To say I feel embarrassed about my first attempt at a grant proposal is an understatement. That I was unprepared is the absolute truth.
It was a letter proposal to a local corporate foundation asking for the seed money to start a leadership program for girls. I was working for a Girl Scout Council at the time, and the idea came from our delightful and creative thinking board president.
I tried not to reveal my inexperience and set out to write the letter. Mind you, I didn't call first or cultivate the ground in any way...big mistake!
That proposal never went anywhere until I wised up and had our very well connected board president break the sod, so to speak, by having an exploratory conversation with a couple of high ranking corporate contacts. Sure enough, once that was done, the proposal fell on open ears and we found the grant that made the difference.
Over the years, I've learned that
- the telephone is my best friend once I have a few grant targets in mind;
- a well-connected board member is an ace in the hole that I should never overlook;
- cultivation of grant sources isn't that different than cultivation of any potential donor; and
- I should never put all of my eggs in one basket or pin my grant hopes on one source.
How well are you tilling your field of grantors? How well do you know your board members? To what effect are you using the tools you might well have?
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