When is a good time to start thinking about grant funding for my organization?
Funders tend to prioritize organizations that have a good history of programming, a sound budget/financial plan, additional financial resources to leverage, and data determining community need and organizational effectiveness. If your organization is missing any of these pieces, your proposal may be less competitive. It is also important that your organization truly understands the costs associated with applying for a grant opportunity and managing a grant award. When in doubt, we recommend speaking to the funder’s program officer about your program. Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions can also help determine grant readiness and organizational capacity. We offer comprehensive tools to help with this process. If you have not received grants before, but other organizational pieces are in place, we recommend starting by applying for smaller, local awards and building a portfolio of successful projects that contribute to your strength as an applicant for larger awards. This process can take time, so be patient and expect some rejections along the way.
What is grant readiness? Is my nonprofit grant ready?
Great readiness is an organization’s capacity to find, apply, and ultimately be awarded grant funding.
There are many factors an organization cannot control in the world of grant writing. However, an organization which takes the necessary steps to become grant ready increases its likelihood to procure grant funding by 65%.
Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions offers grant readiness analysis and support services. With an 84% grant procurement success rate, we support your organization’s project development, grant research, proposal preparation and submission, project implementation, and grant management.
Is my organization eligible to receive grants?
The large majority of funders require applicants to be tax-exempt, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, public agencies, or educational institutions. To determine eligibility for specific grants, please read the eligibility criteria from the funder. Other entities that are often grant-eligible are public agencies and educational institutions.
How can Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions not just help my nonprofit procure funding, how can you also help me SAVE money?
Because Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions works on a contract basis, we save you money on traditional staffing costs and fringe benefits. Hiring us to write your grants is a great investment, allowing your nonprofit to direct more dollars towards programs and services.
What organizational materials do I need to apply for grants?
Each funder has their own guidelines and requires different documents and information to apply. However, some of the most common documents required by funders include: IRS Tax Exemption Letter, financial statements, organization budget, and/or program budget. You may also be asked for a board of directors list, an organizational chart, and key staff resumes.
Does Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions work anywhere in the United States?
Yes! Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions has successfully helped clients in 16 US states. We firmly believe that working in other states helps us meet our mission to support the work nonprofits do in our communities. Working with clients throughout the United States gives us the opportunity to help regional and national collaborations, learn about the inspiring work happening around the country, learn about best practices, and promote systemic changes. We have several innovative tools to support nonprofits throughout the United States.
How do I know where to find funders for my organization or project?
Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions offers comprehensive Grant Research reports to our clients to help identify funding opportunities which your nonprofit will have the highest likelihood of procuring.
There are many different sources for locating grants. The Foundation Center, Guidestar, Grants.gov, and the Federal Register are some of the most common. At Salang Consulting, we use a variety of methods and subscribe to many grant searching tools to locate the most up-to-date funding sources for your organization.
What can I expect from a grant-research project?
Grant research can be an effective use of your organization’s dollars if your organization is ready to start applying for grants but does not know where to begin looking. Our staff has significant experience, proprietary tools, and access to professional databases that detail funders and opportunities. Our resources are not available through online searches and we have the expertise to read between the lines of funder priorities to help you determine which opportunities will truly be a fit. The final research project is comprehensive and will typically include: (1) funders that are a strong fit for your organization, (2) funders that are a potential fit but might not be 100% aligned, and (3) funders that were determined to not be aligned with your organization for a variety of reasons (geographic affinity, eligibility requirements, program incompatibility). The number of matches for any given organization will vary. Just like we cannot guarantee funding when we craft a proposal, we cannot guarantee how many funders we will find that match your organization’s goals or will fund you. We will find the opportunities that are the best fit for your organization, increasing your likelihood of successfully procuring the grant funding.
If I contract with Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions, is grant funding guaranteed?
No. We are expert, professional grant writers and we produce a quality grant application for your organization. Grant seeking is highly competitive. Funding opportunities are never guaranteed. Our 86% success rate in 2021, however, will greatly increase your competitiveness to receive grant funding.
What is Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions success rate?
Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions’s grant procurement success rate in 2021 was 86%. Check out our IMPACT REPORT!
Why aren’t you commission based?
Besides being against industry ethical standards, when contracting with us, your organization is paying for a well-crafted, highly-researched, and quality proposal. When it comes to award determinations, many factors come into play that are outside of a grant writer’s control, for instance, funder affinity, number of other proposals submitted to the funder, total dollars available for giving, etc. Our billing structure allows us to ensure that you have a team of experts dedicated to working on your project. While we wish we could guarantee funding for all of our clients all of the time, the one thing we can promise is high-quality and competitive work that positions your organization well and increases the likelihood of funding.
Help! I need funding to keep our program/organization going in the next 3-6 months! Can grants help fill this fiscal gap?
If you are looking for emergency funding to keep your organization or program going, grant funding is typically not the way to go. It is not uncommon for the process to take 6 months or more from the time you begin writing a proposal to when you see your first check. Some grants are reimbursement-based and require your organization to have cash in the bank to cover expenses. Earned income activities, fundraisers, and donor appeals are all typically much faster at providing emergency funding. Grants usually require a more strategic and long-term approach to be successful. It is ideal to cultivate a mixed income stream, which allows your organization to be more resilient. Some funders do have emergency grants available, which are usually reserved for their existing grantees.
What am I really getting when I contract with Salang Grant Writing and Nonprofit Solutions?
Unlike most independent grant writers, Salang Consulting utilizes a team approach. You are getting a highly-experienced group of grant professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise who work as researchers, writers, and editors on your projects. We leverage our team’s strengths to position your organization to be as competitive as possible and all work receives multiple review rounds to catch any issues prior to submitting. In the end, you get peace of mind knowing you are submitting the best possible work and your organization’s valuable staff time is freed up to focus on what truly matters, the important work you do in the community.