We have looked at the elements of right-sizing a grant application, since one size does not fit all in philanthropy. The major questions we have to ask ourselves are:
- What type of philanthropist am I, and what type of human and technical resources do I have to support my philanthropy?
- How likely is it that the grant seeker will get a grant?
- What is the size of the possible grant, and how much time will it take to complete the request?
- How much information is necessary and how much is too much?
You can engage a professional to help dive into some of these finer details, but here are some useful exercises:
- Develop a Theory of Philanthropy. This defines your theory of who you are, the purpose of your philanthropy, and your scope. It provides targeted direction for your giving. An important strategic document, every grantmaking should consider having one!
- Convene your internal stakeholders to find out what they really need to know. As you talk, ask probing questions. Make sure to talk to all of your internal stakeholders involved in grant selection, which may include: program team, legal team, executive leadership, board representative, etc. Ask if information is just nice to know, or if it’s needed. Information that is not used is often not necessary.
- Take a look at your existing application(s) and see if what you are collecting is in alignment with your team’s stated needs. Does each question correlate with a piece of necessary information?
- Work closely with your internal stakeholders to map your current business granting processes. Use a process map to lay out your grant flows, identifying different stages, triggers, and who does what.
- Assess whether your business process is meeting your business needs. Are there inefficient or redundant processes? Are there choke points along the way? Would you be better served by offering a branched process?
- Survey your external stakeholders. Find a non-threatening (anonymous?) way to survey your grant seekers. Ask things like: “How long does our application take?”, “Do we provide everything you need for easily completing our application?”, as well as providing space for open-ended answers. Paramount to interviewing grant seekers is doing so in a non-threatening way - they should be empowered to speak freely without fear of it impacting their chances of getting a grant.
- Develop human centered solutions. Your solution will need to satisfy the needs of internal stakeholders, while keeping external stakeholders top of mind. The process should be guided by empathy, and should allow space for new ideas. As you design your solution, be open to making iterative solutions (when possible) and be sure to allow for tweaks as you evaluate it’s success.?
- Communicate, communicate, communicate. Using principles of change management help your team navigate through change - it’s almost never smooth. Effective change happens when stakeholders are involved throughout the process, when they see the pain of remaining the same as greater than the pain of change, when there is proper training, and when communication is clear.?
As you look at your processes, keep your grant seekers in mind, and consider some of the creative solutions we looked at before in this article on a tiered approach.
Your grant seekers may not see the work you put in, but it’s your way to serve those who do so much to serve our communities.?
Want help walking through some of these steps? Get help from a professional! www.lindensolutions.co
