weird science of grantwriting—pt 3 do you have the chops? understanding capacity building…
Are you biting your fingernails yet? You should be by this point! It boils down to this…
Can you really manage this crazy dream that you’ve envisioned?
Here’s the catch: There are two BIG STEPS that you’re tackling…
#1—The vigor, creativity, and minutia of GRANT WRITING. That process can be exciting, inspiring, energizing! But then there is the next part.
#2—Do you or your organization actually have THE CAPACITY to carry out what you’ve designed.
So, What is CAPACITY BUILDING?
Imagine that you want to open a new restaurant. What will it take? First of all, let’s assume that you’ve already determined that YOUR new restaurant will fill a need in your community, or for your target audience (We talked about these in Parts 1 & 2). So, now what you need is MONEY! That is why you’re writing a grant…To get the cash to build your dream (Or to fill a very vacant hole in your defined community).
But what else will it take to make your dream come true? A building? A great idea for a menu?….(Keep going)…A decent chef? A staff that includes a manager? Oven? Refrigerator? Pans? Knives? Forks? Plates? Forks? A dishwasher? FOOD? An advertising campaign? What about PARKING???
SPACE—STAFF—LEADERSHIP—MATERIALS—SUPPLIES—EQUIPMENT—PUBLIC RELATIONS These pieces all speak to your capacity to open and then successfully run a restaurant. Your grantwriting project needs to show that you can actually DO the project that you’re designing. Grantors (The peeps who make the choices and give out the checks) want to fund projects that will really make it, and hopefully thrive! So before you sit down to your writing table, be sure that you’re being honest about your capacity or your organization’s capacity to make it work. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BUILD BEFOREHAND? Can some of your capacity building be incorporated into the grant and then be sustainable after you’ve spent all of the grantor’s money?
Take time to build it all in your head. And while you’re thinking that over, I’ll start organizing my thoughts on The Weird Science of Grantwriting—Part 4: The STRUCTURE OF LEADERSHIP!!! This is important to catch, and it is a really big FISH! Stayed Tuned.
