Cutting Through Budget Confusion

How do you submit a grant proposal budget for a special project that’s planned for the NEXT fiscal year, when your board has only approved this year’s budget—and next year’s budget won’t be finalized before the grant deadline?

Does this sound confusing? Familiar, perhaps?

Train tracks in Sri Lanka with tropical foliage on either side. Photo credit: Unsplash Images: Raissa Lara Lütolf (-Fasel)

Here’s a real-life budget conversation with a client:

[Timeline]: It’s mid-January.

Client:

The Situation: “Our fiscal year ends on June 30. The board will not approve the budget for the next fiscal year until the end of May. However, the grant proposal deadline is in mid-March.

The Problem: Foundation X is requesting organizational and project budget figures for the next fiscal year.

Complicating Factor: Our board chair believes foundations don’t want to see unapproved budgets and suggests we submit this year’s budget instead, along with an explanation of our fiscal year timeline, and then provide the new budget once it’s finalized.

What do you recommend we do? Please advise”

Recap: It’s January. The grant application deadline in March requires budgets for the next fiscal year; but the client’s next fiscal year’s budget won’t be approved until May. My client needs to provide realistic and compliant budget information to the foundation, but the board chair’s suggestion is throwing things way off track!

My Dilemma: Should we:

• Submit this year’s approved budget numbers, which are official but won’t reflect next year’s reality, or

• Provide next year’s projected numbers, which are not yet board-approved, but are based on program projections and likely to be more accurate?

Sigh.   

 What I Did:
I told the client that, based on my reading of the RFP, the funder is asking for budget numbers that align with the grant period. I encouraged my client to check with the foundation’s program officer about their preference for how we should present the budget numbers, given the realities of the nonprofit’s fiscal year and budgeting process.

Let me say that I loved working with this client for many reasons, namely their heart and soul was 100% in the work for the right reasons, and I was well supported on every application which was a total team effort.

But this type of “complication” where we lacked clarity repeated several times.

Reflecting back, I still believe that my advice to request guidance from the funder was the right thing to do in the moment. But it should not have ended there.

There was a deeper challenge. One of misalignment. Without a time frame adjustment on the budgeting process, this situation would keep repeating every year—and I did not call it out.

Non-profit leaders;

This all goes back to basics. Step back. Reflect. Plan.

You DO know when your fiscal year ends (no surprises here), please don’t wait for the last week of your fiscal year to get your next year’s budget approved.

If you know that grant application deadlines for the next fiscal year take place 3-6 months before your fiscal year ends, plan your budget board approval process accordingly.

Also, if your board really DOES need to be involved in grant writing, please have an established process for engagement and approval. Ad hoc ‘support’ from those who don’t understand the budget timeline process is not really helpful.

And most of all,  dear non-profit EDs; please don’t put your grant writers in this position of playing detective or chess grand master—where we are rubbing our eyes, trying to figure out how to wangle a budget and make it fit into a shape it’s not cut out for.

You Can’t Write About Things You Don’t Know Enough About

[This blog is dedicated to all the Nonprofit Pros Who Didn’t Sign Up to Write Grants… But Got Stuck Doing it Anyway!]

Keep reading for lessons learned from my grant writing journey.

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The ED. The new intern. The finance guy who’s also good at words and got roped in.

Hand raised. That’s me and how my grant writing story began.  

In my early days as a consultant, I was hired via an agency to provide short-term report writing support for a nonprofit client. I arrived at the client’s location and was given a short tour around their facility which operated a food pantry for senior citizens. “They can buy food with Monopoly money,” is what my point-of-contact lady told me. Let’s call her POC lady for short.

I was then taken to the back office, and guided over to a pile of paper files by POC lady. “We are late, we are so late with our grant reports. We were supposed to submit this grant report last month. I just had a call with the funder who wanted to know when we would submit the report, and I said I would get it to them today. So I need you to get started right away.”

Now, consultant-me of today would have seen that red flag right away—and laughed. Consultant-me of 15+ years ago froze. When I unfroze enough to move, I buried my head in paper files, trying to make sense of a proposal that made no sense, while trying to write a report about a program I didn’t know anything about. Let’s just say that partnership did not last long.

If you are the new ED, the intern or the finance guy with writing skills—take the time, in fact insist, that you get enough time to get to know the programs before you start writing about them. Whether you are writing a proposal narrative or developing a monitoring and evaluation plan or reporting on a program you MUST know what is going on.

I call it digesting information.  In order for me to write convincingly about your organization’s mission, programs and impact I need to first wrap my head around what you do.

This also means, I need time to read your existing materials and ask plenty of questions and understand the ‘why’ behind what you do. I need to understand your strategy. I need to understand what sets you apart.

