1. a (Small grassroots organizations should “think small” while they are small.)

2. b (The 501(c)(3) proves to funders that you’re a tax-exempt organization.)

3. a (The key is “not-for-profits of all kinds”; not specific types of not-for-profits.)

4. d (Hey—if you don’t know who you are, funders won’t either.)

1. d (So read the fine print in those requests for proposals.)

2. d (You’ll find a foundation of the right size and shape for you if you look hard enough.)

3. c (It’s always good not only to do your homework but also to show grantmakers that you’ve done it.)

4. c (So make sure you check out Grants.gov often.)

5. c (Getting a track record is an important first step in grant seeking—and starting small makes sense.)

1. True (No matter what application packages look like, they all contain certain basic pieces of information. Some contain much, much, much more of this stuff than others.)

2. False (You can call and ask questions about the application package; different funders have different policies, but most will answer at least some general questions.)

3. False (You are expected to answer every question or cover every topic in the grant application. If you don’t understand how a question pertains to you or your organization, you can call and ask—but it is possible that the funding source isn’t right for you!)

4. False (Sure, this is America, but it’s up to the grantmaker to decide whether you are an eligible applicant. So you’d better check eligibility requirements before you apply.)

5. False (It makes no sense to submit an application that asks for more money than the grantmaker indicates—it means you have ignored the guidelines or not followed directions. If the funder decides to give you more money later—well, that’s another story.)

1. False (Be prepared to show proof of your not-for-profit status, the names and affiliations of your board members, and other materials the funder might want to see.)

2. False (Grants for individuals follow many of the same steps that grants for not-for-profits and government agencies follow. All grants require homework, and all proposals must be clear responses to certain questions.)

3. False (Not-for-profit organizations are eligible for—and win—a slew of government grants, so check out that eligibility section.)

4. False (National Endowment for the Arts is an example of a government grant for individuals. In fact, foundation funding for individuals can be much scarcer and harder to get.)

5. False (School districts should apply for the myriad grants available that will actually help them teach the three Rs as well as science, technology, art, and music—not to mention assist in reducing violence, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and so forth.)

6. False (Individuals can sometimes get a grant without a 501(c)(3). Mostly, though, individuals do need to affiliate with an existing not-for-profit to be eligible for a grant.)

1. False (Developing and writing a grant proposal is in no way as straightforward as filling out an application for a credit card. In no way!)

2. False (Okay, maybe it takes a little luck to win a grant… very little. Mainly, winning a grant takes hard work, lots of homework, good programs, great leadership, fiscal responsibility… well, you get the picture.)

3. False (Anyone and everyone in an organization may write grant proposals, although in most organizations the task falls either to a program manager or a grant writer.)

4. False (Grant writers should beware of internal politics and adapt!)

5. False (Being greedy has no part in the grants process. Ever.)

6. False (Grant applications never say a word about abbreviations—it’s one of those “intangibles”—but you shouldn’t use them in your proposals.)

7. True (Most grant applications leave all decisions about hiring grant-funded staff up to you. But you must explain the qualifications of staff in your proposal.)

8. False (Write well but be quick. Time is of the essence.)

1. False (Maybe the PC police are out of style, but sensitive language isn’t.)

2. False (You can never be too organized.)

3. False (Let the facts speak for themselves.)

4. False (Save your poetry for an anthology.)

5. False (But make sure to let the funder know why it is an effective reading program.)

6. False (Be selective!)

1. Rule 4: Exaggeration. (If the Meridian Mews Center is known all over the world, there had better be some proof!)

2. Rule 12: Common knowledge; Rule 5: Grammar. (Everyone in the neighborhood respects…)

3. Rule 10: Passive voice; Rule 6: Spelling. (Meridian Mews Center’s program…)

4. Rule 9: Adjectives; Rule 4: Exaggeration.

5. Rule 5: Grammar. (… neighborhood schools and churches for its activities.)

6. Rule 5: Grammar. (… their grades and their behavior…)

7. Rule 11: Acronyms. (HHS, DOJ, and DOE)

8. Rule 2: Write as you should speak. (“awesome” is teen talk)

9. Rule 3: Insensitive terminology and slang. (Geezer; old folks; kids)

10. Rule 9: Adjectives; Rule 4: Exaggeration. (cutting-edge; innovative); Rule 10: (We)

1. d (Along with a quality program, the bottom line to winning grants is your documented “compelling need.” But many funders also look for continuity of leadership.)

2. d (As good as your intuition may be, it just doesn’t work as data in a grant proposal.)

3. d (Documenting need can take many forms.)

4. d (There is no rule of thumb about how many footnotes to include.)

