RESEARCHING THE GRANT REVIEW PROCESS

By Patricia Williamsen, Assistant Director for Development and Public Relations, Ohio Humanities Council

Local History Notebook, March / April 1991

When I was asked to write this Local History Notebook, my assignment was to review the question of what foundations look for in their grant proposal requests. As I pondered the task at hand, however, it seemed to be a bit narrow in focus and one-sided. Let me explain.

Secondly, the question of what foundations look for in proposals is ambiguous. It implies a magic formula, a casting on the waters, if you will, to see what bites. And, the limitations of time and space will not allow a survey of all of Ohio's foundations. Even given unlimited time and space in the Notebook, by the time such a survey is completed, the funding priorities of many foundations will have changed as their trustees respond to changing societal and economic needs.

As a grant writer, however, I can suggest ways in which you can learn for yourself the trends in grant making, how to keep abreast of the many changes in the field of grant making, and how to find out what a specific foundation looks for in the programs and projects it will fund. Research and time are two key ingredients that we do not always consider when thinking about submitting a proposal.

Shifting Needs and Changing Priorities

Most foundations began with someone's perception of a need and a desire to fulfill that need. Corporate and private foundations might have been established to give back to the community a portion of the wealth the donor earned in that community. Others were created in memory of an individual's community service. Some are the result of religious or humanitarian ideals. Most, if not all, foundations were established to make our communities, and our world, better places in which to live.

Foundations can have very broad or very specific funding initiatives. For example, the Columbus Foundation states that its mission is to serve the needs of Central Ohioans in order to improve the quality of life in the region. The Virginia Environmental Endowment supports projects that improve the quality of Virginia's environment as well as programs related to water quality in the Kanawha and Ohio River valleys.

At least once each month, I read that some foundation has announced a new funding initiative or priority. Sometimes the changes are subtle shifts in focus. For example, several funders in one of Ohio's metropolitan areas, who had traditionally funded programs in schools throughout Ohio, recently announced that they would commit significantly more resources toward improving public education in their specific metropolitan area.

Other changes in emphasis can be more striking. The Gannett Foundation announced last month that it will increase its support for programs on First Amendment freedoms and focus fewer funds in communities where the Gannett Company operates.

These examples illustrate a point, and, at the same time, raise a question. The point is that as the world changes, so does grant making. The basic motivation of philanthropy--to make our society and our world better--remains the same. As the perception of need changes, however, funding priorities change to meet the needs.

Now the question comes into play: How can a grant writer possibly keep up with the myriad changes that occur in charitable giving?

Basic Skills: Reading, Talking, and Listening

The keys to learning about funding priorities are things most people do every day. Read appropriate material, talk to people in the know, and listen to what they have to say. This sounds deceptively simple. It really can be that simple.

Reading national and local publications and associating with other grant makers has provided information about some of the top funding priorities nationwide. Number one on the list appears to be education, followed closely by multi-cultural and racial pluralism, substance abuse, disadvantaged children, homelessness, and environmental quality. Grant makers are looking for and collaborating on programs that creatively address these issues.

To stay on top of recent trends, one should read periodicals such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Foundation News. These help to keep one up-to-date about changes in the field of philanthropy. Annual reports of corporate and private funders and daily regional newspapers also provide information.

To research a specific source of funding, numerous other resources are available. These publications, though immensely useful, are very expensive. So it is important as well as practical to become acquainted with The Foundation Center. The Foundation Center in Cleveland operates several "branch" collections at libraries throughout Ohio. Locate the library nearest you and then use it. (See the resources section at the end of the Notebook.) The Foundation Center publishes The Foundation Directory, a compilation of major foundations in each state. However, small foundations are not listed in The Foundation Directory. The most complete reference for Ohio foundations is published by the Ohio Attorney General and is called the Charitable Foundations Directory of Ohio.

After identifying a likely source of funds, explore it further before submitting a grant proposal. For example, the foundation's annual report is a great source of information. If an annual report is unavailable or does not exist, another source of information is the foundation's file which can be found at the Attorney General's Office in Columbus. Ohio foundations are required by law to file annual reports with the Attorney General's Office. These are a matter of public record and can be examined on site.

A foundation's file will contain its constitution, by-laws, a list of trustees, and most importantly, lists of the grants it made in the last reporting period. Family foundation files will also contain information, usually in the form of a will, detailing the donor's wishes for use of his or her bequest. The key is reading any and all available material. This cannot be stressed enough.

In 1987, the Ohio Humanities Council was seeking private funding for a project on the environmental history of Ohio. In Allan Eckert's book, Time of Terror, I ran across a story of two brothers who survived the Dayton flood of 1913. The book related that these two men, stranded by flood waters for several days, had made resolutions to do good works for mankind if they lived through the flood. These men later became instrumental in the creation and financing of the Miami Conservancy District. Their name stuck in my brain; I had seen it before. Here is where a compulsive habit of reading paid off. In odd moments at the office, I read the various foundation directories I have available. Somewhere in those directories, I had seen this name.

