Help needed! Org leadership doesn't understand grants
Grant pros, I need your advice on a tricky situation at work. Long post warning - I promise I’ve tried to make it as short as possible!
Quick background: I'm a certified grant writer, which I know doesn't mean a lot, but it's the fastest way to say I have some experience. For reference, I know a fair amount about grants, but not enough to feel comfortable leading strategy or a team. (I'd still benefit from continued learning under a seasoned professional!) Last year I served as a Grant Operations Coordinator for a nonprofit consultant. It was a great learning experience, but I mostly provided project support. Professionally, I've written only two proposals.
During that role (and after a very stressful freelance grant project), I realized I enjoy the research and operational side, like coordinating applications and post-award work, but struggle with strategy and proposal development. So I decided to move away from the grant focus and toward development coordinator roles instead.
The situation: Earlier this year, I was hired part-time as a Development Assistant at a relatively new nonprofit. Grant writing support was in the job description, and I was fine with that as long as it wasn't my primary function and stayed on the coordination + research side. I’ve been repeatedly clear about that from the start, and leadership was fine with the arrangement.
The catch: I'm the only person on staff with any grant experience (I didn't fully realize this before joining). The ED and Development Director have virtually none. And I really mean that: they don't understand the grant process or what even goes into developing a proposal. I don't say that to knock them. I enjoy working with them both, and they have such a heart for what they do. But I think the ED believes applications are about as simple as filling out a form and submitting it. Bam! Money received.
That said, he's ready to hit the ground running and believes the three of us can handle grants ourselves. I understand the idea in theory, and I know there are plenty of orgs where the ED or DD handles grants. But our team is inexperienced and short on capacity (I'm part-time and wear multiple hats). And based on how other projects have gone, I know who would end up carrying this, and I'm not qualified to be that person.
What I've tried:
- I recommended bringing in someone dedicated to grants. That was met with a no. (The DD has a donor who would likely cover at least part of the cost, but the ED doesn't see the need)
- I recommended scaling back to about three foundation applications (plus some corporate opportunities). Honestly, I’m not even comfortable with this plan, but was trying to find some sort of agreeable arrangement. The ED agreed, with the caveat that if we only apply for three, he expects us to win all three.
- The ED then asked fundraising colleagues for input. One said they complete 15 grants a month and bring in $250K a year, but they have a Development Director and a full-time grant writer. He somehow missed that distinction. (Also, even with a grant writer on staff, am I wrong in thinking that’s a ridiculous amount of grant apps?? I mean, a few well-targeted opportunities should be plenty, imo, but anyway...)
- A small local grant is coming up. I've told the DD and ED what I need from them, and I'm handling the coordination I agreed to, but very little has happened, and the deadline is close.
This brings me to my questions:
- Would you keep pushing for outside grant support, or step back and let leadership own the decision to do it in-house? In other words, do I let them fail?
- Would a middle option be worth proposing, like a few hours of consulting, a mentor, or a one-time training for the team? What has worked for you?
- How would you explain the need and ROI to a leader who doesn't see it? I’ve tried to explain how much goes into grants, but admittedly I’m not the best explainer, so all my efforts have fallen flat.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated! For this particular situation, I truly believe that for the org to be successful, they need to bring on a grant consultant in some capacity. However, I'm open to hearing that I'm looking at this the wrong way. I just want to support the organization without taking ownership of something I lack the experience, capacity, and desire to own.
If you’ve made it to this point without your eyes glazing over, thank you!!