1. b (“The literature” suggests that rewards are usually better than punishments, right?)

2. d (All these activities promote interaction with others and can decrease feelings of loneliness and depression.)

3. c (Both community involvement and police presence make neighborhoods safer.)

1. Unrealistic (The program only lasts for one year; a three-year objective is outside the control of the organization that’s running it.)

2. Realistic (It’s a one-year program and expecting improved attitudes by the end of the year is reasonable; we hope you also expect that participants will get jobs.)

3. ​Realistic (Since the program is for one year, a one-year objective makes perfect sense; because participants’ motivation to get a job is high, the 85 percent attendance figure is probably realistic.)

4. Realistic (A very reasonable objective for a one-year course.)

1. False (Activities are the most important part of the grant proposal—they make the program you are describing believable.)

2. False (There is no such thing as too much detail—which doesn’t mean repetition—if it makes your program come alive.)

3. True (In fact, use the grantmaker’s own language whenever possible to ensure that you both are on the same page.)

4. False (Funders expect to see exactly as many activities in the proposal as you expect to conduct—and the more the merrier.)

5. False (Write in specifics, not in generalities… and don’t expect to change your mind. This is a grant, for cryin’ out loud!)

6. True (Specific activities should be linked to each and every measurable objective in your proposal. You’re conducting the activities to achieve your objectives.)

7. False (First comes your compelling need, then your objectives, and finally the activities to achieve these objectives.)

8. False (Timelines are anything but baloney—they show that the grant program is doable, real, and accountable.)

9. False (The proposal should never be vague; if the person writing it doesn’t know what’s going on, funders will be anything but sympathetic.)

10. True (If at all possible, you should do some grant-related work even before you find out if you’ve won the money.)

1. False (Collaboration is very hard. We’re all essentially team players… as long as we can be team captain.)

2. False (It can’t always be about the money. Collaboration is about solving problems.)

3. False (If collaboration isn’t required, think about trying it anyway—it’s often a better option for getting things done than going it alone.)

4. False (Let’s face it. No one likes to collaborate with anyone, whether they’re in the same sector or not.)

1. The best way to actually prove that you collaborated with other groups on a grant proposal is to include a memorandum of understanding, letters of commitment, and/or sign-in sheets for collaborative program development meetings in your application.

2. Some different sectors of the community that might collaborate on a winning grant include large and middle-sized not-for-profit organizations, small grassroots organizations, faith-based organizations, businesses, school districts, municipal government agencies, hospitals or health care providers, colleges, and even foundations.

3. Some synonyms for “collaboration” are partnering, cooperating, coalition building, and team building.

1. False (Evaluation is necessary for grant-funded programs even if they are tiny. In fact, all programs should be evaluated whether they are grant funded or not. The evaluation does not have to be elaborate; it just needs to be a systematic way of assessing your program’s performance.)

2. True (Often called formative evaluation, this type of evaluation allows you to make changes throughout.)

3. False (If you wait until a large multiyear grant program is over to conduct the evaluation, it’s far too late to make any changes along the way.)

4. False (If an outside evaluator is required by the funder, consider working with a university or consultant who will help in the preparation of the proposal and get paid to conduct the evaluation only if the grant is funded.)

5. False (Evaluations can use simple before-and-after questionnaires and surveys, as well as more complex measures.)

6. False (A program evaluation looks at all kinds of data, from personal interviews and observations to standardized, reliable measures.)

7. False (Whether an evaluation plan is required by the grantmaker or not, it should be included. Otherwise, how will you know if you achieved your objectives?)

8. True (Too many grant writers start thinking about the evaluation plan just as they are about to submit their proposals. Evaluation methods should be linked to your objectives: How will you know if you achieved them?)

9. False (Small demonstration projects need rigorous evaluations to determine if they are worth replicating in other places.)

10. ​False (Frankly, there often is no need to work with an outside evaluator; your staff should know very well what data would provide the information you need to be sure it’s working as you designed it.)

1. False (Don’t include the new copier you’re desperate for unless you can show why the basketball program you’re applying for needs a copier to achieve the objectives you’ve set out. Our guess is that the copier probably has no place in the grant proposal.)

2. False (If the funder says you can’t include laptop computers in your budget, don’t. Try to find another grantmaker who may pay for them.)

1. If you are teaching reading as an in-kind contribution, it means that your organization has (or you have) donated your time to the project. The way this is reflected in the budget is to indicate the percentage of your time you spend on the project—say 25 percent of your job is now spent on this program. If your yearly salary is $50,000, you’re “donating” a quarter of it to the grant-funded program. Your in-kind contribution is $12,500. This, along with other contributions by the applicant, can be reflected in a column called “In-Kind.”

