How do I find grants available for my organization? – SHARITY

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Powering Nonprofit Success Through Participatory Processes:

Did you know that organizations prioritizing participatory processes and deliberately decreasing barriers see a significant increase in program effectiveness? This Fall, I’m excited to delve into how this framework powers real-world success through our three-part webinar series, Insights for Impact!

On September 18th, Dr. Inderjit Vicky Basra, President and CEO of the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, and Jessica Raymond, former Chief of Staff of the YWCA, joined Sharity Global Expert Anne Miskey to offer real-world examples of ways participatory processes elevated their organizations’ mission and impact. Dr. Basra emphasized the importance of including direct and indirect experts in decision-making conversations. She noted, “…layered communication makes the change.” When those in the community who experience the challenges your organization strives to address work alongside those with academic or professional experience in key areas, your organization can begin to affect systemic change. Jessica added, “When we talk about advocating for people and engaging their voices…here is the mic! You sit at this table, you tell me what you need from us, you make the decision…”

Key takeaways from the conversation included:

Write equity into your policies and procedures.
Avoid “tokenizing” the community you serve. Ensure that if you ask something of your community members, such as asking them to share their stories, you are developing and strengthening a mutually beneficial relationship with them.
Identify ways your organization may connect direct experts, those with lived experience, with donors, elected officials, and other community leaders and influencers.
Engaging all voices allows you to review and evaluate the impact of your programming with an open mind and heart.
Give credit to all the experts helping you execute your mission. Whenever possible, compensate and recognize direct experts, those with lived experiences, for their work on behalf of your organization, just as you would an indirect expert with academic or professional experience.

Dr. Basra summed up the importance of engaging all voices when she described the success her organization has had with connecting survivor mentors with the recently rescued. “[Survivor’s] concepts around hope look very different because they’re sitting across from somebody, that at some point, was in the same space that they are in…Their survivor-mentor becomes a beacon of hope!” Anne added, “The little ways you can connect your donors in real ways to people” will bring about transformation.

How do I find grants available for my organization?

Ask Me Anything Summary

How and where do I find grants available for my organization? so we have a great question about how and where to find grants. and I have to tell you, I have been seeing a lot of questions online recently for nonprofits that want to know how they can start getting grants. and a lot of times, the question is, “we’ve never received any funding before, we’re brand new, how do we get grants?”

Well, the thing about grants is it’s just like a major gift ask. you don’t go in cold to a grant funder and expect to get funded. grants have to be cultivated. you need to understand the grant funder, their timeline, what they’re looking for, what they’ll fund, and what their expectations are.

And then they need to get to know you. government grants, especially, are not something that you’re just going to write for blindly and get the grant.

You need to go in and meet with the staff off the grant cycle, talk to them about what you’re doing, what you’re accomplishing, and why you are a good investment for their funds.

This is pretty much the same with any grant source. so I always tell all my clients first, start with a plan. have a business plan that you can present.

Go and talk to the grant funders. tell them what you’re trying to accomplish. tell them what the outcomes will be and how much money you’re trying to raise for your mission.

If you don’t have those three things in place, you’re not going to get grants. it’s not a matter of just writing something. it’s actually about having a plan, pitching it, and having them want to invest in your mission.

So, I hope this is helpful for you. if you want a free consult because you want to get your plan done, you can always reach out to me directly. if you have any questions about grants, we’ve got a lot of experts that helped write them. ‘carol.wick@sharityglobal.com‘ or just put a message in the box below and we’ll be happy to respond. have a great day.