Are you ready to apply for funding?! Take a couple of minutes to read our list to gauge your readiness.
The world of grant funding can be confusing, complicated, and full of frustration. One of the issues we run into often is helping organizations understand “grant-readiness,” what it means, and how to attain it.
Being grant-ready means that your organization has the documents, processes, fiscal management, and capacity to apply for grants with a good chance of success and to manage grant funds appropriately. Just like you would not invest money into an entity or product you were unsure would succeed, funders will not invest their resources into organizations or programs that they do not have confidence in.
We've prepared a list of grant-readiness attributes as a starting point for organizations looking to apply for grant funding:
The organization is governed by voluntary board members.
The Board of Directors is actively involved in capacity building.
The organization has applied for and received their 501(c)3 determination letter at least 9-12 months prior to applying for grant funding.
The organization has registered and is in compliance with any state solicitation of contributions licensing/registration requirements.
The organization has an annual operating budget and program budgets for each program in operation.
The organization has prepared financial statements for the last two fiscal years. They do not have to be audited for every grant, but if it is possible and affordable as an option, an annual financial audit is recommended.
The organization prepares and publishes an Annual Report.
The organization can legally accept donations and acknowledges gifts.
If volunteers are utilized, there is a volunteer process, training, and tracking of volunteer time that takes place regularly.
The organization maintains a community presence through public events, social media, press releases, etc.
Mission, vision, and programs are clearly defined and focused on desired community impact.
Output and outcome data is being gathered to gauge impact.
The organization has the internal capacity and controls to adequately manage the grant contract and account for fund use.
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