In “So, How Much Grant Money Should I Ask For?“, we discussed a sometimes delicate issue for nonprofits: picking a grant request amount. Our standard answer: ask for the maximum because zeroes are cheap. Funders will sometimes cut down your budget but almost never increase it.
Some obnoxious programs, however, won’t tell you how much you [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Budgets'
How Much Money You Should Ask For and National Mentoring Programs, with Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program as a Bonus
August 20th, 2010 · No Comments
Tags: Advice · Budgets · Government · Grants · Stories
The Ups and Downs of Using a Fiscal Agent to Apply for Grants
July 5th, 2010 · 2 Comments
We sometimes write proposals, usually for foundation grants, when the applicant is not tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Most government grant programs and almost all foundations require that the applicant be a public benefit, tax exempt organization, but one can also use a fiscal agent/fiscal sponsor. A fiscal agent [...]
Tags: Advice · Budgets · Grants · How-to · Technical
Supplementing Versus Supplanting Grant Funds: Examples from the Rural Housing and Economic Development Program and the Capital Fund Recovery Competition Grants
June 27th, 2010 · 1 Comment
In “Brush the Dirt Off Your Shoulders: What to Do While Waiting for the Stimulus Bill to Pass,” Isaac included a footnote that says “This is a big grant no-no called ’supplantation.’ In a future post I will explain how you can explain away supplantation in your grant writing anyway.”
This is that post, except I’m [...]
Tags: Advice · Budgets · Clients · Government · Grants · How-to · Technical
Federal Budget Freeze Prospect Making You Shiver? Don’t Panic Until You Hear the “R” Word: Rescission
January 31st, 2010 · 1 Comment
President Obama highlighted his proposed partial “freeze” on discretionary federal spending during his State of the Union address last week, which set off a flurry of predictable wrangling among Democratic and Republican members of Congress (for a pretty good summary of what’s going on, see Democrats, Republicans Spar Over Cutting Deficit). While talk of budget [...]
Tags: Budgets · Government · Grants · Stories
Never Think Outside the Box: Grant Writing is About Following the Recipe, not Creativity
January 10th, 2010 · 7 Comments
A New Yorker cartoon I like:
If you write proposals, don’t be this cat.
Any time you’re writing to an RFP—which, for grant writers, is virtually all the time—you’re required to respond to the RFP. If the RFP says, “give services to 300 participants per year,” you should say in your proposal that you’re going to serve [...]
Tags: Advice · Budgets · Clients · Government · Grants · Stories
When It Comes To Applying for Grants, Size Doesn’t Matter (Usually)
December 13th, 2009 · No Comments
Faithful readers will know that I’m very fond of what used to be called “B movies,” so it should be no surprise that I also love movie trailers. The otherwise forgettable 1998 remake of Godzilla featured one of the best theatrical trailers I’ve ever seen: old guys are fishing off a East River pier in [...]
Tags: Advice · Budgets · Grants · Questions
So, How Much Grant Money Should I Ask For? And Who’s the Competition?
December 8th, 2009 · 1 Comment
One question clients often ask is how much money they should apply for in a given grant request. Our standard answer: ask for the maximum because zeroes are cheap.
As with many aspects of grant writing, there is no right answer to this question. It’s impossible to know. But all other things being equal, you might [...]
Tags: Advice · Budgets · Government · Grants · How-to · Questions
How Much Money Is Available? Explaining Maximum Grant Amounts
August 15th, 2009 · No Comments
If you read our e-mail newsletter, the Seliger Funding Report, you’re aware of a number that can mean different quantities depending on the RFP: the maximum grant amount. There are a couple of ways to calculate this number: by the amount available over the total project period (which could be more than a single year) [...]