Budget Narrative

Losing a grant that you applied for is not uncommon. Most grant applications fail. That does not mean it was wasted effort. In fact, many times, it is essential to apply and fail more than once in order to help a foundation build a file on your organization before they decide to approve you. The more familiar they become through you numerous requests, the more comfortable they become with supporting your cause. It also provides you opportunity to learn about areas you need to improve on in order to qualify and receive grant funding in the future. In this case, failure is part of the approval process. Learn more at https://zelenz.com

Capital campaigns require significant planning and research prior to launch. Today, we will discuss the steps you need to take in order to launch a successful capital campaign.

Communication is a key factor in the success of any organization, especially nonprofits. Knowing the best way to communicate with your supporters, volunteers, donors, and the community is critical to your mission’s success. Knowing how to garner support through email marketing also increases your support from foundations. The following are email best practices to assist you in your nonprofit’s efforts. https://zelenz.com/2020/01/06/email-best-practices/

Today, we will discuss the various things you should implement to strengthen your fundraising cycle. https://zelenz.com/2020/02/17/tips-to-strengthen-your-fundraising-cycle

Budgets are the mainstay for your annual funding planning and spending. These are required for a business to run and maintain an appropriate strategy in order to prevent loss and guarantee that expenses can be covered. This also affords the ability to see where shortfalls are and what is required to rectify that gap.  Budgets also significantly impact your grant requests. https://zelenz.com/2020/03/02/how-budgets-impact-grant-requests-and-funding/

Many new nonprofits are excited to start offering their services to the community, but have not yet received 501(c)3 designation from the IRS. The only issue you face while you wait for this designation is that you cannot fundraise without it. Tax-exemption is only qualified if moneys were contributed to an IRS designated 501(c)3 entity. This also disqualifies you from grants until approved. This is where fiscal sponsorship comes in.

Writing a budget for your nonprofit is a basic requirement for successful functionality and for grant applications. However, it is more than just numbers in a line-item budget. In order to qualify for many grant applications, you must also offer a budget narrative.

How much do you request for each grant application? That is the real question. We have experienced many clients who think they should always ask for the maximum amount that the foundation offers. We do our best to try and help them understand how this works, but today we will discuss in more detail the process involved for a foundation to consider your request and how appropriate your request amount actually is in the larger scheme of things.

Grants are often considered the focus of the grant writer or grant manager. Many nonprofits do not realize the importance of board involvement in the grant seeking process. The board does have responsibility in financial and legal oversight of the organization, but they also hold responsibility in facilitating pre-award participation to improve grant award success.

Many new clients come to us thinking that grants are the solution to their funding needs. We spend time explaining to them what foundations are looking for and steps they need to take in order to be grant ready. One of those steps is community engagement.