Article by Robyn Zimmann I know, you’re thinking “Jeez Louise, I’m barely through with 2021’s giving season, can I please take a break?” No. No, you cannot take a break. Or, let’s just say your break depends on how you answer this little handful of questions I have for you. What’s going on…
Whether you’re a newbie to grant writing or you’re a veteran in the nonprofit grant writing arena, no one should ever really be done improving and learning. After all, it’s a journey, right? Although I think I’m a pretty solid writer and I have a great track record behind me, I’m always looking for…
The National Endowment for the Arts (or “NEA”, for short) is the Federal funding agency for arts and culture organizations in the United States. They have several grant opportunities each year and most arts nonprofits usually want a piece of that pie. Of course, whether or not you actually get a piece depends on…
All grant proposals are different. Some have strict requirements and lengthy lists of questions. Others ask very few questions and don’t require much in the way of hard metrics. But regardless of what type of proposals you may be working on at this moment in time, there is one thing I can say with certainty:…
Last year many arts and culture nonprofits struggling to cope with closures and restrictions in the wake of COVID-19 were able to take advantage of multiple relief grants and funding, chief among them funds made available through the CARE Act and forgivable loans that were part of the Paycheck Protection Program (known as ‘PPP’). …
Looking for the biggest key trends in grant writing for 2021? Look no further. It’s almost the New Year (thank goodness and good riddance to the dumpster fire that is 2020) and that means a whole new year of grants! I think there are many things on the horizon this coming year, both personally…
This week I’m doing something a little different. A “Throwback Tuesday” post to one of my most popular grant writing guides. Yeah, yeah, I know “Throwback Tuesday” isn’t a thing, but this week Thursday is also Thanksgiving. That’s a cruddy day to release a blog post so I’m switching things up a bit and doing…
Lately, I’ve engaged in multiple conversations with fellow grant professionals and colleagues in the nonprofit space about the issues and challenges facing our country right now. From #MeToo to BLM to COVID-19 to the 2020 election, many things are changing and evolving in our world. And of course, that means changes to the nonprofit sector,…
Most grant makers require you to provide a needs statement as part of your grant proposal. And since “need” tends to look quite a bit different for an arts and culture nonprofit than for a nonprofit specializing in things like say…health or human services, this can often be the trickiest part of putting together…
My new book, Writing With a Mission: How to Create a Successful Career as a Grant Writer” will be available in just a few short days (September 9th). This book is the book that Bruce (my co-author) and I wish we had when we were at the beginning of our careers as grant writers and…