Six years ago I asked a new client whether I could come by and see their programs in action. It was a book club meeting for folks who had returned after being incarcerated. I also sat in on other program activities like a job-readiness workshop and a community-dialog night. You can learn a whole lot by being a fly on the wall.  

The fact is, you can write about things you don’t know about. But it will probably be full of fluff and gobblygook—and the reader will see through it.

 Like every other quality product, good grant writing means putting in time up front. You don’t need to stress about knowing everything, but you need to know enough.

 Got a good grant story to share? I’d love to hear it!

The Secret Sauce to Keep Winning Grants

Photo Credit:
RAJAT KUMAR SINGH . Unsplash Images

One of my nonprofit clients consistently wins funding on approximately 80% of the grant proposals we work on together.

 This is not a ‘humble brag’ about my skill as a grant writer—it takes more than solid writing skills to keep up this level of success.

 I’m going to lay it out clearly why I believe this organization sees such strong results:

  #1: Reputation:

Most of their institutional funders are repeat funders who give year after year. There is no shortcut to getting here—it takes years to build a reputation of trust with your constituents, partners and funders, so everyone know that you are in it for the long-haul.

 #2: Accountability:

Their reports are 100% on time. They put in as much strategic thought into the report as they do into the grant application, sharing data and stories that are relevant to the individual funder.

 #3: Clear Grant Strategy:

Each application is assigned to the annual grant calendar. Each month’s work is scheduled ahead of time.

 #4: Sufficient Time:

Each month we plan out our work for the next and map out our funder deadlines and internal deadlines. The team knows whether or not there is capacity to pursue new/unexpected opportunities when they pop up.  I for one, do not thrive on the thrill of last-minute submissions, and always build in a buffer of time to allow for the unexpected.

 #5: Clear Process & Roles:

Know how too many cooks can spoil the soup? Here, the cooks know how to line up in order. We have a strong drafting and editing process in place, and each person knows their role. It minimizes back-and-forth inefficiencies.

 #6: Collaboration:

As an consultant, I need to be up to speed on any new changes in strategy, programs and significant staffing changes. This might sound obvious, but there are often new events and unexpected challenges to catch up on. Each month, before I start the drafting process, a development staff person and I meet virtually to outline every single application and report together—so we are literally on the same page.

 #7: Communication and Trust:

We do our best to keep to our internal deadlines, and share drafts, edits, and research on time. But we’re human. Twice (in five years), I had to hand off work unexpectedly due to a health issue. Both times, we’d built in enough time for someone else to take over. Both times, I was met with understanding and support.

 #8: Strong In-House Writing Capacity:

While I provide extra grant writing and reporting support, they have excellent in-house writers who know their programs intimately. This is really an ideal situation, where the consultant is brought on for extra capacity and not lack of internal expertise.

 #9: Shared Understanding of Decision-Making:

There is space for critique and idea sharing by all, and there is space for pushback by all parties. There is also a shared understanding that final decisions around content and direction are made by the client.

 Not every grants team needs to be structured the same way. Sometimes one person manages the entire effort, and sometimes there are 3–4 staff actively involved; which might sound like a recipe for disaster (and sometimes is). Grant writing is deadline-driven and can be very stressful, but taking the time to build a process that works for you and your team can make it a much more rewarding experience

Does Your Grant Strategy Need a Boost? Let’s Talk. Sign Up for a Free Consultation.

Working Smarter: Getting the Best ROI from Your Grant Consultant

Image Credits: Alex Azabache

Unawatuna Beach, Sri Lanka

Nonprofit Leaders—are you thinking about handing over those pesky grant applications to a consultant while clapping your hands together with a, “done and dusted... now I can move on to other things” sigh of relief?

Reality Check: Bringing on a grant writer can be a game changer—but it’s not a "set-it-and-forget-it” situation.

Let’s talk about what it really takes to make working with a grant consultant successful and worth the investment.

Consider these Two Scenarios:

NON-PROFIT A: You are an established mid-sized nonprofit and your in-house grant writer is taking a leave of absence for three months. You want a grant writing consultant to step in and take over.

NON-PROFIT B: You are the executive director and the only full-time staff person at a nonprofit. You wear all the hats. You have no time to be writing grants, and you want a grant writing consultant to take this job off your plate.

In both scenarios, as an in-house leader, you have strong understanding of how your organization and programs function. Some of it is written down, but the ins-and-outs of how things work might be carried in your head.

When you are working with a grant consultant, here are some practical realities to consider:

1.      The Consultant Needs to Learn A Lot About Your Work—and Fast:

If the consultant is new, this person needs to develop a fairly in-depth understanding of the organization quickly. The consultant needs to understand your value-add and the uniqueness of your approach in order to represent you effectively in your grant applications.   

Sharing past applications, communication materials, and program plans can definitely help a consultant get up to speed. But the real aha moments happen when nonprofit leaders are available to answer questions and offer context.