2. ​PS (Personnel Services) describes personnel (staffing) costs, and OTPS (Other Than Personnel Services) lists everything that does not relate to personnel that you include in the grant’s budget.

3. Examples of OTPS costs include equipment that you may be buying or leasing, consultants that you may need to bring on board, and supplies that you need to purchase.

1. To sustain the literacy program for immigrants at the Rosemont Center, the center staff will apply to the state’s department for youth and families when it issues a request for proposals for literacy programs next year. Rosemont’s development director has begun identifying other foundations that support literacy programs like Rosemont’s. The executive director and program staff believe that the local community college will be willing to provide some services in kind once the program has begun.

2. The Edgewood Senior Center might apply for a foundation grant for an intergenerational arts program even if we aren’t sure we can sustain it, because it is so important to find ways to relieve the depression and isolation our seniors are experiencing. When the city sees how successful the program is, it may provide unexpected resources that will keep the program running.

1. Some other words for sustainability are “likelihood of institutionalizing” the program. That’s a fancy way of saying making it a permanent part of your organization.

1. True (An organization’s leadership says a great deal about the strength of the organization.)

2. True (Only an organization that maintains strong financial controls will win the confidence of a government funder—or any other funder.)

3. False (Every grantmaker cares about your board if you’re a nonprofit organization.)

4. False (But you want to include as much history, program, and staff information as possible to highlight your organization’s capacity to run effective programs.)

5. True (Government agencies should mention the size of their budgets, the grants and other funding they receive, and their history of fiscal responsibility. But brag? We don’t like bragging.)

1. False (The overall cost of the project should appear in the abstract, along with the amount you are requesting.)

2. False (A table of contents should be included whether the application mentions it or not, unless the proposal is very short or, for some reason, a grantmaker says, “No table of contents.”)

3. False (The average length of a comprehensive abstract is under two pages.)

4. False (Letters of support from elected officials should be placed in the appendix.)

5. False (If you are permitted to have attachments and the funder doesn’t stipulate specific items, certainly include information about your board.)

6. False (An abstract should be short and to the point. Don’t use as many words as you need to. Use as few as you can to clearly describe the program.)

7. True (But sometimes government grants don’t even let you include an appendix and, lately, they have required a certain number of pages when they do allow one. You have to be creative in deciding what to attach.)

8. False (Not all grantmakers want or will accept attachments or appendix material. When in doubt, ask.)

9. True

1. False (Sometimes you should apply for a grant after you’ve been rejected—ouch, there’s that word again—and sometimes you shouldn’t. There are many factors involved in your decision.)

2. False (If a foundation turns you down for a grant, definitely ask why… but very nicely, of course.)

3. False (There’s nothing in the law that forbids you to receive scores on federal grant proposals. It’s up to the individual agencies, and most do give you the information.)

4. False (While the same reviewer probably won’t read your grant if you submit it again, the comments may have been right on the money—so why not take them to heart to improve your next proposal?)

5. False (It’s not pushy to ask grantmakers to suggest other foundations that might be appropriate for your proposal. But don’t get pushy if they can’t help you!)

1. False (A nonprofit is not required to have a budget of at least $1 million to start a small business. There is no budget requirement at all.)

2. False (Large nonprofits generally have diverse funding sources that allow them to weather economic meltdowns.)

3. False (Many public schools use an array of business approaches. But if you’re a teacher, make sure you check with your principal if you have an idea for a small business!)

4. False (If you’re a nonprofit and are serious about starting a business, especially one that you hope to sustain, it is often a good idea—and a good use of funds—to hire a consultant.)

5. True (There are grantmakers who like to fund entrepreneurial nonprofits that are proposing business approaches to diversify funding.)

6. False (Generally, a savvy business strategy is to seek grant funding from foundations close to home. They will be more likely to support your entrepreneurial efforts on behalf of the community you both care about.)

7. False (A business plan should be long enough to address all the issues as clearly and comprehensively as possible.)

1. Teenage art students in an after-school art program at the Wishbone housing project can design, create, and sell (following business plans they develop) holiday cards, calendars, masks, and other artwork.

2. A bake shop in a nearby storefront, perhaps with rent donated for a few months by the landlord, selling baked goods made by members of the senior center and parents of children in the ​after-school program, using senior center members and teenagers in the youth program to coordinate and staff it. Expand, perhaps using foundation grants, by adding a kitchen and hiring a manager to train and later hire community members to bake and sell their goods. Expand again to add coffee, tea, juices, sandwiches, and a few tables to create a takeout counter and café.