You’ve Got History with This Issue
Most organizations have a standard history their grant writers have used so many times they can recite it from memory. (Even a new charity has some history behind it: the background of the founders can show your history with the issues.) You can just drop that old history into your proposal and call it a day, or you can take the time to give it a special spin that relates to the rest of the proposal.
For example, your charity is probably known for more than one activity. Rather than treating each equally, condense the areas that don’t relate to your proposal and beef up the ones that do. It’s a little extra work, but if you do it well, it will reinforce your proposal rather than drag it down.
WORDS TO THE WISE
Your charity might want to post the history you craft on its website. Keep in mind that once it’s on the Internet, anyone can access it and use it to write about you, so keep it current and reflective of your organization’s mission and present goals.
For example, a service organization that’s best known for making grants to individual artists usually begins its history with a description of that program:
The Gotham Arts Association provides more fellowship support for artists than any other private organization in the United States. Since 1985, more than $10 million has been awarded to artists in the performing, visual, and literary arts.
Gotham also provides a wide range of information services, which reach a huge audience through the Internet. For grant proposals to support these programs, a better spin on its history would begin with the following:
The Gotham Arts Association today provides information to some one million artists annually through Internet, telephone, and print resources. Its history with technology extends back to the founding of its e-mail newsletter in 1995. It has continued to innovate, most recently by introducing an integrated opportunities in the arts national database in 2005 along with a toll-free telephone inquiry service.
If your history goes for more than a page, use boldface headings to draw the eye to important sections. Use bullet points to give prominence to listings of accomplishments.
Although a history implies a chronological narrative, you’ll be better able to make your points about the importance of your program if you organize it according to your principal accomplishments instead. Follow a rough chronology only if detailing how your charity has met challenges over time makes a better story.
You can also use the process and outcomes methods I discussed in Chapter 14 to organize histories; only in this case, process almost always involves a chronology. Process, unfortunately, is mainly interesting to historians and management consultants, not funders. Focus instead on accomplishments when you can. Notice the contrast in the following two examples.
Outcomes-Focused History
The Friends of the New Town Public Library make it possible for the library to offer services far beyond what public funding alone provides.
Since 1988, the Friends have annually purchased 20 to 100 new books—1,200 books so far. These have included multiple copies of best-sellers, replacements of popular children’s books, and new reference works. The Friends’ book fund thus touches a wide variety of library users.
Literary readings sponsored by the Friends bring talented but lesser-known writers to the attention of the community. Four hundred people now annually attend these events, begun in 1995, with an average of 45 people attending each event.
The Friends raise the funds for these activities through book sales (of unneeded copies of books and books donated by the community), bake sales, and grants from foundation and corporate sources. Membership dues (now ranging from $25 for individuals to $500 for patrons) paid by the Friends, however, now constitute the major source of funding. The Friends are an entirely volunteer-run organization made up of 700 citizens who contributed $58,000 this year to New Town Public Library.
Process-Focused History
The Friends of the New Town Public Library make it possible for the library to offer services far beyond what public funding provides.
Founded in 1988 to supplement the library’s book acquisition fund when city budget cuts were greatest, the activities now identified with the Friends began with a fall bake sale that raised $398. Librarians identified the major areas of book acquisitions needing support as multiple copies of best-sellers, replacements of popular children’s books, and new reference works.
The response from the community to the 1988 sale and the number of people who asked to get involved led to the founding of a formal Friends group that was incorporated the following year. Membership dues were established at $25 for individuals and $40 for families.
An annual book sale was begun in 1990 using donated books and unneeded copies from the library. The book sale, bake sale, and dues from the Friends amounted to $2,200 that year, representing a significant growth in only two years of existence.
Success bred success, and in 1995 the Friends were able to provide support for a series of literary readings as well. This program was begun with the first grant the Friends received, from the New Town Community Trust for $6,000.
The literary events not only introduced lesser-known writers to the community, they also brought the Friends to greater attention, so much so that today membership in the Friends stands at 700. This year, the all-volunteer Friends raised a total of $58,000.
Both versions of the history convey the same information, but the outcomes-focused history gives a better picture of the impact the Friends group has on the library, whereas the process-focused history better conveys how the organization grew dramatically in a short time. I believe the former would make a greater impression on the funder, but either is acceptable.
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