You can’t beat a person at their own trade
We’ve all heard the old saying that “you can’t beat a person at their own trade”. Well the same thing applies to grant proposal writing. Since the start of the current recession Grant proposal writing has become far more complex and now requires considerable skills in sales and marketing in order to be successful. Not just successful in preparing the grant but successful in maintaining a story of 'written need'and 'cause for support' for your organisation that is in line with the funding foundation or organisations guidelines and objectives.
A professional writer with a background in grant writing, marketing and fundraising is the ideal person for this job. It also helps if the writer has knowledge or experience in the same area that your organisation is involved in. This background is important for the grant writer in order to take an organisations needs or programs and paints a written picture for the funders to see and understand.
Not only does the grant writer bring expertise to the table, they remove the load of an additional task, with deadlines, from an already over burdened members of the organisation. Most organisations already have enough on their plate just taking care of the normal day to day operations and the fundraising function is often delegated to administration or accounting whose primary focus is not marketing. Grant writing is a function of marketing and is best accomplished by someone who is versed in this discipline in order to avoid conflicts in perspective that can undermine the chances of success for your application.
Currently there is an extremely high demand for Charitable Trust funding by NGO's due to significant reductions by Government in contracted funding. Unfortunately most Charitable Trusts are still recovering from the financial impact of the GFC and have become extremely discerning in the distribution of funds to Not for Profits to ensure that the reduced amounts of funding available for distribution are leveraged for maximum benefit to community.
Consequently many new applicants without a prior history of funding, are scrutinised carefully and given a lower priority, in favour of trusted organisations that have developed a proven track record of accountability and successful service delivery.
With a continued reduction in Government funding being experienced throughout the sector most NGO's are now aware that their future sustainability and ability to deliver on their mission heavily relies on achieving a broader mix of revenues.
Many NGO’s now recognise that they need to become more proactive in raising funds from Charitable Trusts, as this opportunity is exclusively available to NGO’s only.
Many are now seeking the services of a professional Grant Writer who can maximise the opportunities that exist for them in the Charitable Trust sector.
Contracting a grant writer is an excellent return on investment. A contracted grant writer knows how to create a funding strategy that will build strong relationships with funders and provide the maximum funding for your organisation. A grant writer has a good understanding of what funders require in an application and most often has already established an excellent working relationships with local funders which can definitely be to your advantage.