I am very happy to welcome back guest author Betsy Baker!  Besty is the President of  YourGrantAuthority.com. She has earned more than ten million dollars in grant funding and continues to be a grant writing consultant for nonprofits.

She is best known for her plain-language instructional guidance and offers both ebook instruction and one-on-one coaching in writing grants and starting a grant writing consulting career.

Betsy also runs a coaching program that teaches people on how to develop an exciting  Grant Consulting career.  This looks like a fantastic opportunity.  Her current class is sold out, but click here to learn more about this class.

Is Your Organization Grant Ready?

As a grant writing consultant, I naturally have many nonprofits asking me how to access grant money. While their passion and the good things they’re trying to do for the community always inspire me to want to help them, the plain truth is that there’s not much I can do if they’re not yet “grant ready.”So, what exactly does one have to do to be deemed grant ready? It’s actually a combination of factors. First, it always helps to start with the basics. This would include already having a 501 (c) (3) designation, a Board of Directors composed of community representatives, an annual budget with a variety of income sources and detailed financial statements. The inclusion of correct and forthright financial information cannot be underestimated.

Grant funders also look at the uniqueness of the organization. Are they providing a service no one else in the community is offering? And, more importantly, is the service needed? Evidence of that need should be documented and shared with the grant funder. They want to know that they’re investing in a project that’s benefiting the community as a whole and having a positive impact.

Speaking of community impact, it’s not exactly about how many people the organization is assisting but it is necessary that there’s enough of a need to warrant an expensive project. And, is there proof of the difference that the project is making? This takes a strong evaluation component in the grant proposal and a competent staff to administer it.

While in my blogging you will often see me repeat the mantra that writing grants isn’t rocket science, it does take more than just piecing an application together. The organization itself is responsible for the legwork that goes into getting the grant funded. Becoming grant ready is well worth the effort and the organization stands to profit greatly from that effort.

Get more grant writing tips FREE in my “60 Insider Grant Writer Secrets.”