Checking back through the Charitable Foundations Directory, I found the name again-as a family foundation in Dayton. Suspecting the two names were the same, I visited the Attorney General's office to read the foundation file. The wills of the foundation's donors revealed that the original bequests were intended to support conservation programs, among other things. This enjoyable bit of research provided enough information to consider the foundation a likely funder for the Council's project. If a trip to the Attorney General's Office is impractical, the Foundation Center in Cleveland or its branches again can provide information. Publications such as Source Book Files, the National Directory of Corporate Giving, the National Data Book of Foundations, and the National Directory to Funding in the Arts and Culture provide current information on funding Other directories are available by subject as well.) Some of these guides provide information about recent grants awarded.

Contact with a Foundation

After identifying and investigating a likely funding source, contact the foundation. This step can take a variety of forms. If the agency has published guidelines for funding and application, send for this information. Then follow the guidelines.

You may be instructed to send a letter of intent or make a telephone inquiry. In some cases, foundations will not accept proposals not preceded by such initial contact. A letter of intent is a statement that your organization plans to submit a proposal to a foundation. It should state, in one or two pages, the title of your program, the amount of support sought, a summary of the project, and a statement of your organization's mission. If, on the other hand, you are asked to make a telephone call, be brief and be prepared to answer questions about the project.

Ask for an interview with a foundation representative. View it as an opportunity. Use the interview to clarify your understanding of the grant maker's funding guidelines and priorities. The interview also provides the foundation a chance to be involved in the development of the project by suggesting ways it can be shaped to meet community needs.

There are many benefits that result from this approach, as indicated in the following story. For a period of time, I was a volunteer grant writer for the Ohio Quilt Research Project (OQRP). The final stage of development for OQRP involved seeking support for preparation of an exhibition catalogue manuscript. Letters and interviews with representatives of foundations I had believed would support the project brought discouragement. Most suggested OQRP not apply for funding. Usually optimistic about grant writing, I began to worry about OQRP's financial prospects as we neared the end of the five-year project.

Through no effort on my part, the money was raised. The catalogue editor Ricky Clark made a telephone call to a foundation that had provided previous support to the quilt project. Soon thereafter, she literally bumped into a trustee from another foundation. Two of the largest grants awarded to the Ohio Quilt Research Project resulted from personal contacts with grant makers who shared an interest in the subject area of the project topic.

There are many things to be learned from that experience. Asking for advice from foundation staff and trustees does yield results. In the instances that OQRP was advised not to submit a proposal, we followed that advice. That, of course, spared the effort of writing proposals we knew would not be funded, and allowed us to concentrate on applications to funders who indicated the request would succeed. Another lesson, learned the hard way, was that a funder had changed its priorities and I had not known about it. This was revealed to me during an interview with foundation staff. Next time, I will do my homework--the research needed to find out what kinds of projects a foundation supports. I will do this before stepping into an interview that should not take place. Lastly, the value of personal contact cannot be measured. Both OQRP grants came from foundations whose publications guidelines did not mesh with the goals of the Ohio Quilt Research Project. One of the foundations stated in print that its funding priorities did not include special projects or grants for publications. Yet its trustee expressed an interest in the project and invited us to submit a proposal.

The More Things Change…

The mechanics of grant writing have not really changed much over the years. For those of you currently involved in writing a grant, refer to "A Grant-Writing Primer," published as a Notebook in the 1986 November/December issue of The Local Historican. The elements that make up a good proposal are listed in that article.

In the intervening time, however, I have written many more grant applications. This increased experience has shown me the emphasis placed on the various sections of a proposal, or the length of a proposal, may vary from one grant maker to the next. Your research and/or contact with the grant maker will determine the composition of the proposal.

Foundations are looking for projects that meet community needs, but they want them to be conducted by agencies best equipped to fulfill their project goals creatively, effectively, and in a fiscally responsible manner. Compare your project's audience and the sponsor's geographical location with a particular foundation's goals, service groups, and funding patterns.

To all prospective grant writers, here is a word of caution! Do not create a proposal, make multiple copies, and send them off to different foundations. Tailor each proposal for the specific foundation to which it will be sent. While the project information remains essentially the same, the requirements for presentation may differ. If a foundation's guidelines stipulate a three-page letter, chances are slim that its trustees will happily review a twenty-page proposal.

Spare the grant maker pages and pages of prose and detailed but unnecessary appendices. Foundation representatives and trustees almost always appreciate brevity. A final anecdote comes to an end. When assigned a book review, I asked my professor how long the review should be. He replied that the review should be long enough to wrap the package and put a bow on it. Each time I write a grant proposal, I remember his advice.

Additional Reading

Daniel Lynn Conrad. The Quick Proposal Workbook. San Francisco: Public Management Institute, 1980.

Robert E. Geller. Plain Talk About Grants: A Basic Training Handbook. Sacramento: Department of Mental Health, 1982.

Norman J. Kiritz. Program Planning and Proposal Writing. Los Angeles: The Grantsmanship Center, 1980.

Frea E. Sladek and Eugene L. Stein. Grant Budgeting and Finance. Getting the Most Out Of Your Grant Dollar. New York: Plenum Press, 1981.

The Local History Notebook is edited and published by the Ohio Historical Society's Local History Office in order to bring useful information to people working in the local history field. The selections of subjects and authors is based on inquiries to the Local History Office and on the editors' determination of issues which are timely in nature and lasting in scope. The reference inserts are copyrighted 1991 by the Ohio Historical Society Reprints are available; please specify volume and number. For further information, contact: