Results from Health Outreach Partners’ (HOP) 2010 National Needs Assessment Report on Farmworker Health Outreach highlights outreach programs’ need to seek additional or diverse funding. HOP asked organizations to report the two greatest financial challenges of their outreach programs. According to online survey respondents, the top two challenges that organizations confront in outreach and enabling services funding are the lack of grant money available for outreach (52%, n=96) and organizational budget cuts that affect the outreach program (48%, n=96).
Without grant funding, outreach and enabling services are more vulnerable to budget cuts. Given these circumstances, sustaining outreach and enabling services is particularly challenging. Many health care organizations look to additional grants to strengthen and sustain funding for outreach and enabling services. However, many organizations do not have the budget to hire a full-time grant-writer or consultant. Grant writing can take time, but fortunately, does not have to be complicated. In fact, executive directors and program directors can often write a more compelling proposal than someone who is outside of program operations, who may be less knowledgeable about the program and its intended impacts. You do need to know where to look for funding and how to a write a persuasive proposal to be successful.
Finding Funding: Finding funding sources is the first challenge but there are many resources available. One very helpful site on federal funding opportunities can be found at www.grants.gov. This website has links that allow the grant seeker to search for grant opportunities based on topic area, guidance for preparing federal grant application forms, and even provides an e-mail service which allows you to specify your subject preferences and then receive notification of funding opportunities in those areas.
Some state or local governments offer resources to help non-profit organizations identify funding. For example, the District of Columbia has an Office of Partnership & Grants Development (http://opgd.dc.gov), which publishes a weekly “Funding Alert” with federal, local, and foundation grant listings. Check your state or local governments to see if similar grant seeking resources are available.
For foundation grants, The Foundation Center (www.fdncenter.org) is probably the best resource available. The “Finding Funders” section of the website allows grant seekers to search for foundations by keyword, such as topic and geographic locations. Grant seekers can also search foundation tax returns (form 990 PF), which contain information about organizations the foundation has funded in the past, amounts of grants awarded, selection criteria for applicants, and application details.
Writing the proposal: Most funders have a specific format they want applicants to use. Be sure to read and follow the guidelines carefully! The Foundation Center is one of the many resources that can help you write a proposal. Although the format and level of detail requested may vary, most proposals will have the same basic components.
Executive Summary – generally a one-page summary of your entire proposal, which gives an overview of programmatic, budget, and staffing issues
Statement of Need – establishes the necessity of your program; it should include evidence of the need for your program in the form of local and national data, as well as your own organization’s experience
Project Description – describes your program in detail, including how you intend to evaluate it, and how you will sustain it after the funding source ends
Budget – lays out the detailed cost of running the program, including staff time, supplies, overhead, and other expenses
Organization Information – establishes the expertise of your organization to deal with the need your program addresses
Be sure to read the guidelines before putting together your proposal. Format your proposal as the funder has requested; be sure to stick to the page limits, margins, and font requirements specified. Some funders will not even look at a proposal that does not meet these requirements. Finally, plan to get your proposals in early! Setting an early internal deadline ensures adequate time for last minute revisions and provides a cushion for troubleshooting prospective technical issues during submission.
Maintaining Relationships with Funders: If you receive a grant, the first thing you should do is write a thank you note! Not only is this good form, it also serves as a notification of receipt of a grant. Additionally, most funders will have reporting requirements attached to their grant dollars. These can range from detailed quarterly progress reports to simple end-of-cycle reports. Either way, it is very important to respect the established reporting procedures and deadlines. Maintaining regular communication with a funder can help you establish a relationship, which may benefit your program in the future.