How to Find Funders
The Hard Work Comes in Finding Alignment
Grant-seeking Tools
Finding the right funding opportunities for your organization and specific project needs can be time-consuming and overwhelming without the right tools. With the growth of nonprofit management and grant writing, the need for grant-writing tools has expanded over the last decade. Grant-seeking resources have come a long way, creating a more seamless way for nonprofits to find the best potential funders that align with their mission and vision.
There are several tools and resources to consider when deciding which is best for your organization based on size, budget, and strategy.
- Foundation Directory Online
- Instrumentl.
Each tool has varying costs, including consultant, monthly, and annual prices. The digital download provides more in-depth information on which tool might best fit you.
Creating a Grant Calendar
For those who love to plan and organize, creating a grant calendar will be your favorite aspect of grant writing. In an earlier lesson, we highlighted the differing and multifaceted aspects that grant writing entails. Once you have your mission and vision outlined, as well as all of your important documents, a narrative, and potential prospects to submit grant applications to, you can begin developing your fiscal year calendar.
A grant calendar can be created using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or project management software like Trello, Asana, and Monday. Creating a calendar will help keep you focused and ensure your tasks are completed promptly. Ultimately, a grant calendar helps you do the following:
- Streamline and keep track of deadlines so you don’t miss a grant opportunity
- Monitors submissions (pending, awarded, or declined grants) and reporting deadlines for grants that make it past the awarded stage
- Logs follow-up dates for important conversations or even introductory calls for potential funders
Because grant writing is constantly expanding and streamlining, creating a grant calendar has become simple, innovative, and strategic to ensure you don’t miss a deadline or an update. If you don’t want to use Excel, automated project management systems exist that can send you email reminders for a more integrated schedule.
For this module, we’ll use Google Sheets and Trello to showcase the simplicity of a grant calendar and its primary functions.