Grants and Funding
I had the opportunity to present a roundtable on grants and funding in my own community this week. We received such a positive response, that I’m changing the format of the newsletter a little and sharing what we talked about here in the hopes that it will answer some questions you have and spark some ideas that can benefit your organization as well. This is largely a summary of my talk and the links related to nonprofits that I shared as examples.
I started this newsletter in part because of an experience I had with grant funding for a for profit client of mine. About a year ago I got a call from the City of Greenbelt, Maryland (this is where our business is located). They had two new grant programs available, one was the Business Impact Recovery Fund, Round 3 (BIRF) which was for up to $30,000 and could be used towards capacity building, things like payroll. The second program was the Capital Infrastructure Grant, which was for up to $50,000 and could be used for equipment. It sounded great! We applied and received the grant.
I was curious as to why I received the call, so I asked. I was told that these grants were made through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a federal program, and one of the requirements was registration with SAM.gov. Government contractors and anyone who wants to do business must be registered with SAM.gov. Now recipients of federal grants had to be as well. In our community there were business owners who found the process of registering with SAM.gov to be an insurmountable challenge and decided not to apply for the funds!
That made me a little uncomfortable, there are obvious concerns with the same people receiving funding because they know how the process works while others get left behind. The point was really hammered in the next day when I went to my first meeting of the Greenbelt Business Alliance, a grassroots nonprofit that I now have the honor of co-chairing.
I met a couple at that meeting who make incredible ice cream locally. They mentioned that they work constantly now that their business has grown and that they could use a second machine to meet demand. After the event, I asked them if they had applied for the Capital Infrastructure Grant. I was surprised to hear that they had no idea it even existed. They were the ideal candidates. The application pool was small. IT WAS $50,000, and they missed the opportunity. That really lit a fire under me.
While grant opportunities are available to everyone, they are not always accessible. That has to change, particularly in the nonprofit space. Some of you are pros at getting grants, or have recurring donors that keep you in the coveted position of not having to seek out funding, but the vast majority of small and medium nonprofits are always looking for better ways to raise the funds that they need. If that’s you, listen up.
Success Mindset
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Success mindset, at its most basic level is the willingness to learn and to have confidence in the value of your mission and your organization.
Why wouldn’t you or someone on your team learn how to use SAM.gov if it meant $30,000-$50,000 for your organization? There are lots of reasons. The first one is that it seems overwhelming. and it truly can be. I can’t tell you the number of times I open an application, scan the requirements, take a deep breath and just close my computer.
I always come back because I know that what I am doing adds value and that I or my client will really benefit by finishing this application. I am willing to learn what I don’t know because I am confident of the value of my mission.
Accessing Resources
The complexity of SAM.gov registration as a barrier to entry seemed unacceptable to me. I approached members of our business community about creating programming to walk people through SAM.gov registration, and while there was a lot of enthusiasm, the government moves slowly and people need access now. Stay tuned, I’m working on it!
In the meantime, there are several ways to learn how to register. Begin by downloading the checklist from SAM.gov and a great quickstart guide so you can start gathering your information. The Small Business Association (SBA) has a webinar on registration and local business associations, nonprofit associations, and chambers of commerce may offer these courses as well.
Tools
There may be a second barrier for some, technology. If you are on Substack, this probably isn’t your challenge but when you are thinking about offering programming online it’s certainly something to consider. When I presented this information earlier in the week, I suggested some resources for obtaining a computer:Public access like your local library, borrow one https://www.pgcmls.info/borrow-technologyTechnology discounts through TechsoupTechnology grants, here’s an example from Microsoft, these come up fairly often and are easy to account for.One of our participants, and the recipient of millions of dollars for his nonprofit, a community Catholic school, added that you could also use your phone! Yes it’s not always the same if the website is not optimized for mobile devices and it’s annoying to type the information into your phone, but what an excellent and obvious solution.You can make this infinitely easier for yourself by being organized. Collect the documents and information you know that funders are going to ask you for. Your taxpayer identification number, organizational documents, your mission statement, and financials to name a few.Use these to build your profile on Charity Navigator and Guidestar to grow your visibility and credibility.
Show Me the Money
Grants are essentially free money. What you have to remember about this free money is that it usually comes with parameters, or hoops that you have to jump through.For SAM.gov registration it means providing a lot of information on the front end to get registered, but it also means reporting a lot of information once you receive the grant. The $30,000 grant we received comes with the responsibility to file quarterly reports and provide receipts to the City of Greenbelt. Here are two ways to find the grants you are looking for:
Online
Whether you start with a google search or subscribe to a grants website like Grants.gov or Instrumentl there are grants available for a wide variety of missions and projects. As an example, I am linking the grants I shared with our business and nonprofit community. They are for the most part specific to Maryland. You will want to search within your own community.
2. In Person
Get out there and meet people in your community. Federal grants trickle down through the state and local government, take advantage of your local SCORE office. While they are a nonprofit that serves the business community and are funded in part by the SBA, they also work with nonprofits.
Our Chamber of Commerce and City Council are phenomenal. Find the people in your community who are committed to growing businesses and nonprofits and the staff that manage the grant applications in your area and get to know them.
Where do you meet these people? Look for affinity groups in your area, talk to you bankers, go to events with other nonprofit leaders. If in person isn’t possible, schedule virtual meetups. I have had some of the best luck connecting with people I have met on LinkedIn, reaching out after hearing them as a guest on a podcast, or as an instructor of a really well done online course.
Your mission matters, the funding you receive directly impacts those who need your services the most. Take the time to learn the process, access the resources that are there for you, and build your arsenal of tools to create something really special.
