Gina Wilson Beckles, Ph.D.
Program Evaluation Services, Inc.
With the Gates and Buffetts of the world pledging to give away half of their
fortunes, couple with all of the economic stimulus packages dominating the
news these days, many individuals and organizations are scrambling to get
slices of these economic pies. They want to know how they can receive some
of the trillions of dollars currently being pumped into the economy by
individuals, foundations, and the federal government. Therefore, they want
to get involved in the entire grantsmanship process. However, like most
things in life, pursuing grant funding is much, much easier said than done.
As defined on, www.grants.gov, a grant
is an “award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to
carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of
the United States.” Grants are typically awarded to governmental agencies,
educational institutions, public housing organizations, and non-profit
organizations. That is not to say that small businesses and individuals
cannot be awarded grants. However, grants are much harder to come by for
those entities that do not fall within the above-mentioned categories.
Therefore, it is very important to carefully review the “eligibility”
section of all Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in order to ensure that
valuable time and other resources are not wasted pursuing grants that one is
not eligible for. If however, one does come across a grant of interest, they
should consider partnering with an appropriate non-profit organization that
does meet the eligibility requirements.
One should also be mindful that grants mean paperwork, and lots of it!
Almost any time ones deals directly with external sources of funds, there is
a myriad of bureaucratic red tape to deal with. Therefore, if you are not
the type that can patiently deal with the seemingly endless flow of forms
and documents, then pursuing grants might not be for you. However, if one is
willing to dedicate the necessary time and effort that it takes to
effectively manage a grant throughout the entire process from start to
finish, then pursuing grants can be quite lucrative.
There are many resources available to help you navigate through the
grantsmanship process. There is a cottage industry of consultants available
for a fee. Additionally many colleges and universities have professionals
that are willing and able to assist you. Rollins College is home of the
Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center, which is right here in our own
back yard. It has one of the most comprehensive grants collections in the
state of Florida. There are also other organizations dedicated to the art of
grantsmanship such as the Grant Professionals Network of Central Florida and
the Florida Association of Nonprofit Organizations that can help. Finally,
there are many seminars, books, websites, CDs and DVDs available, as well.
In closing, it is not impossible to be awarded a grant, just challenging.
With the right mix of project scope, commitment, and due diligence, pursuing
grants can definitely be worth the time and effort.
