challenges

Challenges Facing Grant Writers in Today’s Environment

New and seasoned grant writers are encountering increased challenges in seeking funding for their research and organizations. Many of these challenges are beyond their control. In this blog, I will briefly outline five of the most common barriers. In subsequent blogs, I will comprehensively address each one: Increased Competition: As the demand for grant funding… read more

success

Three Essentials for Grant Success: Ingredients, Preparation, and Presentation

When the donor is expecting excellence, resourcefulness, and a keen awareness of how best to assure outcomes that make a difference, the best way to meet their needs is to incorporate the three essentials for grant success. The three essentials for grant success are ingredients, preparation, and presentation. All of these are crucial, equally important,… read more

success

What Makes a Successful Grant Writer?

Successful grant writers possess a variety of characteristics that contribute to their effectiveness. These are learned through experience, various proposal submissions, collaborative efforts with colleagues, and focus and determination. Thus, successful grant writers: Strong Research Skills: Can identify relevant funding opportunities, understand the funding organization’s priorities and requirements, and gather supporting data and evidence for… read more

teaching-and-research

Donors Want to Fund Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary grant research has become increasingly important in today’s world as many of the most pressing issues facing society are complex and multifaceted. In order to fully understand and address these issues, it is often necessary to bring together experts from multiple disciplines to collaborate on research projects. This type of collaboration can lead to… read more

writing

The Letter That Will Get You Funded

In order to assess the validity of a proposal in relationship to the solicitation, many donors, especially foundations, request a Letter of Intent (LOI) from future applicants. This is the letter that will lead to the invitation to apply for the grant. If the application that follows meets the donor’s criteria and is well written,… read more

match

SBIR/STTR: A Win-Win Partnership for Private and Public Sectors

Partnerships between institutions of higher education and the private sector are encouraged and often lucrative endeavors. The Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) are the best mechanisms toward this effort and are often referred to as the nation’s largest sources of early stage/high risk funding for start-ups,… read more

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

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