressed an interest in the kind of work we were doing—only to have my high hopes dashed as rejection letter after rejection letter came back in response. In despair, I apologized for wasting the organization's time and money, and offered to resign.

Fortunately, the enlightened people with whom I worked refused my resignation. Instead, the organization's chairman of the board got on the phone and started talking to grantmakers, and we then began a series of visits with them that opened serious dialogues. Nine months later the grant money started rolling in, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Need

Since then, competition for philanthropic funds has escalated dramatically, a trend that continues today. The field of fundraising has developed to the extent that the discipline now offers fully accredited academic programs devoted to the subject, as well as hundreds of books. Is yet another book really necessary? I believe so.

Despite the proliferation of instructional opportunities—from degree programs to countless workshops and short courses—and despite the barrage of books, pamphlets, and videos, most instruction on grantsmanship still is limited to the fine points of proposal preparation and some treatment of prospect research. What I have learned is that although good research is a sine qua non and good proposals are certainly necessary, in and of themselves they are not sufficient to generate grants. This book, therefore, offers a detailed explanation of the aspects of grantsmanship that really separate winners from losers. As relationships with grantmakers are the key to success in securing grants, I call this the relationship model of grantseeking, it focuses on establishing and building such profitable partnerships.

Purpose and Audience

If you have any level of interest in getting grants, this book is for you. Novice or seasoned professional, you will find it useful in your role as development officer, top executive, trustee, or manager in an organization; as a faculty member, student, or researcher; or simply as an individual who wants to get things done. If you are new to grantseeking, this book will take you step-by-step through the process. If you have been raising money for some time, you may find new insights, or at least descriptions of proven techniques articulated from a new perspective. You may find it handy as a one-stop reference for yourself or your less experienced subordinates. If you are teaching or taking a course in nonprofit management, you will find it a clearly written, practice-oriented text.

No matter what kind of work you do, this book may be useful. Grantseeking has much in common with selling or persuading in general. By substituting your interest for the word grant throughout the book, you can use it as a guide for convincing almost anybody of almost anything.

Scope and Treatment

In writing this book, I assumed that the reader might have no experience in persuasion, fundraising, or grantseeking. I include detailed, specific instructions on topics such as how to leave a message for a grantmaker and what to wear to a meeting with a foundation program officer. If these seem too elementary or trivial for you, please just skip over them; keep in mind, however, that they appear not only for the benefit of novices, but because over the years I have seen so many people—even well-educated, accomplished, sophisticated professionals—reduced to nervous wrecks by the challenge of grantseeking. My purpose is to reduce anxiety in grantseekers of any age or experience level.

After describing the fundamentals of the grantseeking interaction in the introduction and first chapter, I follow the grantseeking process in chronological order, from preparatory work through the advocacy that follows proposal submission. Throughout, I address the reader directly and provide explicit instructions about how best to conduct the dialogue on which relationships are built—relationships that will generate grants.

Each chapter focuses on a major task:

To my knowledge, this last chapter is a unique contribution to the literature. It may prove controversial, as I believe I am the first author either brave or foolish enough to foray into this territory. But because advocacy activities are critical to success in grantseeking, I felt I would be remiss to omit a discussion of them.

I conclude after the grantseeker has done everything humanly possible to obtain a favorable decision. I do not discuss subsequent relationships with grantmakers because such relationships can be maintained over the long term merely by continuously applying the basic principles upon which the relationship was initiated.

It may seem inconsistent that the longest chapter in this book is on proposal preparation, which I distinctly discount in its overall importance to the grantseeking process. Although the proposal alone is rarely sufficient to secure a grant, it is a necessary element in the process; the book would not be comprehensive without a detailed, step-by-step analysis of how good proposals are prepared. I give special and detailed attention to the preparation of the budget, providing an example and, in Resource B, a format you can use if the funder you approach does not provide something specific. The budget, I have learned, the section that many grantmakers scrutinize most carefully, is the area where many grantseekers do poorly, either underestimating resources required or not thinking through the details of project implementation.

You may be curious about or even troubled by the guerrilla metaphor used in this book. Although I chose it without a great deal of deep thought, I have determined to stick with it for two reasons.

First, upon reading the works of guerrilla warfare theorists, I was struck by how apt many of their observations are in regard to grantseeking. For instance, Che Guevara noted: “Generally guerrilla warfare starts from a well-considered act of will: some chief with prestige starts an uprising for the salvation of his people, beginning his work in difficult conditions in a foreign country.”1 So many of the projects I have worked on were designed “for the salvation of the people,” and grantseekers often express the feeling that they are in a “foreign country.” On a more mundane level, Mao Tse-tung once advised: “Before the meeting we must prepare for it. . . .”2 Having seen the unhappy result of lack of adequate and appropriate preparation, I can't endorse this suggestion strongly enough, regardless of how I feel about the author's politics.

Second and even more important, I believe that the guerrilla metaphor makes a statement about the complexity of the relationship between grantseeker and grantmaker. To be sure, virtually every grantmaker—and many an expert grantseeker—talks about collaboration and fruitful partnerships between people on opposite sides of the desk. I myself believe staunchly in developing such relationships and in recruiting program officers to serve as a grantseeker's advocate. Nevertheless, underlying collaboration and intertwined with partnership is a strong adversarial element, just as there is in any dependent relationship.

