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.
[ View All Articles ]
______
Grant Writer as Consultant Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, April 27, 2004 (9 years 18 days ago)
If you're like me, you've been asked many times if you freelance, providing consulting services for non-profits looking to start or improve their grants procurement efforts. The grant writer as consultant often falls into the process because a friend asks her to help out an organization with which he is affiliated or because of an inner need to strike out on her or her own. From those humble beginnings, successful consulting companies are often born. However, by not employing some basic concepts, the newbie grant consultant can set herself up for failure.
______
The Five Commandments of Ethical Grantsmanship Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, October 14, 2003 (9 years 214 days ago)
Money may make the world go round, but it is adherence to ethical principles that keeps it from spinning out of control. It is imperative that you, as a grant writer, apply and advertise a code of ethics that will keep you and your organization out of trouble.
______
Managing Multiple Grant Priorities Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, August 12, 2003 (9 years 277 days ago)
Grant writers by necessity must be able to keep a number of different balls in the air at once or risk ineffectiveness. Operating grants. Program grants. Construction projects. Equipment needs. And on and on and on. Whether you are a paid staffer at a single organization or you freelance for a variety of non-profits, you must be able to manage a diverse portfolio of grant projects.
______
Writing an Effective Project Description Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, April 15, 2003 (10 years 31 days ago)
Once you convincingly establish the need for grant funds, it is time to tell the reader what you plan to do about it. This is sometimes called "the method," "the methodology," or "the project description." It is as crucial to your success as the need statement. You can convince your audience that you have a compelling problem that requires attention; however, if the solution you offer is unworkable, you will not be funded.
______
Writing A Compelling Need Statement Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, March 04, 2003 (10 years 73 days ago)
The need statement is the part of your grant proposal that tells the reader not only what you need but also why you need it. It is the key to making the rest of the proposal work. If the reader does not "buy" your need, he will not invest in your project through a grant.
______
Creating a Budget with the Budget-Challenged Contributed by:
Karen HodgeWednesday, February 05, 2003 (10 years 100 days ago)
When you are charged with preparing a grant proposal with a project director who is a grant-writing novice, one of the most challenging tasks you will have is developing an adequate budget. Those who are not used to thinking in monetary terms could be (at best) sketchy on details or (at worst) anxious and avoidant of the whole thing. The following tips can help you ease their discomfort AND prepare a budget that is sufficient to carry out the project.
______
Managing Unreasonable Expectations Concerning Your Grants Program Contributed by:
Karen HodgeWednesday, October 09, 2002 (10 years 219 days ago)
If you have been a grant writer for more than a week you have probably already encountered your share of unreasonable expectations: supervisors who think you can write fourteen winning grants at the same time; faculty members or other co-workers who think you can secure funds for their pet projects without any more detail than "get us as much as you can for whatever you can get it for."
______
Freelancers... where the work is Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, September 10, 2002 (10 years 248 days ago)
You have most likely heard the phrase "you have to have money to make money." In a way, freelance grant writing is like that. You build your freelance business upon your past successes as a grant proposal writer. When a potential client interviews you, he or she will ask about your success rate.
______
Percentage As Payment: An Ethical Issue Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, July 30, 2002 (10 years 290 days ago)
I wish I had a dollar for every time some well-meaning friend suggested that I would be better off if I worked on commission, taking a percentage of grant dollars raised as opposed to a salary. In fact, I even have had employers suggest a similar set up. They scratch their heads when I explain to them that such an arrangement breaches a fund raiser's code of ethics, smile politely through my impassioned speech denouncing such practices, and claim to understand when I climb down off my soapbox; though I suspect they continue to think it would be a good idea.
______
Grant Writers: The Lone Wolves Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, June 04, 2002 (10 years 346 days ago)
Many organizations have teams of people who work together to generate grant proposals. They collaborate, cooperate, and commiserate over budgets and narratives, supporting each other through the labyrinth that is a grant proposal. Grantsmanship Nirvana!
______
The Role of Board Members and CEOs in the Grants Process Contributed by:
Karen HodgeTuesday, March 05, 2002 (11 years 72 days ago)
The old saying "it's not what you know but who you know" is very true in the grant-making arena. Despite what many believe, foundations invest in people, not in organizations. The investment in is the people who need services offered by organizations such as yours and the people who provide those services.
CharityChannel's WE REVIEW
CharityChannel members who have been admitted to the WE REVIEW Contributors Panel are eligible to receive recently-published books from a variety of publishers (and some self-publishers) to review. Reviews are not limited to books published by CharityChannel Press, the publishing project of the CharityChannel professional community. If you are interested in reviewing books, you are welcome to apply. Note that, even though WE REVIEW has been publishing reviews for over a decade, it has recently been reorganized and re-launched. We took the opportunity to remove prior reviews, since our focus is on newly published books.
[ View all book reviews ]
CharityChannel Press Books
CarityChannel Press is the publishing arm of CharityChannel. Many of the sector’s most experienced, knowledgeable practitioners are part of the CharityChannel professional community. Because of its unique role in the nonprofit sector, CharityChannel Press enjoys a rich pool of prospective authors from which to draw. In addition, the CharityChannel professional community, consisting of tens of thousands of practitioners, forms a natural initial market for the books as does the greater third sector itself. Interested in writing a book or manual?
[ Learn More ]
CharityChannel Press Blog for Authors and Editors
CharityChannel Press is the publishing project of the CharityChannel professional community. In this blogging feature, the authors and editors of our books and manuals share their thoughts, ideas, insights, and advice on topics of interest to busy practitioners. Reading their blogs is a great way to get to know them and to learn about their latest books and manuals. Be sure to jump in and add your comment to blog postings.
[ View all the blog postings ]