Title Details

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

1. Before You Begin.

2. Grants: What They'll Get You ... And What They Won't.

Who's got the money?

The pros and cons of chasing grants.

How grants fit into a complete fundraising program.

An example of funding diversity: Native Seeds/SEARCH.

3. Why People (and Foundations) Give Away Their Money.

You, the philanthropist.

Who gets the money? Criteria for giving.

Foundation culture.

4. Get Organized! The Grant Proposal as Organizing Plan.

Building the case for support.

Programs, projects, and campaigns.

General support grants.

Designing fundable projects: the grantwriter as feasibility tester.

Involving your co-workers.

How much money? Developing budgets for grant-funded projects.

5. Grants Research and Grantmaker Relations.

Do your homework!

Follow the guidelines.

Thinking like a detective.

Using the Foundation Center library collections.

Computers and grants research.

Query letters, telephone calls, and site visits.

Developing relationships with foundation officers.

The pre-proposal letter (letter of intent).

Donor-directed grants.

6. Building Your Proposal, Piece by Piece.

Wrestling with words.

Layout: easy on the eyeballs.

Cover page and executive summary.

Organizational history.

Problem statement (background or needs statement).

Program goals and objectives.

Strategy and implementation (methods).

Timeline.

Evaluation.

Personnel.

Budgets.

Attachments.

Cover letter.

7. Four Winners: Proposals That Work.

Penn Center, South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, and Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program: "Sea Islands Land Retention Project".

Heartwood: "Central Appalachian Wilderness Preserve".

Mono Lake Committee: "Inner City Water Education Program".

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste: "A Year in the Movement: Cross-Cultural Leadership Development Project".

8. Leverage, or How to Use Money to Create More Money.

Matching and challenge grants.

In-kind donations.

Program-related investments and loans.

9. Grants Administration.

Record-keeping and reporting.

Managing grant money.

The value of honesty.

Your mother was right: the value of good manners.

10. The Long Haul: Stamina, Persistence, Resilience.

Dealing with rejection.

Diversifying your funding.

Using your time and energy effectively.

The perfect organization.

Appendices.

A. Foundation Center Cooperating Collections.

B. Resources for Canadian Organizations.

C. Raising money from faith-based grants programs.

Bibliography.

Index of Foundations, Organizations and Personal names.

General Index.

"A wealth of insider tips...Quite simply, this book will tell grassroots activists how to write better grants." —Philanthropy News Digest

"Reads like a cross between an expose and a how-to manual, with lots of nuts-and-bolts suggestions for improving your proposals." —Terry Odendahl, former executive director, National Network of Grantmakers