success

How to Build a Successful Nonprofit

The key to maintaining a successful nonprofit organization is to have a diverse fundraising strategy that builds upon your organization’s core strengths and resources. It is essential, therefore, to know your organization, understand your place in the giving community, and build on your strengths and resources. Once, when I worked for a small, under-resourced organization,… read more

doctor

Critical Questions to Clarify Your Research

How you will construct the direction and destination of your proposal depends on the initial questions that you ask. As you move from generating the topic, to gathering the background information, to adding focus to your research, you should begin with the open-ended questions of “how” and “why”, while at all times considering the “so… read more

international

Foundations & Corporations: The Art of Procuring International Funding

In my last blog, I discussed United States federal funding for international programs and research. In this article, I will focus on foundation giving for international programs. According to The State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations, during a five-year study from 2011-2015, grant-making by American foundations to charitable organizations outside the United States reached… read more

international

Increase Your Funding via International Partnerships

In my own career, I recall a very wealthy donor from Asia, who funded a major program at a leading university department where I was the director. He asked me what I believed would be an important funding area if he were to donate $1 million to my department. I told him that international research… read more

problems

Five Common Problems Facing Grant Writers – Part II

In my last blog, I outlined various problems that workshop participants mentioned as serious concerns in their grant writing process. In this blog, I will continue with additional factors they faced. Of equal concern and pertinence are the following: Planning Ahead: “What are the steps I need to take before I write?” Grant writing takes… read more

problems

Five Common Problems Facing Grant Writers

During a recent grant training workshop I conducted in Pennsylvania, I asked participants what they considered to be the key obstacles they face in seeking, submitting and ultimately winning grants. The answers varied according to institution, discipline and experience, but the most universal problems and solutions for everyone were: Timelines: “We can never find the… read more

challenges

Proposal Rejection – Next Steps

You submit a grant proposal that you think has an excellent chance of success. Several weeks or months later you receive an email from the donor saying that it was not funded. Rejections can be difficult to swallow, especially since some reviewer comments might seem unjust. The best way to proceed is to give careful… read more

success

The Core of Your Proposal: The Problem Statement

In this blog, I will address need statements specifically for programmatic grants, which will have a heavy focus on the beneficiaries. The need statement, also known as the problem statement, is a key element of any proposal. It makes a clear, concise, and well-supported statement of the idea you are proposing. It needs to be… read more

match

5 Things to Know About the Language and Culture of a Grant Donor

I am often asked: “Can I submit the same grant proposal to multiple funding agencies?” Obviously, the answer is a definite no, but it is also important to understand the implications behind such a question. It assumes that all donors are the same; that they would fund whatever we wish funded; that there is a… read more

management

Five Crucial Aspects of Grant Management

You have been awarded the grant that you so diligently developed. There is no question that everyone on your team is elated, but now the hard work of implementing and managing the grant begins. If you start immediately, the task will go smoothly. If, on the other hand, you wait, serious issues can occur that… read more