The past two plus years of pandemic and social upheaval have altered how many of us work, interact with others, and even view the world. It’s no surprise that these strong currents have also impacted the requirements of grant applications.
“It’s critical that proposals reflect an up-to-date understanding of the societal context in which your organization operates,” said Barbara Floersch, grants expert and author of You Have a Hammer: Building Grant Proposals for Social Change.
Contingency planning is important to your organization’s health, and it is also essential for developing credible grant proposals. When describing your program plan, discuss situations that could impact your ability to deliver services. Then present realistic if-this-then-that scenarios to demonstrate you’ll be able to navigate change and keep the ship on course.
“Don’t get deep into the weeds here,” said Floersch. “Unless the funder asks for significant detail just provide an overview to show you’ve considered problems that could occur and developed work-arounds to deal with them.”
The possibilities you will need to develop depend on the issues your organization addresses. But every organization will be well served by doing a full environmental scan, identifying and prioritizing challenges and threats, and developing alternatives. Some challenges are ubiquitous: finding and retaining qualified employees, ensuring organizational staff and leadership reflect the community, being prepared to respond to new federal-, state-, and local-level health-related guidance. But other contingencies will be specific: safety concerns at Planned Parenthood offices, public relations challenges within law enforcement agencies, increased discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
When describing community problems, be sure narratives address social determinants of health, including historical economic and social inequity. Use asset-based language that affirms strengths and resilience without denying the work that needs to be done. Show how those with lived experience of the problem have been involved in identifying the services you propose, and how community members will be engaged in implementing programming.
“This is not about get-the-grant advice and politically-correct language. It’s about maintaining services to your community even in earthquakes of change. It’s about respecting your whole community and ensuring your work benefits everyone,” said Floersch. Applications that step up to the reality of whiplash change and expanded social consciousness send the message that your nonprofit will be a strong partner and is committed to making a difference.