If your annual appeal sounds like a grant proposal, you’ve probably lost your reader. I say that as someone who has spent nearly two decades writing grant proposals. Grant writing has a purpose. Funders need specific information. They want program design, outcomes, evaluation methods, organizational capacity, budgets, and evidence. But your donor letter is not […]

A statistic may explain the problem, but a story helps people care enough to solve it. I have read grant proposals filled with excellent data. Poverty rates. Graduation rates. Housing costs. Health disparities. Food insecurity rates. Census data. Community assessments. National studies. Every number was accurate, every source was credible, and by the end, I

The worst time to collect stories is the week before a grant is due. I know because I have done it more times than I would like to admit. The grant deadline was approaching. The narrative needed a strong story to demonstrate impact. So I sent an email to the program team. “Does anyone have

Your Organization Is Not the Hero. Your Community Is. Most nonprofit stories start in the wrong place. They begin with the organization. “We’ve served our community for 25 years.” “Our mission is…” “We provide…” None of those statements are wrong. They simply aren’t where your audience is looking. Whether you’re writing a grant proposal, annual

The Strongest Nonprofits Build Multiple Paths to Sustainability Ask many nonprofit leaders where their revenue comes from and the answer is often simple. “Grants.” I understand why. Grants are visible. They have deadlines. They come with award letters. They often represent the largest individual deposits into an organization’s bank account. But that answer also creates

One of Your Organization’s Greatest Assets May Never Appear in Your Bank Account Many nonprofits spend countless hours searching for new funding while overlooking one of their most valuable financial resources. Not because it isn’t there. Because no money changes hands. Every week, organizations receive donated expertise, volunteer labor, meeting space, equipment, supplies, food, printing,

Many nonprofit leaders spend more time filling out the budget template than building the budget itself. I understand why. The template is sitting right in front of you. It has neat columns, required categories, formulas, and boxes that need numbers. It feels like the logical place to begin. But that approach creates one of the

One of the fastest ways to lose credibility is submitting a budget based on guesses instead of research. Funders can usually tell. The numbers may look clean. The total may fit the request amount. The budget may even balance perfectly. But if the costs are not grounded in reality, the problems show up later. A

Many grant proposals are rejected before reviewers finish reading the narrative. One reason is the budget. Most nonprofit leaders think of the budget as the financial section of the application. They spend weeks refining the narrative, then rush through the numbers at the end. That approach can cost you funding. The budget is not simply

Many organizations are functioning in constant survival mode and calling it dedication. That sentence may sound harsh, but I believe many leaders know exactly what it feels like. The inbox never stops.The staffing shortages continue.Funding remains uncertain.Every week brings another emergency, another pressure point, another unexpected problem that demands immediate attention. And eventually, survival mode