Start Your Research at The San Diego Foundation
by Pat Fitzmorris
UPDATE 9/19/204:  The San Diego Foundation no longer houses the Foundation Library.  It is now housed at Nonprofit Management Solutions. Please click here for hours and location.
In our Grant Development classes we recommend that grant seekers do Research, Research, & more Research to find the foundation that will fund your program.  One of the best places to do research on potential funding sources is the San Diego Foundation.  The San Diego Foundation is located in Liberty Station at 2508 Historic Decatur Rd., Ste. 200 San Diego, CA 92106.    The hours are M-F 8AM to 5PM. 

According to the Foundation’s web page, “The San Diego Foundation is proud to stand as San Diego's leading resource for information about charitable giving and community needs. We encourage, support and facilitate meaningful dialogue on issues affecting each of our communities, and work with philanthropists to develop creative solutions to meet critical community needs. The Foundation proudly grants out more than $60 million each year to outstanding nonprofits throughout the county, in areas such as the environment, arts and culture, science and technology, civil society, health and human services, and disaster relief.”  As you can see the foundation itself is a great place to start looking for a match. Go to the web to review the guidelines, application forms and deadlines.  www.sdfoundation.org.   

The Foundation also has a library and several computer stations open to the public to do research on other foundations that may be interested in funding programs. The database is amazing and it can cut your research time by hours just because of the sorting system. Be sure to sort by geography, target population, deadlines and areas of interest (art, science, etc).  Please call to determine the librarian’s hours so she/he can show you how the system works. Then you can go on your own any time.  They also offer leadership training and scholarships. 

By Pat Fitzmorris

Collaboration is one of the keys to success in business. Collaboration is key to a winning sports team. In fact, collaboration can be the key to success in all aspects of life.  Collaboration is also the key to creating the successful grant writing team.  Teamwork and collaboration go hand-in-hand.

Collaboration means that your team will be there during the grant development process and many times will be part of the implementation group to manage the program once it is funded. A long-term goal of collaboration is to develop a sustainable program into the future by building on success. Collaborative work brings out the positive aspects of your grant development team, each individual and agency brings something special to the table. Building on the strength of each team member or agency partner makes sense.  By using a collaborative approach you can create the grant writing “dream” team.        

 The following quotes and narrative focus on the concept that collaboration is the key to success in all aspects of life and in concept in all aspects of the grant development process. That process includes researching potential grants, creating the grant development team, writing the grant and providing grand management once funding is secured.  Use your team to make the process fun, practical and successful.

As can be seen from the wide range of great philosophers, great coaches, great people and even nature agree that the team, the group is bigger and better then one individual alone.  After you read these quotes, take these collaborative words to heart and research, write and succeed together.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success. “—Henry Ford

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. —Isaac Newton

“I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively.” —Golda Meir  

“The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other.” —Thomas Stallkamp

“Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part.” —Casey Stengel

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” —Napoleon HillBottom of Form

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”—Phil Jackson

“Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” —Vince Lombardi

“It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” —Charles Darwin

by Marti Hess

Have you ever asked for what you thought you wanted but then when you got it you found out it wasn’t what you needed after all?  How can that be avoided when developing the budget in grant proposals?  It’s all about being realistic, detailed and forward thinking.  None of us has a crystal ball, so of course we cannot know exactly what will be necessary to make a program run successfully.  We can, however, take the time to develop a budget that is sound and reasonable so that when a funder looks at it, it makes sense.

What do we mean by making sense?  Here are some important ways to make your budget work in your proposal:

1.       Tie costs to activities—when you are planning the program activities that support your goals and objectives, attach costs to each activity.  For example, you might need to print flyers to market a community event.  Estimate how many you will print and research the cost per page at your local printer.  This will give you a realistic figure to tie to that activity and use in your budget.

2.       Estimate the personnel time—how many hours per week with each staff member spend on the program you are proposing?  Will the funder support these personnel costs?  If so, estimate what percentage of a staff member’s salary can be supported by the grant funding, if any. 

3.       Include Fringe, benefits, taxes—don’t forget that these are part of the cost of doing business and having employees.  Employers have to pay taxes, and what is sometimes referred to as ‘fringe’ or ‘benefits.’ 

4.       Consultants or Contractors—if you will be using an expert to provide a portion of your programming, this cost is included in the operational expenses section of the budget, not in personnel costs.  A contractor is responsible to pay his/her own taxes and is not considered an employee of your agency.

5.       Indirect or Administrative costs—if the funder will pay for indirect or administrative costs, by all means include it.   This is usually an amount  between 5% and 15% of the total funding amount.  It gives your agency a portion of the grant funds to use for items such as payroll fees, insurance costs, and administrative support. 

6.       Use the funder’s budget template—the funder usually includes a template to use in the proposal—don’t change it.  It may be much less detailed than what you have already developed.  But if you have taken the time to create a realistic and detailed budget for the program you designed, you can combine the figures so that they fit into the funder’s format. 

Good budget development takes time.  Don’t rush to get it done at the last minute or you may forget to include an essential line item.   Develop the budget as you are planning your program and you’ll find that you’ll be able to fill in the budget template in your grant application with confidence and ease.

Government funders and some foundations may request a logic model as the evaluation component cornerstone of your grant application.  The logic model is designed to show a logical or linear path to success for your program or grant proposal. 

The logic model is a tool used to demonstrate how and why your program will work.  It illustrates what will be accomplished and how your grant proposal will reach the goals and objectives designed in your program.  The logic model must communicate specific resources, measurable action oriented outcomes with a realistic timeline.

