Articles by CharityChannel Members
CharityChannel members who have years of experience in their field may apply to join a Contributor's Panel. Once accepted to a panel by the panel's editor, the member will work with the editor to determine article topics and to prepare an article that is ready for publication. With tens of thousands of colleagues in the CharityChannel professional community, this is a key opportunity to give back to your profession by sharing your hard-won expertise and wisdom.
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Evaluating Your Proposal Program Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, April 20, 2004 (9 years 25 days ago)
One of the great mysteries within the sector -- and fund development programs -- is how we measure success. Funders will often dictate how they want the programs they fund evaluated or monitored. How we as administrators, proposal writers, and development officers measure success can be a bit less clear. Furthermore, what we evaluate is not necessarily the benchmark for success.
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Goals, Outcomes and Objectives -- Keeping Them Straight Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, August 05, 2003 (9 years 284 days ago)
Funders do not use the same "dictionary" when defining the terms within RFA's. The definitions for Goals, Outcomes, Objectives, and Activities can vary dramatically by funder. What one funder considers an outcome another may deem an objective. In some cases your goal may actually be an outcome. The terms represent a set of indicators you are using to identify desired change and to measure that change.
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Consulting or Contracting: Knowing What You Need Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, February 25, 2003 (10 years 80 days ago)
In the nonprofit world, agencies may find themselves working with both consultants and contractors not recognizing the difference. Each fulfills an important function and both can bring immense value. At times, a person may function as both. I know I did. If your organization is considering bringing in an external resource, it is important to know what you want in advance to ensure the person you hire is capable of completing the work you need.
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The Program Description -- Giving Your Ideas Life Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftWednesday, December 18, 2002 (10 years 149 days ago)
Every proposal will require a Program Description. You may have a couple of paragraphs in a short proposal or pages in a larger application. You may have the benefit of also including an Implementation Plan or similar supporting information. Regardless of the space available, you have to make your program come to life.
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The Needs Statement Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, December 10, 2002 (10 years 157 days ago)
The Needs Statement must convince a reviewer of need and invoke them to respond. The proposal must convey a sense of urgency and substantiate it with facts. The Needs Statement sets this tone. As a proposal writer, you must "give life" to the issue at hand. You must balance the math with the human condition. As a proposal writer, you can focus on several key strategies that support a quality Needs Statement:
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Dysfunctional Organizations -- A Twelve-Step Program for Proposal Writers Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, November 19, 2002 (10 years 178 days ago)
Only one job I ever had listed "sense of humor" as a qualification. It was only one that was truthful. My sense of humor has been critical to my career. Without the ability to laugh, I would have ended up quarantined to a cubicle or in therapy. I have decided that we are all dysfunctional on some level, as are our organizations. No one is perfect. The employment utopia we all seek is a fantasy. Every organization has its quirks, downfalls, and problems. It is what helps to define us. I sought to identify 12 Steps a proposal writer can implement in their professional lives. I realize there are more than twelve but then I could not use the catchy title.
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The Shotgun Approach Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftWednesday, October 02, 2002 (10 years 226 days ago)
The "shotgun approach" refers to a proposal submission tactic that seems to be used by far too many organizations. The basic premise is to identify as many possible funding sources as possible and send applications to each of them, hoping something will hit the "target." Normally the application is identical with only the address and salutation changed. The results are normally to the same -- dismal to no response from the "pot of gold" agencies believed was simply waiting for them.
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Proposal Writing & The Strategic Plan Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, September 24, 2002 (10 years 234 days ago)
If you stay in the fund raising field long enough, your sense of humor becomes warped. You find yourself laughing at jokes that only another development professional can understand. I am not talking about how many development staff it takes to replace the light bulb. I am referring to the immense humor we find in issues such as strategic planning, events, and the like.
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Grants in a 'Real World' Economy Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftMonday, September 02, 2002 (10 years 256 days ago)
As a consultant focusing on proposal development and funding research, I am experiencing a strange phenomenon: I am receiving a dramatic increase in the number of calls requesting information about my services. Most people would consider this a positive but the trend causes me great concern. Many of the calls I am receiving sound alarmingly similar.
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Funding Research - Making the Most of Your Time to Produce Good Matches Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, August 06, 2002 (10 years 283 days ago)
Federal funds, private foundations, corporate giving programs -- opportunities for grant funding abound. As a grant proposal writer, you know that the best proposal in the world won't stand up if it is not a good match to funder priorities. With limited time, how do you go about identifying good sources of funding?
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Effective Budget Justifications Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, July 16, 2002 (10 years 304 days ago)
Budget justifications, or narratives, pose an interesting challenge for the grantwriter. In written form, the writer must articulate how a figure was derived; demonstrate its importance; and tie it to the overall proposal. In the best situation, the justification fits seamlessly into the proposal. In the worst situation, it ends up a jumbled mess that weakens the proposal.
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Budgets - Establishing a Cost Per Employee Formula Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, June 11, 2002 (10 years 339 days ago)
The budget process takes different forms in each organization. I have worked in organizations with Finance Departments that developed all budgets with input of management staff. I have also worked for organizations that outsourced financial management, leaving budget development to the staff. As a consultant, I continually work with organizations at different levels of aptitude with the program budget development process.
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The Role of Grants in the Overall Development Plan Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, May 21, 2002 (10 years 360 days ago)
"I have a great idea. Why don't we write a grant for it?" Anyone who has been a grantwriter for longer than two days has heard this quote. Grantwriters either laugh at it or cringe, depending on when we hear it and who says it. Two scenarios seem to present themselves....
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The Proposal Development Team - Planning For Success Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftWednesday, May 15, 2002 (11 years 1 days ago)
I spent my first grantwriting years "writing in a vacuum." I was employed by small agencies with limited staff. Most of the proposals contained little input from those who would be implementing "my creations."
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Board Members (and Volunteers) as Grantwriters Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, April 23, 2002 (11 years 23 days ago)
Volunteer grantwriters are not uncommon. Most successful organizations relied on volunteers in their formative years. As agencies evolve, the role of the volunteer grantwriter changes. This article is not intended to examine the role of paid staff versus volunteer grantwriters.
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Grantwriting 101: Tips for Novice Proposal Writers Contributed by:
Julie BornhoeftTuesday, April 16, 2002 (11 years 30 days ago)
All too often, people approach grantwriting as a mysterious craft or as something you can do in your spare time. While learning to write grants does not require a secret handshake, it is a refined skill that can't be undertaken in an afternoon of "downtime." After eight years of writing grants for a variety of public and private employers and clients, I have identified a series of "trade secrets" I wish someone had shared with me when I started.
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