Get Your Grants: Grant Seeking for Rescue Ministries

Why you should be seeking all available grants ‒ especially during this time of crisis. (Plus, check out our free webinar!)

Brewer Academy, led by Shellie Speer, is your one-stop resource for all the fundraising, development and consulting resources you need. As part of our ongoing efforts to educate and engage with our clients, BDI partnered with Grants Plus for an interactive webinar on July 8 titled, “Grant Seeking for Rescue Ministries.”

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT A RECORDING OF THAT WEBINAR NOW>>

In case you missed it, here are few of the key takeaways:

There’s a strong case that nonprofits should be more proactive and purposeful to pursue grants, because:

• Grant makers want to fund the work of rescue ministries. Grants exist for many of the services that rescue ministries provide, and many rescue ministries are already successful at winning grants.
• Not researching and applying for suitable grant opportunities is essentially leaving money on the table that your rescue ministry could use to further your mission.
• Donations, including grants, are ultimately an offering to God, not just to your rescue ministry. Staff at rescue ministries can take encouragement and direction from Biblical teachings that position fundraising and grant seeking as a spiritual ministry.

For any organization, grant seeking is about choosing which funders to pursue and what requests to make:

• There are many thousands of foundations in the U.S. The majority are small and have a local geographic focus. Concentrate on the funders making grants in the community you serve.
• There will be funders whose requirements or stated preferences will disqualify them as a good fit for your rescue ministry. But that’s no reason to abandon grant seeking altogether! Grant makers vary greatly in purpose and vision.
• Vetting the “match” between a foundation and your organization is a two-way street. Your focus should be on developing relationships with funders who have a vision that your ministry can support.

Winning grants is about more than grant writing. Successful grant seeking is an ongoing cycle that includes:

• Finding grant opportunities and determining which are best aligned with your mission.
• Forging relationships with funders, including making contact prior to submitting a grant application, so that you can establish mutual interest and openness to a proposal.
• Stewarding funders after a grant is won to involve them in your successes, challenges, and lessons learned. This can also increase the chances of renewed funding.
• Maintaining an evolving pipeline of current and potential funders. These relationships should be tended like a garden by caring for these connections and asking for grants when invited.

Now is the time to start or expand a grant seeking effort for your rescue ministry. Grant funders are giving more now in the midst of the pandemic to help nonprofits address challenges in their communities. Don’t miss out on grant revenues for your organization!

Want more? For this month’s “Need to Read” from MT on avoiding a fundraising epidemic, click here.