Benefits of Seeking and Getting Federal Funding

Benefits:

-The grant awards are often way bigger than those of private foundations. They often give you adequate resources AND multi-year contracts so you can focus on program delivery and QI rather than worrying about finding new funding to replace it.

-Federal grants give your organization heightened credibility and visibility in your field.

-Federal Grants give you access to technical assistance, resources, and connections from within the funding agency.

-Winning a federal grant makes it more likely that you’ll be competitive for others. Building your portfolio of federal grants gives other federal agencies confidence in your ability to administer and manage their funds responsibly. It also helps you build cache in the private philanthropy world.

Things to keep in mind:
-You need to do time-consuming research on both the granting agency AND the grant program before writing the proposal. Going in cold is not advisable.

-Read the RFP. Then read it again. And then one more time. Also, invest in highlighter pens. Every federal agency has both standard and unique technical, programmatic, and administrative requirements, and not knowing what they are or what they are invites delays and T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

-Competition is always fierce, and the success rate is low. According to the Society for Non Profits, on an average day, roughly 2,700 grant proposals are submitted – fewer than 200 will receive funding.

-There are strings attached to the funding you receive. So, so many strings. Consider whether your organization has a strong enough infrastructure to manage the financial and reporting requirements in accordance with Federal guidelines and regulations.

-You need a grant writer talented and experienced in writing federal grants and who is also extremely knowledgeable of how to navigate the Federal systems and resources you need to even submit an application.

(Adopted from an article from the Society for Non Profits – www.snpo.org)