 2.      Provide an In-House Point Person for Ongoing Questions:

There are always a myriad of large and small decisions that need to be made while writing a grant; which program is best aligned for this pitch? How will the program be staffed next year? How do we spread out overhead costs in the budget? A consultant can advise you on making these decisions but cannot make these decisions alone; leaving a consultant without access to a decision maker leads to frustration for all parties.

 3.      Clarify your Expectations on the Process:

Make sure that the consultant has a clear process for drafting and review; is the consultant responsible for all components of the proposal from start to finish? Decide together who needs to review the narrative, budget and attachments, and who will submit.  Ask questions so that there are no surprises about the level of effort you and your staff need to set aside to provide feedback and review.

 4.      Clarify the Deliverables:

Ensure your expectations are outlined in a scope of work in terms of number of hours, specific grants to be written, or if this is an as-needed and as-available arrangement between you and the consultant.

 5.      Plan out Your Submissions:

Plan out your grants calendar for your period of engagement.  Consultants often work with multiple clients. Unlike an internal staff member, consultants cannot drop other priorities and clients when a new opportunity arises for you. While some consultants can and do accommodate last minute requests, many consultants have their schedule planned out at least a month or two in advance and cannot take on ad-hoc requests. If you need help planning, ask your consultant to help you create a grants calendar and a system for researching and tracking opportunities.

 6.      Funding Success is Largely Contingent on the Relationships You Build:

Grants are very competitive. You will increase your organization’s probability of funding success exponentially if your funders know and trust you.  Your grant consultant can help you brainstorm and navigate these relationships and conversations which need to take place before you apply. A well-written and well-aligned proposal is the icing on the cake – but icing cannot stand by itself.

In the Real World:

Clients who treat the “getting-to-know-you” phase as essential—not a nuisance—tend to see the best results. They make time for regular check-ins, share updates and pivots, and help shape the strategy along the way. On the flip side, when a client expects to drop off a folder of documents and walk away, it usually doesn’t bode well—for the relationship or the final work product.

Let me be clear: grant consultants work independently. We don’t need to be in every meeting or cc’d on every email. But a collaborative partnership gives your grant writing investment the best chance to succeed. (And that’s assuming, of course, you’ve done your due diligence in hiring a grant writer who’s a good fit for your organization.)

Hiring a grant writer can absolutely lighten your load—but it’s not a hands-off arrangement. Consultants can advise, guide, and even do the bulk of the work. But a strong proposal still needs your input: your voice, your uniqueness, your direction. Collaboration is the secret sauce. Don’t check out—lean in.

Got Any Tips or Lessons Learned to Add? Join the Conversation. Comment Below.

Ten Tips for New Grant Consultants

Are you thinking of becoming a grant consultant?

Here’s something I learned early on: great writing alone doesn’t win grants — especially if your process with the client falls apart.

As I began this journey 15+ years ago, I quickly learned that finding alignment with clients, managing expectations, and navigating wildly different work styles were just as important as crafting a compelling proposal.

Aspiring and new grant consultants—here are ten “keeping it real” tips and tricks based on lessons learned, just for you!

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New to Grant Consulting? 10 Client-Focused Tips for Building A Successful Collaboration

1.       Partner with organizations whose work and approach aligns with your values. Writing about causes and programs you aren’t totally on board with (or don’t understand) is painful – and not in the good sense of growing pains.

2.       As an outsider you need the inside-scoop. You will need an in-house point person who is ready to dedicate time to answer your questions, so that you can learn not only about the organization’s work, but also truly grasp what makes them tick.

3.       Take time to understand the organization’s unique value and voice. It will show up in your writing.

4.      Make sure your clients know that you are not a magician; ROI and ‘results’ are not guaranteed. High grant award success rates are often a combination of solid relationships with funders combined with on-point grant writing (and many other factors).

5.       Nonprofits new to grants development may not know that many grant cycles are painfully long. Integrate this reality into funding targets and project planning. 

6.       Make sure your writing process is collaborative – strategize together with your client on your pitch and your main points of emphasis; you don’t want to hand in a draft and hear “that’s not the direction we wanted to go in” or “we want to fund a different program.”

7.       While staff buy-in is key, too many cooks (or in this case writers and editors) do spoil the soup.

8.       Keep yourself and the rest of your team of writers and contributors organized and accountable to their task timeline. This may feel like herding cats, at times.

9.       Most importantly, plan to submit with plenty of time before the deadline. Waiting for the last minute is almost guaranteed to trigger Murphy’s Law (if anything can go wrong it will) – it’s true. Portals crashing, internet failing. It’s happened to me.

10.   *Pro-Tip: Only work with clients who agree to use track changes for edits. I’m semi-serious about this one folks. For me, it’s a hard pass on working with folks who only want to give verbal feedback.

Grant Consultants: What consulting tips and tricks have worked for you? Please comment below.