Grants are a key source of support for most nonprofit organizations, particularly new organizations or those starting new programs. This guide, developed out of a series of seminars, helps grantseekers develop a strategic plan for finding funds for their programs.

Crack the Funding Code demystifies the world of angel investing, venture capital, and corporate funding and lays out a strategic pathway for any entrepreneur to secure funding fast. Lack of funding is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. In 2016 in the United States alone, more than 31 percent of small business owners reported that they could not access adequate capital, and the lack of capital prevented them from growing the business/expanding operations, increasing inventory, or financing increased sales. This book will show you how to find the money, create pitches that attract investors, and then structure fair, ethical deals that will bring them new sources of outside capital and invaluable professional advice. Crack the Funding Code gives you the broader perspective on: how funding works, how investors think, and what they need to hear to put their money where your mouth is. Every entrepreneur who reads this book will get easy-to-follow deal checklists, a roadmap of where and how to locate the best funding resources and top business mentors for their industry or geographical location, and a step-by-step process to create pitches that make their idea or business irresistible.

Previous Praise for Winning Grants Step by Step "Warning: this book works. It provokes you to ask the right questions, hand-holds you through practical exercises, and offers a map that includes paths to develop strategic relationships with funders." E. Eduardo Romero, Nonprofit Roundtable "Winning Grants Step by Step is a very practical A-to-Z resource that speaks to the importance of staying focused on your mission every step of the way. The third edition is artfully updated with words of wisdom from grantmakers themselves, as well as updates on the latest processes and buzzwords all grantseekers need to know." Heather Iliff, Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations "With solid advice and clear examples, nonprofit leaders will find it a page turner!" Clarence Hauer, senior director, strategy and organizational development, St. Louis Nonprofit Services Consortium "Winning Grants Step by Step is a gift to nonprofit organizations. The valuable insights and hands-on tools will instantly make any proposal more competitive." Alex Carter, Your Nonprofit Coach "Developing great grant proposals is essential for nonprofit leaders. Winning Grants Step by Step provides important guidance to those who are new to fundraising as well as to anyone who needs a refresher. This new edition of Winning Grants brings updated tips and vivid examples. As an experienced fundraising consultant, I believe it will help my clients and colleagues alike." Maria Gitin, CFRE, Maria Gitin & Associates "As an executive director, fundraising is on my mind every day. It's great to have a resource like Winning Grants Step by Step to use and share with my board, staff, and peers." Deborah Menkart, executive director, Teaching for Change

"An in-depth resource with an easy-to-understand format, Finding Funding brings the reader up-to-date with 120 newly researched Web sites to help grant seekers be more efficient and effective at writing successful government, foundation, and private grants. The authors focus on four main phases of grantwriting and administration: exploring grants, writing proposals, implementing programs and managing acquired funds, and closing out funded projects"--Publisher website (May 2008).

In the fifth edition of our essential Guide, author Jane C. Geever provides detailed instructions on preparing successful grant proposals. Incorporating the results of 40 interviews with grantmakers across the nation, the Guide reveals their priorities in reviewing submissions and provides insight into what makes a winning proposal. The Guide outlines the entire proposal-writing process: Pre-Proposal Planning Tips - This helps you decide when your nonprofit is ready to raise funds and determine how to best define your project. Components of the Proposal - Review actual cover letters, project descriptions, budgets, and examples of important follow-up communications with prospective donors. Guidance from Grantmakers - Interviews highlight new trends in grantmaking: preferred proposal formats, funder cultivation strategies, tips on re-submitting a rejected request, and on how to capture and sustain a grantmaker's interest. To illustrate key points, excerpts from successful grant proposals are inserted throughout the Guide. And a complete model proposal is included in the appendix. An updated bibliography features selected resources on proposal development, including web and print sources. A new chapter focuses on crafting an effective evaluation component, addressing the heightened interest in outcome-based assessment of funded projects. Book jacket.

A pragmatic framework for nonprofit digital transformation that embraces the human-centered nature of your organization The Smart Nonprofit turns the page on an era of frantic busyness and scarcity mindsets to one in which nonprofit organizations have the time to think and plan — and even dream. The Smart Nonprofit offers a roadmap for the once-in-a-generation opportunity to remake work and accelerate positive social change. It comes from understanding how to use smart tech strategically, ethically and well. Smart tech does rote tasks like filling out expense reports and identifying prospective donors. However, it is also beginning to do very human things like screening applicants for jobs and social services, while paying forward historic biases. Beth Kanter and Allison Fine elegantly outline the ways smart nonprofits must stay human-centered and root out embedded bias in order to success at the compassionate and creative work that only humans can and should do.