Office Hours Recap: Transforming High-Impact Stories Into Grant Funding

Watch the Grants4Good Scaling Impact Replay

Margit Brazda Poirier is the founder of Grants4Good, an organization that helps nonprofits find, apply for, and secure grants. This means Margit’s work isn’t just vital for nonprofits – it facilitates investment in programs that build healthy communities around the country. As Margit explains, “Grants not only have a powerful impact on the organizations that receive them, but also on the people they serve.” Margit recently took some time out of her busy schedule to chat with Resilia’s Alaysia Brown about the top challenges organizations face when it comes to securing grants and the most effective strategies for overcoming them. 

• According to Margit, there are three major obstacles that prevent nonprofits from obtaining grants: 1) They don’t know where to start, 2) They’re unsure of which grants to pursue, and 3) They struggle to get their colleagues involved in the grantmaking process. Margit recommends addressing these problems by identifying a specific program that needs funding, bringing all relevant members of your team together to consider and compose the grant application, getting essential documents prepared long before the grant deadline, engaging funders who share the organization’s mission, and determining which concrete outcomes the program will pursue. More information about Margit’s recommendations is available here. 

• Margit explains that every grant-seeking organization has to appeal to a well-defined target audience and population. One helpful exercise is to take out a piece of paper and write down several characteristics of the grantor that will be reviewing a proposal – what are the top issues the grantor focuses on? How will the project improve the community? Who will the project help? In composing the grant application itself, make it as clear, concise, and outcome-oriented as possible. Develop a specific project budget that doesn’t ask the grantor to pay for 100 percent of the costs. And if possible, demonstrate that other organizations (businesses, nonprofits, government, etc.) are participating and other grantors are reviewing the application.

• Throughout the grant application process, nonprofits should consistently emphasize exactly what outcomes they’re trying to achieve. This won’t just focus the organization’s energy on defining and pursuing measurable impact – it will also tell grantors why they need funding, how the funds will be deployed, and what the project will accomplish in the community. Margit stresses the importance of pursuing project-based funding with a specific population in mind – nonprofits shouldn’t ask for grants to support general operations. They should choose their highest-priority project, identify the characteristics of the group they want to help (from socioeconomic status to race, location, and age), and tell grantors how much support they need. Here’s how Margit summarizes this process: “You have to be really clear on outcomes – what it is you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and with whom.”

Grants sustain the nonprofit sector, which means they support essential services for countless communities in the United States. At a time when nonprofits are under immense financial strain, it’s more important than ever for them to know how to secure the grants that maintain programs that address public health, education, racial equality, and a vast range of other issues. This is why effective nonprofits have a responsibility to develop strategies for forging stronger relationships with grantors and securing the financial assistance they need. Fortunately, advocates like Margit and organizations like Grants4Good are here to help.