Presented by DJT Consulting GroupFor Pacific Library Partnership

July 13, 2011

Enhancing Your Fund Development Capacity

Introductions

Presenters: Dan Armenta and Sherry Bruning, Principals DJT Consulting Group, LLC

DJT Consulting was founded in 2000 as a consulting firm specializing in project management for grant proposal preparation. We also help with grant administration, reporting, designing evaluation plans and data collection tools, development/editing of various organizational documents and plans, etc.

Clients are primarily units of government/public agencies (cities, counties) and non-profits

The four DJT principals have obtained over $100 million in grant funding, including approximately $30 million for public libraries

www.djtconsulting.com

Today’s Main Topics

The Library Fund Development Project and information about the free services available to libraries

Challenges to be aware of in today’s fund development climate

Overview of grant-seeking strategies and funder searches

Tips on developing successful grant applications

Opportunities for questions/feedback

…AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOU

The Library Fund Development Project…

LSTA, PLP and DJT

This project is a component of a LSTA grant received by PLP

The project’s focus is to help libraries increase their grant fund development capacity by identifying new funding sources and providing technical assistance related to grants

PLP has contracted with DJT Consulting Group to help accomplish the project goals

Free Services Available To You Through This Project

In-person consultations with DJT to assess and identify funding needs: A mini grant fund-development plan will be developed for you with potential funders for the needs identified

Competitiveness screening – DJT can perform reviews of grant opportunities, providing an analysis of how competitive you would be

Grant application review: review of your proposal to help increase competitiveness

Other technical assistance related to funder searches and grant writing

All of these are designed to build your internal capacity and help you increase skills/knowledge…

What is a Grant Fund Development Plan?

Assists an organization in determining grant funding goals and how to prioritize them

Provides short and long term grant funding goals

Provides a “road map” of grant programs that will assist the organization in meeting those funding goals

Provides a cost for achieving those funding goals

To Access Project Services

This is a time-limited project - if interested, please set up an appointment before September 15.

You can let us know at the end of the webinar if you’re interested in a consultation or get further information / make an appointment by:

Calling Sherry BruningPh: 408-280-1153orEmailing SherrySherry@djtconsulting.com

Challenges in the Current Fund Development Climate

Ripple Effects of the Economic Downturn

Less government grant money available

Fewer foundations accepting unsolicited letters of inquiry

Stricter review processes

Increased competition for grants, yet little money available for hiring grant writers = overwhelmed staff

Stricter requirements for grants that are awarded, including more mandated reporting

Grant-Seeking Strategies and Funder Searches

Resources for Finding Funders

Grants.govwww.grants.gov

Bidsyncwww.bidsync.com

Foundation Centerwww.foundationcenter.org/ (many free resources and a “menu” of cost-related funder search tools)

Basic categories of funders to search: federal, state, foundations, corporations

Where to search (examples: grants.gov, Bidsync (free), Foundation Center)

Search strategies

o Have a consistent process: assign one person to access and share info with staff

o Use “alerts,” sign up for email notifications

o In doing searches and setting up alerts, try different key word combinations – be creative

Other Funding Search Strategies

Set up a table of your competitors and/or similar organizations - in your region, state and nationally

o Monitor the funding they receive (their website announcements, Guidestar, etc.)

o Determine if you are eligible for funding from the same sources

Develop partnering ideas and search based on those potential projects. Partners could include community-based organizations (FOL and other library support groups!), schools, local historical societies, museums

Think “outside the box.” Say, you are a library, not a green energy organization. Yet, your library needs energy to run…

…Partner with a green energy organization/company and apply for mutually beneficial grants/resource opportunities

Partnering Example

Longer-Range Strategies

Regularly monitor legislation and planning activities of “powerbrokers” in your field or in fields that intersect with yours. These folks can benefit from your subject matter expertise and other tailored input. Are there ways you can help shape the outcomes?

