We love this statement by Amy Clinton, “The overall success of a grant writer should ultimately be measured by whether or not the organization for which that person is writing grants is building relationships and program credibility with funders and achieving incremental increases in grant funding revenues.”

Recently, an organization in our community saw the deletion of a grant they depended on. It was something they had received for years and at the end, the $125,000 they received last year, just went away without warning. That destroys programs and, it did! The program it funded was shut down.

Relationships and program credibility – how are you building them?

Tip #1: Share your message as often as you can with as many people as you can in the most-effective way.

Tip #2: Offer opportunities for people to be involved in your program and even invite the people within the organization/foundation granting money. They are not likely to attend but will appreciate the thought of inclusion to see how their money is being used.

Tip #3: Accept the way people participate in your program. This helps you to keep momentum going and maintains a positive perspective. A happy person says good things and can provide a testimonial for you later on. This looks good on applications.

Tip#4: Respect and appreciate everyone within your community. By this, we mean anyone associated with your mission and your organization. The same is true with those organizations offering similar services. Maintain the feeling of abundance. There’s enough to go around. Be thankful. SOAR (acronym for relationship development, which is outlined above).

Consider the following data, also provided by Amy Clinton (see her full article):

1. If an organization is submitting applications to already-established funders who know them well, they can expect:

a. For existing programs, high success rates, up to 90 percent
b. For expanding existing programs, good success rates, up to 80 percent
c. For new programs, lower success rates, generally 30 to 40 percent

2. If submitting applications to NEW funders, an excellent success rate would be 30 to 40 percent

3. If submitting applications to a combination of existing and new funders, an organization should expect a success rate of between 50 and 60 percent.

#soarwithnetworkfundraising assists organizations and individuals when they are determining the best way to GROW Community among their constituents. Increasing market share and raising money goes hand in hand. It’s easy when you choose to SOAR.