This element, with its potential for abuse of power, is explored with great insight, candor, and balance by Edward Skloot, executive director of the Surdna Foundation, in his 1995 annual report:

The relationship between grantmaker and grantseeker needs continuing attention and improvement, for theirs is truly an un-level playing field. Foundations have money. Nonprofits need money. Foundations control the timetable. Nonprofits control the word processor. Foundations establish the rules. Nonprofits deal with them. Paradoxically, in this ongoing, intricate relationship called the grantmaking process, both parties regularly feel misunderstood and frustrated.

The vice-chairperson of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Elizabeth McCormack, perhaps the most respected philanthropic advisor in the country, recently told this story: She was asked by the executive director of a nonprofit on whose board she served to join her in visiting a foundation in order to present the case for funding. After having had the appointment canceled on a couple of occasions, the meeting finally took place. The two women were greeted by a young, unprepared program assistant who announced that the senior program officer was not available, nor anyone else, and that she would handle the meeting. That's not the end of the story.

In the face of such treatment, neither of the visitors, and particularly Ms. McCormack, uttered a peep of complaint—then or later. It was difficult, even for the well-regarded and accomplished, to feel strong enough to convey to a funder how they really felt.

The inconsiderate treatment of nonprofit staff is not the worst abuse of power. A more likely candidate surely is the “endlessly winding road.” This occurs when foundations do not tell applicants where they stand in the grantmaking process, which can seem like an inscrutable black box that always has another hidden drawer. For many nonprofits, a quick “no” to a proposal is probably better than an excruciatingly slow “maybe.”

Equally troublesome is the case where foundation staff members know far less than the applicant's representatives. At few points in the process is simmering contempt more apparent than when nonprofit staff feel caught in a relationship they don't understand, governed by foundation officers who know substantively less than they do.

Not all the problems lie at the feet of foundations. Numerous nonprofits are unbudgingly convinced that they have the answer. Even if they did, they still might not be appropriate candidates for funding. Grantmakers have their program priorities, defined guidelines, limited dollars and fixed timetables. On occasion, too, a grantseeker's communications are garbled and its responses to the questions asked by the foundation are inadequate.

Thus, even under the best of circumstances, the harmonics can be wrong. It is terribly easy to miss a beat, forget a conversation, misinterpret a phrase or make a sideways remark which turns out to be upsetting, counterproductive or both.

At Surdna we are aware of this dilemma and we are trying to do something about it. Our program staff has had field experience and knows what it is like to be “on the other side.” Each feels the tenuous nature of the relationship and how it can easily rise and fall, often in the same day or week. Each knows, too, how fortunate s/he is to have a job which, on a day-to-day basis, is certainly less stressful than his/her counterpart at the nonprofit organization.

My purpose in writing this book is to reduce the stress to which Skloot refers, a stress you probably know all too well. My goal is to provide enough details of the grantseeking process so that you can step back and view it in its proper perspective: as merely one component in the financial infrastructure needed to support your programmatic work. Through mastery of the skills outlined here, you will gain a sense of confidence and know that, regardless of the fate of any specific request, if your work has merit you will eventually find the support you need.

I wish you success in your grantseeking efforts and in all the important activities that will be supported through the grants you obtain.

Acknowledgments

Writing a book out of one's experience involves the contributions of many people.

First, I am indebted to my mother, Fay Bauer Landau, and my father, the late Irving L. Landau, for instilling in me a love of words and respect for the power of language.

I also wish to convey my loving gratitude to my sister, Marcia Landau Elbrand, who critically read and edited not only this manuscript but every major document I've composed since second grade.

I wish to thank my colleague Joseph R. Mixer for suggesting to Alan Shrader of Jossey-Bass Publishers that I might “have a book inside me.” And my thanks to Alan for believing Joe, for encouraging me, and for waiting patiently throughout the long gestation of this project.

Whenever I got discouraged in the writing process, my friend Frederick E. Bryson kept assuring me it was worthwhile, and always gave me good directions.

My colleague and friend Laurence G. Mackie provided invaluable support and unflappable calm in the face of any computer problem.

I am grateful for the generosity of my dear friend Patricia Pasqual, director of the Foundation Center Library.

I am deeply indebted to my mentor, Joan G. Sugarman, who taught me that first and foremost, a proposal is a story.

I appreciate the perspective of Joanne K. Kaufman, who introduced me to the wacky world of federal grants and the rewards of entrepreneurship.

It was a privilege to work with Mrs. Frank E. Joseph, extraordinary volunteer fundraiser at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her indomitable strength and courage inspired me.

My sincerest thanks to the clients who granted me permission to share their stories with you:

  • Mary Brigid, executive director, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
  • Harriet S. Fader, executive director, Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland
  • Dr. Alice Kethley, executive director, Benjamin Rose Institute
  • Kenneth W. McLaughlin, president, YMCA of Cleveland
  • August N. Napoli Jr., president, Catholic Charities Corporation
  • Dr. Michael J. Salkind, president, Ohio Aerospace Institute
  • David A. Simpson, executive director, Hospice of the Western Reserve
  • Gayle Doucette, executive director, Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
  • Susan Janssen, executive director, Cleveland Eye Bank

And, of course, I owe enduring thanks to the nonprofit executives in over 100 organizations—people who began as clients and became friends through our work together and who have given me the privilege of participating in their dreams. They are all wonderful people doing important work, and collectively they have made it possible for me to learn about this fascinating field.

Susan L. Golden

October 1996

Cleveland, Ohio

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