August 20, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Grant seekers should make a point of calling foundations and other grant makers — before submitting a grant proposal, advises Arlene Spencer, a grant-proposal writer in her blog, The Grant Plant.
First, however, grant seekers should make a point of finding out if the grant maker accepts calls, she says. If so, they should call the fund and think of it as “simply a phone call to initiate the application process,” she writes.
After briefly describing their plan for spending the money, grant seekers should ask whether there are any preferences or other things the grant maker looks for that are not listed in the organization’s giving guidelines, says Ms. Spencer. She also suggests asking whether there are any staff or board members who have a personal interest in the grant seeker’s work.
Ms. Spencer also recommends that grant seekers prepare for such calls by jotting down several facts about the project they are proposing, such as overhead expenses, the timeline for the project, any other nonprofit organizations involved in the project, and other pertinent details. That way, they will be prepared if the grant maker has questions.
Conversations between grant makers and potential grant recipients, Ms. Spencer writes, can provide tips and inside information that sometimes spell the difference between winning and losing a grant.
And even if the foundation does not end up not making a grant, she concludes, it “can often make good recommendations to applicant nonprofits as to who to partner with, or what other entities may offer some powerful resources.”
