In FY2020, the federal government spent $6.6 trillion in Medicare, Social Security, defense and veterans, debt interest, support to businesses, health, education, social services, and assistance like stimulus and unemployment plus assistance to States.
Did you know, $600 billion is awarded each year in federal grants?? The new OMB Uniform Guidance Administrative Requirements place tremendous emphasis on grantee internal controls. So, what are they? Why should you care? How do they impact your grants and your organization?
President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was signed into law on March 11, 2021, which provides $1.9 trillion funding state and local governments to respond to the public health and economic crisis.
Many grant applications are stronger when a team is working together. There are two
primary types of grant teams:
1. A team of internal individuals working on the same project together. They all work for
the same institution and each fulfill different roles.
Describing Library Problems that Need Funding
In my last post, I shared about the importance of aligning your grant application to a funding agency’s
priorities. In this post, I will discuss how to describe problems for funding.
It is important that the grant application you submit have a clear problem that needs solving. Most grant
applications will require that you write a statement of the problem. The statement of your problem is
the “hook” and should, therefore, peak the grant reviewers’ interest.
The problem statement should have one clear sentence and supporting data. This section needs to
clearly describe the problem your proposed activity will solve. The problem should be supported by
data.
For the purposes of illustration, let’s say that you plan to apply for funds to create a youth literary
magazine. Your statement of the problem needs to clearly describe the problem the magazine will solve.
Include data on how the youth in your community are looking for a place to express themselves and feel
that they belong. Include data on how writing helps youth succeed in school and gain important life
skills.
To locate data relevant to your project, review sites such as:
Local school district
City government
Chamber of Commerce
Department of Education
State
County
Regional Councils
Original published research
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Census data
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Others specific to your project
Once you have described the problem and supported it with data, you should clearly explain how your
proposed activity will address the problem. In other words, your proposed activity is your method for
solving (or partially solving) the problem.
Reach out to PKS Grant Management and Accounting Solutions, LLC for additional ideas on writing a
problem statement.
In my last post, I shared about where to locate library grants. In this post, I want to discuss topics that may be of interest to funding agencies. Now, one of my grant-writing friends has always said we should not chase the money. I agree with this statement. Grants we write need to be good fits for the mission and visions of our libraries.
Finding Library Grants
I worked in libraries and archives for 10 years, and during that time had the opportunity to be part of numerous grant projects. The work I was able to accomplish with the help of grants was some of the most rewarding work I did during those 10 years. Despite the enjoyment, the process of finding and writing grants did not come easily. I spent a lot of time researching and even more time writing. This is the first post in a series about library grants, and in this post, I want to focus on where to search for grants.
These sites include many different library grants:
Grants.gov (search for library)
GrantWatch (search for libraries)
Specific companies/organizations that provide grants to libraries include:
I also suggest researching local foundations in your area.
Reach out to PKS Grant Management and Accounting Solutions, LLC for additional ideas on locating library grants.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the novel Coronavirus disease is spreading nationwide and the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus. As an organization, the best thing you can do is to communicate and educate your employees, volunteers, and stakeholders.
Join us the for the Internation Grant Professionals Day #LearnGrants Online Summit. The FREE event is hosted by DH Leonard Consulting & Grant Writing Services and Foundant Technologies.
We all know professional development opportunities are highly important in today’s world. So why not secure your spot today for this free online summit. This #LearnGrant Summit will surely enhance your career and give you the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop as a grant professional.
Three Reasons Why You Should Attend?
Free Online Professional Development
Presenters are Grants Professional Association Approved Trainers
Access to all the recordings after the summit
Bonus: I am one of the presenters on What, Why, How’s of an Indirect Cost Rate
When: March 13, 2020 (9 am to 1 pm PST) & (12 pm to 4 pm EST)
Don’t Miss——-Sign up Today. Hope to see you there.
The grant application process can look very different depending on the grant for which your organization is applying. Each grant has its own specific requirements and steps to follow. However, often there are several key pieces of information or types of documentation that a funder will request as part of the application process. Knowing this ahead of time and preparing this documentation can help your organization to prepare to meet deadlines quickly and efficiently. Some of these documents can be prepared in a one-size-fits-all format, while others may need to be created in a sort of boilerplate format that can be adjusted to meet the specific standards of each grant.
Some of the basic written materials you will need to gather about your organization include your mission statement, a paragraph describing your organization’s history, and a paragraph describing the community in which your organization is situated. Your organization will also want to compile several lists regarding the following information:
Board members (including information related to their places of employment, job titles, addresses, and affiliations with other organizations)
Staff members (with resumes or brief biographies)
Volunteers
Major accomplishments of your organization
Current programs and projects within your organization
Your organization should also be prepared to provide several different types of financial data. If you are a non-profit, then you will be required to present your 501(c)(3) letter. For-profit organizations may need to provide their certificates of incorporation. Other necessary information may be federal taxpayer information numbers (TINs), employer identification numbers (EINs), or Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) numbers. The information needed will be dependent on your organization type and on the type of grant for which your organization is applying.
Other relevant financial information includes your program’s budgets for both the previous and current years. Your should also include an auditor’s report of your program. If your program produces an annual report, then that would be another important piece of data to include. You will also want to create a list of all of the current sources of funding your organization receives. The final piece of financial information you should include is a list of potential sources of funding for your organization, such as matching funds or pending applications for other grants.
Finally, compile information related to the community support your organization receives. You should create a list of community sponsors or affiliations that your organization holds. Include any letters of support or collaboration that your organization has received. You should also create a press kit that contains recent news articles about your organization and awards that your organization has received.
While not every funder will request all of these pieces of information on an application, it will be extremely helpful to have these types of documentation prepared in advance. This will help to create a smooth and efficient grant application process, as you will already have several of the key elements prepared. Knowing ahead of time what types of information your organization will need to provide and having that information organized and readily available to be inserted into grant applications will ensure that your organization creates high-quality proposals that earn funds.
In today’s world of grants, recovery of indirect costs is extremely vital for nonprofits. With minimum resources and few capacity building resources, it is important to understand how to recover and budget indirect costs to further enhance your organization’s effectiveness.
I'm excited to share that my blog post for DH Leonard Consulting & Grant Writing Services, LLC made the Best of 2016: The Resources Rundown by Grant Hub.
Jasmine Markanday, CGMS, RPO, MBA
President/Owner
Olathe, KS 66061
Phone: (913) 961-8957
