Grant funds usually pay for expenses related to new programs, program expansions and capital. Generally, they do not provide funds to raise money from individuals. However, grant donors are interested in matching their funds and program sustainability. Individual donors remain a good source of both. You can draft your requests to include some of the costs of supporting your individual fundraising if:

• These expenses are not prohibited by the instructions
• The initial program needs additional or continuation funds
• The portion of the budget is a small relative to the overall request
• You broaden the request from “how we will do this program” to include “how we will continue it and increase our community connections”
• You weave the related expenses into your narrative to help the donor understand the relationship between the proposed program and individual fundraising. For details, see the chart below.

For more answers, check out this Nonprofit  CEO Library.

For solutions delivered to your inbox, sign up for Karen’s CEO Solutions.