I want you to think back to the last arts or cultural event you attended. Maybe it was a gallery opening or a theater production or a museum exhibition opening or a symphony concert. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is why you attended it in the first place. I would imagine that unless…
On March 27th I had the pleasure of attending the 2019 ReWrite Conference in Lexington, Kentucky. The conference was presented by KY GPA (Grant Professionals Association) and the Kentucky Nonprofit Network and it was absolutely fabulous! For those of you who were unable to attend, I’ve put together some of my favorite takeaways from the…
In the minds of grant makers, impact is king. It’s what they want to see most in your proposals and ultimately in your outcomes. But here comes some tough love: arts organizations are not always great at creating evaluation strategies for their programming that allow them to adequately demonstrate impact. I touched on…
The past few years have seen a steady rise in the effectiveness of video as a way to engage with audiences. Nonprofit audiences are no different, so if your organization has yet to get on the video train, it’s time. In this blog article I want to explore a few easy ways you can…
When you’re focused on writing grant proposals and trying to secure awards for your nonprofit, it can be really easy to zero in solely on your proposal. You worry about how well it’s written, whether or not your budget is easy to read and understand, if you forgot any typos, or if you’ve crafted solid…
If you have been a grant writer for any amount of time, then the prospect of joining a professional organization or maybe even pursuing professional credentials has probably crossed your mind. But like many, you may not know where to start, which organizations are worth checking out, and whether or not joining any of them…
That’s right. It’s finally here. I don’t know how many of you grew up sincerely loving books, but I sure did. I always had my nose stuck in a book as a kid, but it didn’t end there. I also loved writing my own and even illustrating the pictures. In fact, I really can’t remember…
One of the things I’m asked most often by those new to grant writing or even by prospective clients is: “what are the most important things we should be doing to get more grant awards?” It’s a good question, and although the answer can be a little nuanced depending on the organization and its…
At the beginning of the month, we asked all of you to help us choose a cover design for our book, Get the Grant: Your No B.S. Introduction to Foundation Grants. And you did not disappoint! We’ve looked at all of the votes and we are ready to announce the winner. Watch the video…
No one writes grants in a vacuum. By which I mean that even if you work at a small nonprofit or if you’re a “one-person shop”, you really never write grants all alone. You still need input from program directors, approval and buy-in from the Executive Director and the board, data collection from program staff,…