Hi! I’m Kate Martin, the Grants Manager at Dr. Phillips Charities! Welcome to our blog “The Juicy Details”! We’ve started this blog with you in mind – and by you, I mean grant writers, nonprofit organizations seeking grant funding, or anyone who is curious about grant writing.
We’ll talk about good grant writing, share resources, and of course talk about what Dr. Phillips Charities wants to see when we receive Letters of Intent and Grant Proposals. Want to know the Juicy Details? Read below!
Show the Love Before Your Next LOI
The grant report has been filed and accepted. The grant is closed – successfully! YES!
All done with that funder. NO!
Did you know that Foundations believe that they are able to create more impact in the community through strategic grant funding when they can listen to those they seek to help? The problem is that both nonprofit organizations and foundations alike don’t necessarily think foundations do a great job at this. But we want to show the love!
When I was on the Development side of the table, I once had a grantor look at me and say, “How come I never hear from you?” I was perplexed, and said, “I’m not sure what you mean. I send you monthly updates.” His response taught me a lot in two little sentences….
“No, not newsletters. I want to hear from YOU.”
What he wanted was a personalized email or phone call, maybe even a cup of coffee and to chat. The things I did with other major donors. A little relationship between the organizations – grantor and grantee. The idea is to garner more trust and further the grantor-grantee relationship by talking about and getting to know your work not only focused on the grant but in general too.
Our job is to learn together, open ourselves up to new practices. Grantors want to listen, to do research, and to and to keep ourselves up to date on what our community needs. We try to align grant proposals with what we know are the true gaps in service based on what data tells us is going on in the community. The hard part is sometimes making the time to talk, or the reaction we get when we want to talk.
The best thing you can do – BEFORE you want to ask for money – is call us up and talk. You know, let us get to know you, help us learn about your mission and how it is going, and about your impact on the community. Share data, outcomes, and needs assessments. These conversations can lead to idea sharing, introductions, non-monetary forms of help, and all-around pleasantness. It would be great to have the kind of grantor-grantee relationship where if there’s a hiccup with your grant or with another program, you could just call the grantor and talk about it. Transparent, helpful conversation that could help your programs and your relationship with the grantor. And yes, it is possible that all that information sharing has the potential to lead to a grant.
So, I encourage you to share the love with your funders before your next LOI!
