Is Your Nonprofit Ready to Apply for a Grant?

You may be ready if you can put a yes checkmark next to the following criteria:

1. Your organization obtained or has access to a letter stating your 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
2. Your organization enlisted the support of a credible board of directors. This includes at least five to seven members of the community (besides relatives and close friends) who share an interest in your cause and have the ability to give or obtain other funds or resources to help operate the organization.
3. You’ve identified a community need to which you can respond and a corresponding activity to serve others with that need.
4. Your service does not duplicate another organization’s efforts in the same community, especially one with an ongoing, well-established track record.
5. Your organizational history suggests the approach you propose will meet with success.
6. If your program is for a specific time period, you have a plan for how the program will continue after the grant funds are spent, i.e., by customer fees and monies raised from individual donors.
7. You have a specific purpose for the funds you will request and the request is consistent with your organization’s goals.
8. You understand that raising significant amounts of money, even for the best organization in the world, will require significant amounts of effort, time and creativity. That is, you have realistic expectations about the amount, kind and timing of grants and other funding you will initially receive.

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For more answers, check out this Nonprofit  CEO Library.

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