Setting Your Grant Goals for the Year

As the new year unfolds, businesses often take the opportunity to set their sights on fresh objectives and ambitious goals. Establishing clear and measurable targets for the year ahead is a critical step toward achieving success and driving growth. This is a time to reflect on past achievements, identify areas for improvement, and set intentions for the future. Whether it's boosting donor revenue, expanding programs, or launching new initiatives, setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals provides a roadmap for businesses to navigate the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead.

Using the Grantegy approach, we suggest kicking off the year by setting clear and actionable grant-seeking goals. Our focus is on ensuring that each of you can begin to craft a robust roadmap for your 2025 grant strategies. If you've taken our Feasibility Study course, you know how important it is to have a strong foundation before pursuing grants. Building on that foundation, you should create strategic grant goals that align with your organization's overall goals and capacity.

Assess Your Current Situation

First, let's analyze your current position. It's crucial to assess your current grant portfolio and pinpoint the funding alignments and misalignments. Taking the time to assess your existing grant portfolio can yield valuable insights for future funding endeavors. By analyzing past performance, you gain a clearer understanding of which projects resonated most with funders and which fell short. This evaluation process helps pinpoint areas of alignment, where your organization's strengths and priorities intersect with funders' interests. Equally important, it exposes misalignments – instances where pursued grants didn't truly match your core mission or where proposals lacked the necessary components for success. Identifying these discrepancies allows you to refine your grant-seeking strategy, focus on opportunities with the highest potential for success, and ultimately, optimize your use of resources.

Develop SMART Grant Goals

While building on our Grantegy foundations, let's define SMART goals for your grant endeavors. Remember, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Rather than a vague 'get more grants', a SMART goal would be: To secure an increase in grant funding by 20% by the end of December 2025 by submitting at least two targeted applications per month.

When it comes to writing grants, the goals and objectives section of your proposal can make or break your funding request. The content has to be quantifiable and measurable according to the funder's guidelines and criteria to make a significant impact in the decision-making process. Make sure your story is relevant to all parties involved, and it will showcase the strength of your proposal. Adhering to deadlines will allow your organization to be more strategic and efficient when it comes to applying for grants that meet your funding needs. 

Create an Annual Grant Calendar 

Grantegy is about being strategic. When setting up your Annual Grant Calendar as part of your strategic goals, you need to utilize a strategic approach. This isn't just about marking dates; it's about being strategically aligned between your grant-seeking activities and your organizational objectives for the year. Ideally, your organization or client will have a written plan with their strategic priorities for the year so you can identify the grant funding priorities, find funding opportunities, and submit grant applications. For example, if you have a small Capital project like adding AC to a building, you will want to have that project completed before summer. In order to get this accomplished, you need to start submitting Grant applications early in the year if the project completion date is in June. To do this, start adding applications to be submitted in the first quarter (Q1) to try to meet the summer deadlines. 

A general rule of thumb is to apply at least 3 months in advance of the funds being needed. Then you can sprinkle in operating requests and ongoing non-calendar specific requests throughout the rest of the year so that you're not pressed for time at the beginning and the end of the year.

Need some additional help? Here are five steps to take in planning the grant calendar that are applicable regardless of the application or program you are using:

Step 1: Gather Information

• Start by gathering all known grant opportunities that align with your mission and funding needs. Include grants you've previously applied for and potential new sources identified through your Grant research. For each grant, note the deadline, the funding cycle, and any specific requirements.

Step 2: Prioritize Opportunities

• With all potential grants listed, it's time to prioritize. Use criteria based on your organizational needs, the likelihood of success (based on past interactions and alignment with the funder's goals), and the strategic importance of the grant. High- priority grants should be those that align closely with your strategic objectives and have a significant impact on your funding.

Step 3: Schedule Planning and Preparation Time

• Now, schedule backward from the submission deadline for each high-priority grant. Mark key milestones such as when the first draft is due, internal review deadlines, final edits, and submission date. Leave enough time for each phase to ensure thorough preparation and allow for revisions based on team feedback.

Step 4: Resource Allocation

• With the timeline set, assign team members to each grant based on their strengths and roles within your organization. Consider the workload balance and the need for external assistance, such as reviewers and evaluators.

Step 5: Incorporate Flexibility

• Your grant calendar is set up, and you are ready to knock it out of the park! Keep in mind that it's vital to maintain flexibility. External factors, new opportunities-especially short turnaround government grants, and organizational changes might necessitate adjustments. Regular monthly reviews of the grant calendar will allow you to stay adaptive and responsive.

Remember, strategic grant planning and diligent tracking are crucial components of the Grantegy method while helping to empower you and your organization to strategically navigate 2025's grant opportunities. Setting clear and actionable goals can provide a powerful framework for organizations to achieve their missions and maximize impact. By defining specific funding targets, organizations can strategically align their efforts, prioritize projects with the highest potential for success, and cultivate stronger relationships with funders. This proactive approach not only enhances the chances of securing essential funding but also fosters a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, ensuring that resources are utilized effectively to create lasting positive change in the community.