Let’s not beat around the bush: the world of grants is a scary place right now. There’s a whole host of brand-new challenges that none of us would have opted to add to our plates. There are tempting technologies that never quite turn out to be the magic-wand quality promised. And nothing seems to be strong enough to unseat the adage that it takes money to make money. But organizations at every level have pain points, opportunities, and strengths that mark where they’ve been and where they can go next. Identifying them and leveraging them can help you make it through the storm.
Stage 1: Exploration
- Pain Points: Few relationships with funders; lack of expertise & experience
- Opportunities: Chance to start out grant-ready
- Strengths: Agility & willingness to adapt
Stage 2: Ready to Work
- Pain Points: Balancing capacity & opportunity, reactive vs. proactive grant seeking
- Opportunities: Integration across departments to promote strongest outcomes
- Strengths: High motivation, growing credibility
Stage 3: Strategic Growth
- Pain Points: Fewer new prospects; mission drift if chasing prestigious grants
- Opportunities: Cultivate robust metrics, national visibility, and excellent stewardship
- Strengths: Deep institutional knowledge, top-tier compliance, diversified revenue
Stage 4: Scaling & Sustaining
- Pain Points: Rebalancing program growth & operational sustainability
- Opportunities: Multi-year strategy that deepens funder relationships & internal capacity
- Strengths: Higher visibility in funding community
This broad-strokes picture is just a high-level assessment tool, but it can be a stark one. Is there a big gap between where you’d like to be (or where your board is expecting you to perform!) and where you are? Are you struggling with pain points from more than one stage? Tackle these pressing gaps sooner than later because it’s your staff who will bear the brunt of that burden until you make it through!