Logic models may be created in several ways. A template can be downloaded and used as a guide to create the logic model for the evaluation section ofyour proposal.    A Google search of Logic Model Templates provides several models to review.  Beautiful charts of all shapes and forms give a full picture of the wide range of options to design the logic model itself.

Several sites also include detailed guidelines for development of the logic model. Samples are provided in chart form.  If the grant development team includes a professional evaluator or university research staff as part of the evaluation team they will develop the logic model and incorporate all of the elements to show success. The evaluator may take the lead in writing the evaluation/logic model section of the grant.

I am a visual thinker.  When a new idea comes to me, I see in my head as a picture.  And if I take a few moments, I can actually feel it and get sensations from it.  I love having this ability, but where I get caught up is in the details of making the vision happen.  If I jump directly from this powerful vision to thinking ‘how will I ever get this accomplished?’ I usually feel a great sense of overwhelm and may be stopped right in my tracks.

So what’s the missing link?  For me it’s clarity supported by information.  Instead of going directly to the ‘how’, I go back to the vision with the intention of clarifying what it is I want it to do.  In other words, I look at the vision with the question, “what is the outcome I wish to achieve with this?”  This usually provides me with an answer that leads me on the quest for information to support the vision.

Here’s how this works:

1.       Visualize a program; for example a literacy program for adults.  The program could help people learn how to read; have individuals tutored by volunteers in a setting that is bright, supportive, and successful.  Now, how is all of this going to be accomplished?  This is where overwhelm can happen.  Instead of wallowing in it, go to the next step.

2.       Answer the question “what is the outcome I want to achieve?” Is it that more adults will be able to read?  What happens when they can read? Does it help them in job search? Can they read to their children? Are there other opportunities for them? Can they tutor others?  Take the time to define the outcome(s).

3.       Once there is clarity around the outcomes, gather the information needed to support the vision.  Research the need for adult literacy, how it affects lives, what programs work best. Clarify the need.

4.       Next, write it all down.  Begin with the outcomes, plug in the activities and methods to support the outcomes, outline a timeline and benchmarks, and define costs associated with each step.

5.       Voila and congratulations! A program is created and now the basics for a grant proposal are down on paper.

I go through this process several times in order to triumph over the feeling of overwhelm and to develop deliberate steps I can take to power up my vision.  The clarity and information are the amps and watts I need to light the bulb, and once the bulb is lit, my pathway is clear. 

It can be a challenge to find a funder that will support a newly developed nonprofit organization or that will award a grant to an organization that has not yet been classified as a 501(c)(3).  Depending on your organization’s focus you could consider looking within your community to find an organization with a similar vision and ask them to serve as your fiscal agent. 

A fiscal agent is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that agrees to accept and be responsible for grant monies on your behalf. This partnership could allow you to seek grants and other tax-deductible donations under the fiscal agent’s exempt status allowing you to start your project sooner.  This arrangement is useful for new organizations that want to “test the waters” before deciding whether to seek 501(c)(3) status, as well as coalitions that are looking for a neutral party to administer their funds.

The grant would be awarded to the name of the fiscal agent and they would forward the funds to your organization.  The fiscal agent is legally responsible for receiving and safeguarding your grant funds and must maintain separate records of disbursements related to the grant but will be required to distribute the funds in accordance with the grant award notice.  Because you will not have direct control of the grant funds you will need develop a legally-binding contract outlining funding details.  It is your responsibility to follow up with the fiscal agent to ensure that you receive your grant funds.

For more information: Fiscalsponsorship.com, an authoritative site by nonprofit attorney Gregory L. Colvin

You've spent hours researching possible funding sources for your program, and you've found a few that seem to be a match.  You look up the deadlines and find one of these situations: either the due date has passed, is a week away, or is six months from now.   Should  you jam and go for the short deadline or take your time and wait for six months?

If you've taken the time to develop your goals and objectives, need statements, organizational history statement, and budget, you might just be able to turn the grant application around in a week.  Otherwise you may have to wait until the next funding cycle.

How can you determine the foundation's funding cycle?  You may have to do a bit of investigation to find out what a foundation's cycle is--look at their IRS Form 990, annual reports, and past grants awarded.  You can call the foundation and ask for its funding cycle.  It's a great question to get a conversation started and begin developing a relationship. 

It's pretty obvious why deadlines are important.  Deadlines mitigate procrastination. They motivate us to get something done.  They promote focus and  productivity. Deadlines and funding cycles are your friend.  They help you stay on task and plan for the future.  

 It does not make sense to develop and submit 100 grant applications asking for $10 each to fund a program that costs $100, just as it doesn't make sense to submit a grant application to a foundation for $100 when the published grant award range is between $25,000 and $50,000. You may think that you are being nice and "saving the funding" for other applicants but you would be better served by being strategic about the amount you request in your grant applications.


Foundations that are required to give away 5% of their profit by the IRS, often state the amount of money they expect to give away in individual grants. If the grant maker provides a range, make sure your project budget is presented within that range. Your proposal runs the risk of being tossed out if it does not meet those basic criteria. 


If you take the time to conduct research  on the funding agency, especially looking at their IRS 990 Tax Forms,  you can see what past funding levels were made by the grant maker. If your request is too low, your project may be seen as less deserving;  while too large a request may tell a funder that your organization does not have the capacity to carry out the work. Use the information gathered from your research to frame the application and budget for specifically to each funding agency, based on its past awards and published grant award amounts.