Transparency is the Key to Success in Grant Writing

What do you need to maximize your chances of receiving grant funding?

Be fully transparent with your grant writer.

(If you need clarification on the transparency principle, please refer to my PortiPi Corp. article).

As a grant writer, I often take on the role of a counselor. I get it! Sometimes it's tough to have your ducks in order, particularly if you're a new company. But then, it's best to be transparent about what you know and what you don't know.

It's also necessary to be transparent about what you have and what you don't have, particularly when it comes to budget (income, expenses, funding sources, and more).

After all, what is a grant? You're asking a foundation or a government entity for money.

When do foundations award grants?

For anyone to give you money, they have to know

*If you're responsible for the money that you have,

*How much you have (is your organization self-sufficient),

*How much your organization is willing to contribute to the project that you're asking the money for (translation: are you willing to put your money where your mouth is), and

*If others found your project beneficial enough to invest

Particularly if you are a nonprofit, you cannot afford to leave out this information. I don't mean to say that you need to justify the cost/quality of the toilet paper rolls in your bathrooms, but you do need to include it in an overall cost projection of maintenance/upkeep because everything adds up.

I have seen half a million-dollar nonprofit organizations applying with just a handful of items on their budget (between seven to ten). So, if you write $250,000 under "operational costs" and don't explain yourself, please do not be surprised that you don't get the vast majority of funding you seek.

No matter how great your grant writer is, they will not be able to make up for the lack of transparency, no matter how much they try.