|
On-Site Grants Development
Feasibility Studies:
Nonprofit organizations including hospitals,
school districts, colleges and universities, private schools,
municipalities and community-based organizations are ELIGIBLE
for grant support. Being eligible and being able to COMPETE
effectively for grants are two different issues. This distinction
becomes readily apparent when one recognizes that any U.S. born
citizen, 35 years of age or over, is eligible to run for
President of the United States. Obviously, not every such citizen is
able to compete effectively for this position.
The aim of the
Onsite Grants Development
Feasibility Study is to determine how effectively a specific
nonprofit organization can COMPETE for grants.
The study process involves a critical look at each
of 20 separate factors or "determinants," grouped under
eight major categories (see below), that characterize the
competitive strength of a grantseeking organization. These are the
characteristics of a grantseeking organization that grantmakers
review carefully before considering any specific grant request.
1. Basic Legal Structure:
Municipalities,
school districts (LEAs), religious organizations, and other
nonprofit organizations having federal tax exemption status under
various sections of the IRS Code are looked upon differently by
grantmakers.
2. Target Population:
The primary
population served by a grantseeking organization differs in several
unique ways including, for example, size, ethnicity, age, physical
and mental characteristics, and socio-economic factors. These
differences weigh heavily in the competitive strength of a
grantseeking organization.
3. Geographic Region Served:
Grantseeking
organizations that serve either rural or urban populations tend to
compete more effectively than those that serve suburban
populations. The precise location on this geographic continuum has
significant influence on the competitive grantseeking strength of
an organization.
4. Mission:
The nature of the
grantseeker’s mission has a profound impact upon its competitive
grantseeking strength. Included in this category are the
grantseeker’s proposed methodologies designed to accomplish the
mission. Equally important is the presence or absence of local
competitors addressing the same or similar mission.
5. Organizational Qualifications:
WHO the
grantseeker is carries more competitive weight than WHAT the
grantseeker is requesting funds to accomplish. Included in this
category is the grantseeker’s history, size of staff,
characteristics of the board of directors, organizational
financial strength, and previous grantseeking history.
6. Organizational Philosophy:
How the
grantseeking organization’s board and staff view themselves is
a major concern to grantmakers. Are they risk-takers, innovators,
"out-of-box" thinkers, or are they traditionalists
having conservative views in the way they approach their mission .
. . or somewhere in between? Their position on this continuum has
a direct influence on the grantseeker’s competitive position.
7. Category of Funding Needs:
Some
funding needs are readily supportable by grants while others
seldom generate grantmaker interest. Asking grant support for the
"right" kind of needs can enhance competitive
grantseeking strength enormously.
8. Available Grantmaker Resources:
The
total availability of grants to support a particular
organization’s needs has a direct bearing upon its overall
competitive grantseeking strength. The grantseeker’s geographic
location and the overall nature of its mission are key
considerations of this category.
The Onsite Grants Development Feasibility
Study is conducted by a Robert J. Miller & Associates,
Inc. staff member who spends two to three hours visiting with
senior members of the organization’s staff and/or board. The study
process follows an informal interview style, usually in a conference
room setting.
The completed study results are returned to the
organization within three to four weeks following completion of the
onsite phase. The study report, generally 15 to 20 pages in length,
provides both quantitative and qualitative measures of the
organization’s overall competitive grantseeking strength along
with extensive recommendations on how to enhance this competitive
strength.
The ultimate value of the Onsite Grants
Development Feasibility Study Report is to provide the grantseeking organization with a thorough
understanding of its competitive grantseeking strengths and
weaknesses. This, in turn, enables it to capitalize on its strengths
while minimizing its weaknesses in each submitted grant proposal.
|