Network with foundations – make connections to increase your chances of being invited to apply for funding in the future

Developing Successful Grant Applications

Getting “Proposal-Ready”

For Federal grant proposals, ensure that registration is complete with Grants.gov or other federal agency. Start this process early!

Make sure you have a DUNS # CCR registration

If partnering with a non-profit, check that they are in good standing and their non-profit status is current. Checks can be performed at the CA Attorney General’s website and on Guidestar.com

Documents:

• Have commonly used materials ready in editable format (resumes, org. charts)

•If applicable, set up any PDFs as editable, with True Type fonts (new rule for some federal submissions) •When relevant, get information on previous unfunded submissions from the funder. Make the written feedback available to the grant writing team

When The Grant Opportunity Is Announced:

Read the guidelines and supporting materials several times – ensure you’re eligible to apply. Proceed if eligible, and:

Subscribe to updates – submission deadlines and requirements can change

Monitor the funder's website for new FAQs and announcements

Ask questions of the funder: send emails versus phone calls - sets up a documentation trail

Assess Your Competitiveness

You’re eligible to apply for a grant – what next?

Conduct a “Competitiveness Screening”

o How much funding is available and how many grant awards will be made?

o Who is your likely competition and how do they stack up against you?

o Can you demonstrate a strong need for your project? Is it unique/innovative? Do you have the necessary capacity, experience and expertise to carry out the project?

Project Management

Develop a timeline for completing the proposal with roles, responsibilities and due dates clearly detailed

o Take into consideration the submission process – do you need to create multiple copies, submit original signatures or create .pdf files? Delivery process?

o Assign a team member to monitor the timeline and send reminders

Be realistic about assignments, timelines, capacity of team member(s)

Troubleshoot early and often; consider the “ripple effect” of delays and other issues

Team Availability and Communications

Ensure proposal team will be available during preparation period

Collect contact information (cell, alternate email, home, business, other)

For each entity on the grant preparation team, agree on one point of contact

Agree on preferred communications modes, especially for after normal office hours

Team Roles

Define roles before working on the proposal. Examples:

Grant project manager or “lead” - highest authority for decisions

Project administrative assistant - tracks deliverables and timelines, reports issues, communicates with team members for efficiency

Writer(s) and budget developers (often the same person)

Liaison with funder, if any

Liaison with key stakeholders

Team Electronic Capacity

Confirm the team’s electronic and document preparation capabilities (fax, versions of Word, Excel, Adobe; ability to “zip” files, create images, etc.)

Determine how to share large files

Writing and Editing The Proposal

Set up a “template” for the grant narrative with an outline of the required sections. Insert the guidelines and scoring criteria

Refer to the guidelines and scoring criteria frequently while writing

The grant template can include a “style sheet” to prevent time-consuming consistency edits later (font type and size to be used, style of headers, acronyms, spacing between sections)

Develop an agreed-upon method of version control and plan on at least 3 full drafts

Plan carefully regarding review/feedback on drafts Who will be providing feedback and how? Use of “track changes” in Word

Common Trouble Spots in Preparing Grant Applications

Not creating a timeline or specifically identifying roles/responsibilities for completing the proposal…or ignoring the timeline

Making unsubstantiated claims in key areas. Provide evidence. Support your statements with data, especially need statements

Creating project deliverables or activities that do not directly address the identified need

Common Trouble Spots, Continued

Proposal sections that do not correlate or match up

o Common issues: staff titles different on the budget, budget narrative and project narrative; budget doesn’t include line items for something described in the narrative; numbers inconsistent throughout the proposal

o Do an overall edit/check of the completed proposal to make sure all items and sections match. This includes budget, budget narrative, project narrative and all forms

General Grant Writing Tips

Develop a strong need statement – find and integrate data to make a good case for your proposal

Find a “hook” or theme that makes your project stand out

Directly address the requirements or questions without using vague or ambiguous language. Try to be as concise as possible

Make sure your project activities are realistic, can be accomplished within the timeframe identified and by the staff described in the application

Questions/Feedback