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Why should I outsource my grant writing?
Since it is highly probable that the services of CSB will, at a minimum, result in increased grant funding over previous agency performance in an amount at least equal to the cost of CSB services, contracting with CSB is a very low risk economic decision. It is even more likely that you will see a marked increase in foundation grant funding the first year and build new relationships for the future.
There are several additional benefits of locally outsourcing the technical and production aspects of grant funding strategy:
- CSB can manage all foundation grant applications at a cost that is significantly less than the annual cost of salary and fringe benefits for one grant writer with very basic grant writing skills and experience.
- Development staff can redirect most of their energies toward individual donor development, funding event planning and public relations.
- Executive staff can be freed to concentrate more energy and time on other aspects of agency management and elevate their grant funding involvement to oversight and funder relationship-building.
- In addition to the benefits of foundation grant funding management, the non-profit also receives carefully-crafted agency and program information that can be used for public relations and other fund development efforts.
- The agency will build a broader and more refined set of corporate and private foundations toward which it can direct relationship-building and general agency support efforts.
What do your services cost?
Our cost structure is based on the complexity of each organization’s programming and the organization’s funding objectives.
The degree of effort necessary to build the foundation for grant pursuit (case statement, boilerplates, funder match with organization, and strategic grant funding pursuit strategy and plan) depends on the complexity of the organization’s program and the quality of the organization’s current materials and grant request message. These foundational services are quoted as a one-time fee. If CSB is contracted to provide ongoing grant pursuit management services, at no additional cost we will continuously revise and mold the message as the organization’s programs change or are enhanced.
Grant pursuit management services are provided as a 12-month contract (with 30-days without cause notice to terminate), paid with a set monthly fee. In close collaboration with the organization’s staff, CSB is accountable for management of the grant pursuit plan and the timely preparation of ready-to-sign-and-mail grant applications. The degree of activity of CSB will fluctuate from month to month, but it assures dependable, quality grant pursuit.
CSB prefers to provide services on a fixed fee basis rather than at an hourly rate, because we wish to be incentivized by the quality of the product rather than the amount of time that is spent.
Fixed fee services usually provide organizations more value and there are no surprises about costs.
Project fees are quoted for specialized tasks, such as conducting a literature review regarding evidence-based practices and providing analysis and recommendations for program design.
When it is difficult to determine in advance the time required for a specified task requested by a non-profit, services will be quoted at an hourly fee.
Please contact us for a free customized estimate of your cost.
What is your “Success Rate?”
“What is your success rate?” People want to know my ratio of grant proposals submitted to grants funded - either by number submitted or by total amount requested. It's a natural to want to gauge a grant writer's success, but this question really doesn't get at the information needed to assess a grant consultant's performance.
It’s also tempting to ask how much money has been secured. For one client, CSB wrote grant applications to local foundations in the first half of 2008 that resulted in definite commitments of over $3 million. Grant requests prepared in the same period for a second client resulted in over $1 million in commitments from local foundations. For another seeking grants for the first time, so far $60,000 has been committed. Of the eight grants made to Dallas area organizations from 2001-2007 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bob Stewart prepared all aspects of four of the successful grant applications, for a total of $7.62 million in funding – 64.4% of all SAMHSA funding in Dallas during these years. Between January and May 2008, CSB prepared four Federal grant requests ranging in size from $1.2 million to $9 million over the grant period.
Yes, we’ve been able to help a number of organizations secure large grants. However, appropriately addressing the “success rate” question requires a more comprehensive response. Grant funding is highly competitive. “Success” in obtaining a grant is a function of the degree to which a grant request matches the particular interests and objectives of a particular foundation at a particular point in time. The persuasiveness of the fit is much more important than the language and attractiveness of the grant application.
But the definition of grant funding “success” is not the same for all non-profits. The mission or purpose of some organizations is simply more compelling to the public and to funders. The focus of interests of a foundation may shift significantly over time and even from one year to the next. So the more fundamental question to ask would be, “Is the non-profit organization attuned to the funding interests of foundations and is it developing its grant pursuit plan accordingly?”
For more information on defining grant pursuit success please see this article by Robert Stewart.
Can we purchase a list of foundations that fund organizations with our mission?
While we offer our services for a fee, we do not sell any separate part of our infrastructure. There are two basic reasons why we do not sell a foundation database to non-profits or anyone else:
1. The total set of FunderFit information specific to North Texas is proprietary, and is the technological underpinning of our distinctive services. Over the years, CSB has developed a wealth of integrated intelligence through direct and ongoing dialogue with funders and interaction with development professionals. This more nuanced information is extremely important to the in-depth understanding of a foundation beyond its basic mission, guidelines, deadlines, and application requirements. Our years of experience gleaning what matters to funders have guided the intellectual design for FunderFit that analyzes this information specific to a particular grant funding objective.
2. We know from experience that a simple list of foundations has very limited value. To be successful, individuals pursuing grant funding must furrow into the deeper layers of information about foundations. Our powerful, integrated approach to funding development moves from
- Carefully understanding the distinctive place a non-profit holds in the community and the reasons funders should support the organization, getting a feel for the culture of the organization through interaction with staff and understanding their language in telling their story; to
- Matching this unique non-profit with foundations whose own interests resonate with those of the non-profit agency; then
- Carrying out the complex analytic and strategic planning process of determining the right ask amount for the right purpose at the right time with the right advance preparation for each potential funder; and finally
- Crafting the message in varied forms to speak the language of each foundation.
FAQs
