Be a Changemaker by Laurie Ann Thompson

Author:Laurie Ann Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Beyond Words

GRANTS

A grant is a special kind of donation, usually given by a government, charitable foundation, or company and distributed on a regular basis. Like a donation, a grant is free money given to you because someone wants to support your cause. But grants are different from other donations in a few important ways.

First, grants are usually large, starting at several hundred dollars and going up from there. Just one grant award could potentially cover all of your startup costs and get you off on the right foot with your operating expenses, whereas you would probably need to solicit many donations from individuals or businesses to receive that much. In order to achieve their goals, Les Manos United organized fundraisers, held supply drives, and applied for and won grants. In 2010 and 2011, they received $2,000 from the United Way to fund their venture. “Later, we obtained $2,500 from the ArtScience Prize to produce two documentary films concerning secondary education in Nicaragua and water access in communities in the Dominican Republic and Haiti,” Daniel says.

However, grants can be harder to get than donations. You will have to research appropriate grant opportunities and prepare and submit a grant proposal—a formal document explaining why your venture deserves to be awarded the money—in order to get one. Luckily, most of what the grant makers want to know is already in your business plan, so you should already be ahead of the game there.

Also, every funder is a different organization operating under its own rules, so each has its own unique procedures for applying for its grant. Each grant application package you submit will require its own research and preparation time. It can be hard to know if preparing grant applications is the best use of your time or not, since you can never be sure you’ll be awarded any grant you apply for.

Finally, because the grant makers are soliciting proposals from many different organizations like yours, evaluating them, and then making their decisions, actually receiving the grant can take a long time—and, in the end, you might not even be approved. So, if you’re thinking about going for a grant, set aside a good deal of time to research funders, prepare the grant proposal, and wait for the money. You’ll also need a backup plan in case that money never comes!

There are a few things you can do to increase your odds of receiving a grant, though:

• Do your research. Don’t bother applying for a grant that you’re not eligible for. You may need to be a resident of the city, county, or state in which the grant is being offered. You may need to be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. You may need to be over eighteen, or under twenty-four, or who knows! The grant makers are giving the money away, so they can make whatever rules they choose.

• Follow directions. Answer all of the funder’s questions in the required format before the submission deadline.

• Show that you are already up and running, or at least are ready to be as soon as you receive the grant.

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