Long time no words!

Sorry to leave the blog hanging; I’ve been busy writing grants. Did I mention that it’s Spring writing season? Honestly, I’m still in the thick of it, but I thought I would at least try to give a little encouragement given the tightening of government grants, which I know a lot of organizations rely on.

I realize that since January, the world of grant writing has likely gotten very busy. With cuts and temporary freezes to funding opportunities, it might even be a little scary if you are trying to get a specific project funded. I glanced at grants.gov, and “Closed” seemed to be the word of the day. However, I’m confident some of these opportunities will eventually reopen, and in the meantime, I’m looking at corporations and private foundations for funding. I have been using a grant search engine, which has been very helpful. Check the price because these engines can be costly, and there are some good ones for around $200 a year. I’m learning about many foundations I didn’t even know about and have been able to send leads to organizations that I’m not even working with. (I try to offer a little help when I can.) If you need pockets of money for education, literacy, research projects, filmmaking, community projects, health initiatives, STEM programming, etc., there are many open grants right now. If you don’t need funding until late summer, fall, or even next Spring, you are still in a good position if you do your research. So don’t get discouraged and put your project on the shelf.

Pro Tips to consider:

1. Timeline- are you on a hard deadline, or can you push the project a bit to research new funding options?

2. Funding amount- Check that budget. Could you start smaller and then expand your team and services? Starting small or as a pilot sometimes helps work out kinks in your delivery and collect valuable data for applications. It also requires less initial start-up funding. This could allow you to start your project and give you time to seek additional funding sources.

3. Is there a partner who could help provide some services or even some funding so that you can get the project up and running? Sometimes, a little collaboration and/or creativity can highlight options that you have previously considered. Ultimately, it could make the project better.

4. Has your organization/group considered hiring someone to research grant opportunities? I know this sounds counterintuitive since you are trying to source funding. Hear me out. If you are using staff to write this grant, they will spend significant time researching new opportunities. This is in addition to the time it will take to write the grant(s) when the new sources are located. If your writer is not a staff grant writer, you could be losing many hours of productivity from that individual. In the long run, spending a few dollars on a 10-hour-a-week contracted researcher could bring a lot of value in a short period. Also, if you have other projects on the horizon, maybe that research could include looking in advance for funding related to those projects.

I hope these tips are helpful in your planning.

In other news, I read a book this week that I think deserves a recommendation. My sister and I read this book together…we are a book club of two. I had never read anything by this author, but I’m so happy I did. The book is Gravewater Lake by A.M. Strong. I love a good thriller that I think I have figured out and then throws me for a loop. I read this in two evenings; I spent about 4.5 hours in total. It’s super quick and was an entertaining read. My sister agreed. Highly recommend.

Okay, folks, it’s back to the grind for me. I wish you all luck, and if I can assist you, I will be happy to help. You can reach me at tbishop80@outlook.com

~Tiffanie