Beware of Myopia in Your Grant Requests

 

There was a recurring theme in a few of my latest conversations with grant seekers. A lot of times we get so embroiled in our work that we’re too close and don’t see what’s holding us back. For these grantseekers, they were conceptualizing their grant ask too narrowly.

One wanted to ask for funding for a focus group.

Another wanted to ask for a piece of equipment.

But what they didn’t see is that the focus group and equipment were a means to an end. And their prospective funder deserved to know what that “end” was. They needed to widen their lens and see that Big Picture.

The focus group was to test the pilot of a new initiative, and a smart first step. But this grant seeker was stumped by the “number of beneficiaries” question in the application. Since the ask was for the focus group, all they could come up with was the number of kids that would participate in the focus group. Five? No one will fund something that serves five kids! 

But in talking further with them, we unearthed that this focus group will offer the agency clarity in their program that they would then roll out to hundreds of kids. The design of the program needed to be tested and they were planning for that with a small focus group.

But there’s your beneficiaries answer! HUNDREDS of kids will benefit from what this funder can donate! The focus group is the key to showing them why and how!

Not only should they make their ask less about the focus group and more about the end result – the program and who it will serve – the more attractive it will be to donors, funders, everyone!

The grant seeker that made their application all about their piece of equipment was missing the mark as well. The piece of equipment would allow for all sorts of great things to follow. It would unleash all this potential for that agency and provide the key to serving twice as many people, and serving them better.

But most important, the piece of equipment was actually a key part of a much larger initiative. It was the key component of Phase One of what was a long-range strategic shift for that agency. That one piece of equipment was to be the start of a campaign to grow their capacity and reputation way beyond their current footprint.

And they needed to tell the funder that. They needed to place that piece of equipment at the heart of what would unlock all this potential for them and allow them to double and triple their output – and, most importantly, serve more people.

All this advice boils down to my old adage: Think Like a Funder. Funders want to know where they fit into the big picture, where their money will be used in terms of meeting your shared missions. They want to feel like a partner, and feel some ownership in a program’s success. They don’t like being treated like an ATM.

Give them your insights, share with them your line of thinking, and think more broadly about where your ask fits into how you’ll achieve the overarching goal.

 For more on this and other grant topics, visit my website.