Is Your Organization "Grant Ready"?

Sierra Hughes
Aug 1, 2023
2 min read

All nonprofits want grants; however, before you start researching and writing, make sure your organization is "grant ready". Here are a few key indicators that your organization might be a good fit to start writing and accepting grants.

Have you received your 501c3? Before applying for grants, make sure you are incorporated in your state and have applied and received your 501c3 tax-exempt letter from the IRS.
Do you have an independent Board of Directors? You'll want to a volunteer Board of Directors with a variety of skills and expertise to support your organization and to provide financial and organizational oversight of your staff.
Is your nonprofit operational? Generally, foundations will look to fund organizations that are operational, already doing work in their communities, with at least some demonstrated credibility.
Do you have healthy financial management practices? Are your books in order? Do you keep detailed records of donations, sponsorships, grants, in-kind support, and other gifts? Do you have a way to track and manage grant expenditures? Do you have staff capacity to oversee grant costs? Are you up to date on your 990 tax returns?
Do you have financial support from your community? Funders will look to see what financial support you're already receiving from your community and that you have a sustainability plan to financially support your programs. We recommend investing efforts into individual donations prior to beginning to request grants, to show that you can receive and manage support at the individual level.
Are you tracking or do you have a plan to measure success? And do you have capacity to report on these outcomes? Foundations will want to see that you have a plan to track outputs and outcomes to measure your organization's and/or program's success. This should oftentimes include quantitative data such as measurable objectives and qualitative data such as success stories.

While there are many other factors that can contribute to your grant writing success, if you have these key things in place, you may be ready to start requesting grant support. So.. are you "grant ready"? Contact us today to support your efforts!