Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to the questions asked most.
What is The Grant Plant's service goal?
The Grant Plant's service goal is to raise grant money, improve your organization's operations, and assist in your group's budgetary, operational, programmatic, strategic, and leadership goals.
Why is this the goal?
A nonprofit benefits from an open relationship with its financial supporters. Foundations connect to the causes that they support through their interest in the cause, and giving to a nonprofit that provides the solution that they think will help. In this way, the nonprofit has an opportunity to set itself apart through its mission statement, success rate, and operational transparency (e.g. fiscal reporting). The nonprofit exists to meet a community need and grant donors participate by donating grants to make that work possible. This is a donor/organization or investor/solutions provider relationship, and our goal.
How does a nonprofit acquire a grant?
Grants, in part, are received when nonprofit organizations meet their goal, deliver on their
mission, and meet that community need very well. Foundations donate to agencies
working in a field that interests them and is located in the geographic area
that they support. Make sure your organization's community hears and learns about your agency and its successes.
There is never a guarantee that your agency will receive any
one grant. The Grant Plant's services increases the likelihood. Some of the reasons that grants
are not funded may be because of possible previous loyalties to other nonprofit organizaqtions that
do similar work as yours'. Timing can be an issue, too, if the the foundation has switched their giving interests such as the cause they give to, what types of programs or projects they give to, etc. Even the grantor's different Board of Directors' interests may
compete from year to year when they determine which agency receives grants. For
these reasons you need a grant writer familiar with foundations and their
preferences. The Grant Plant knows the preferences of Pacific Northwest grantors.
Are grant writers in charge of whether a grant is received or not?
No. A grant writer performs as a 'ghost writer'
who must write a strong, compelling, clear, concise, and informative grant
application. The nonprofit and its work speak for itself in a well written
grant application. Yet, successfully raising grants is equally incumbent on the nonprofit organization; a grant is raised when an organization has an excellent success rate, a strong track record, and when it is providing compelling, innovative, effective, efficient, and successful programs or services. Our experience will guide your organization through the grant application process from an enabled position, to forge a relationship and strengthen your group's brand recognition with potential grantors. The decision to grant or not is, in the end, only up to the grant donor. For this reason I
recommend that grant writing should be a component of an diverse overall agency Development Plan followed by your nonprofit agency. In other words, grant writing should not be the only way a nonprofit raises its money.
How is The Grant Plant compensated?
The Grant Plant will come to an agreement with
your agency's leadership and sign a service agreement and statement of work with your organization's legal signatory. Some of the The Grant Plant's services are charged in a flat rate fee. Other services are charged on an hourly basis. No portion of a received grant should ever be paid out as a commission payment to a grant writer (i.e. writer's payment contingent on receiving a grant) because it is dangerous for a nonprofit's reputation. The reason is that foundations do not want to pay for a nonprofit's grant writer fees. A grant (or any donation) is given to any nonprofit because the money is intended to go to meet the nonprofit's program or project's goals, not to a consultant. The grant writer expense. As all professional fundraisers, professional grant writers are providing a service, as a lawyer or an accountant does. Also, grant writing is usually a long term fundraising strategy requiring more time than it takes to form and mail one grant application. Done right, it requires skill, expertise, previous experience and success. The Grant Plant, LLC offer all of these qualities and more. Grant writing, as a component of the agency's overall Development Plan, and is an investment in acquiring donations. Any consultant should mostly be removed from the relationship between a nonprofit and potential donors because it is the relationship being built between the nonprofit and its new potential donors (partners or investors) that forges a future of more donations raised.
What are grant writers responsible for?
Any professional grant writer must know the grant securing process, follow professional ethics, be
a very strong writer with experience, success, and most importantly, be able to convey your agency's mission, program, or project thoroughly, clearly, and in a compelling manner while following and fulfilling each grantor's guidelines. A
grant writer is responsible for providing a great grant application document that has the highest likelihood of garnering a grant. The Grant Plant succeeds and moves your organization up and into the best position to raise new and larger grants.
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