Shavonn Richardson's guest appearances

Shavonn Richardson

Fundraising Voices from RNL

The Small Nonprofit

Nneka Allen

Mazarine Treyz

Maryann Kerr

Tanya Rumble

Anne Connelly

Solomon Grey

Jason Lewis

Mike Kim

Amy Milne

Larry Johnson

Melissa Brown

Andrew Robinson

Doug Scott

Chris Conroy

David Callahan

OwlTail

Grant writing. It’s one of those things that every organization struggles with. Often grant writing seems like it’s a bad investment of time and effort - you put 100 out there, you hear 1 back. So how can nonprofits be more “grant-ready” and less overwhelmed with the process. On today’s podcast, CEO of Think and Ink Consulting, Shavonn Richardson, walks us through the key steps to prepare for a successful grant writing cycle. Myths that Shavonn wants us to walk away“Let’s start writing right away!”. Getting straight into the writing without doing any pre-work is not necessarily a sign of proactiveness when it comes to grant-writing. There are steps to set your organization’s grant strategy and writing up for success, See tips below.Shavonn’s tips on preparing your organization to be grant-readyBuilding relationships with funders. Do the research to find funders that are truly in alignment with your needs and values and have a conversation with them before applying if possible. This step will help you narrow down the list of prospects. Conduct a logic model exercise. What is the theory of change that your program has, and how are you going to deliver the impact you want to deliver? Articulating the logic model of your program will help you anticipate and answer so many grant questions that by the time you write, it will feel effortless. Establish measure of success and track metrics consistently. You don’t have to follow a grantor's definition of success, but you do need to establish your own measure of success and be able to track those metrics consistently. Regardless of which grant you’re applying, have these measures in place and develop the habit for tracking metrics now. Have a detailed program/project budget. Build out a program budget that has a very detailed, line-by-line program budget so that if the funder asks for a detailed budget, you already have it, and if they don’t, then you can simplify it. Train your board to take part in the process. The board needs to be involved in collaboration with the staff to come up with the strategic direction of programs, and they should be involved talking to funders when needed. Make sure your board understands their role and is supporting the staff.Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Really take the time and focus on quality over quantity and do the research to only select foundations that are really aligned with what you do. Not a stretch. Not outside of your current program. But are really aligned with what you do. And if you take the time to cultivate a relationship with that funder, you will go much further when you go to submit an application.”“A logic model will pull out all those juicy details that funders ask for. They will ask what are your smart outcomes? What are your short term, intermediate term, and long term objectives? What's your overall vision? What are your activities? How are you measuring them? One logic model can answer 500 questions that a funder would ask you.”Resources from this Episode The Good PartnershipConnect with Shavonn on LinkedinThink and Our friends and sponsors at Keela asked me to put together a guide of fundraising tips I wished every small nonprofit knew. Go ahead and download the guide here: https://www.keela.co/consultant/the-good-partnership (and don't forget that Keela offers our listeners 40% off their first year's subscription).

Grant writing. It’s one of those things that every organization struggles with. Often grant writing seems like it’s a bad investment of time and effort - you put 100 out there, you hear 1 back. So how can nonprofits be more “grant-ready” and less overwhelmed with the process. On today’s podcast, CEO of Think and Ink Consulting, Shavonn Richardson, walks us through the key steps to prepare for a successful grant writing cycle. Myths that Shavonn wants us to walk away<ol><li>“Let’s start writing right away!”. Getting straight into the writing without doing any pre-work is not necessarily a sign of proactiveness when it comes to grant-writing. There are steps to set your organization’s grant strategy and writing up for success, See tips below.</li></ol>Shavonn’s tips on preparing your organization to be grant-ready<ol><li>Building relationships with funders. Do the research to find funders that are truly in alignment with your needs and values and have a conversation with them before applying if possible. This step will help you narrow down the list of prospects. </li><li>Conduct a logic model exercise. What is the theory of change that your program has, and how are you going to deliver the impact you want to deliver? Articulating the logic model of your program will help you anticipate and answer so many grant questions that by the time you write, it will feel effortless. </li><li>Establish measure of success and track metrics consistently. You don’t have to follow a grantor's definition of success, but you do need to establish your own measure of success and be able to track those metrics consistently. Regardless of which grant you’re applying, have these measures in place and develop the habit for tracking metrics now. </li><li>Have a detailed program/project budget. Build out a program budget that has a very detailed, line-by-line program budget so that if the funder asks for a detailed budget, you already have it, and if they don’t, then you can simplify it. </li><li>Train your board to take part in the process. The board needs to be involved in collaboration with the staff to come up with the strategic direction of programs, and they should be involved talking to funders when needed. Make sure your board understands their role and is supporting the staff.</li></ol> Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Really take the time and focus on quality over quantity and do the research to only select foundations that are really aligned with what you do. Not a stretch. Not outside of your current program. But are really aligned with what you do. And if you take the time to cultivate a relationship with that funder, you will go much further when you go to submit an application.”“A logic model will pull out all those juicy details that funders ask for. They will ask what are your smart outcomes? What are your short term, intermediate term, and long term objectives? What's your overall vision? What are your activities? How are you measuring them? One logic model can answer 500 questions that a funder would ask you.”Resources from this Episode <a href="https://www.thegoodpartnership.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Good Partnership</a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shavonnrichardson/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Connect with Shavonn on Linkedin</a><a href="https://www.thinkandinkgrants.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Think and </a>Our friends and sponsors at Keela asked me to put together a guide of fundraising tips I wished every small nonprofit knew. Go ahead and download the guide here: <a href="https://www.keela.co/consultant/the-good-partnership" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.keela.co/consultant/the-good-partnership</a> (and don't forget that <a href="https://www.keela.co/consultant/the-good-partnership" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Keela</a> offers our listeners 40% off their first year's subscription).

beyond the boilerplate - grant writing that works with Shavonn Richardson

There's no doubt that applying for and getting grants is a key priority for your organization. Shavonn Richardson at Think and Ink Grant Consulting has made it her mission to help nonprofits, especially those who are serving diverse communities, to maximize their grant success. I got on the line with Shavonn to talk about the environment for grant seeking in 2021, how to get it right and succeed, and how these resources impact our crucial goals of equity, inclusion and social justice. Check out Think and Ink Grant Consulting online.

There's no doubt that applying for and getting grants is a key priority for your organization. Shavonn Richardson at <a href="https://www.thinkandinkgrants.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Think and Ink Grant Consulting</a> has made it her mission to help nonprofits, especially those who are serving diverse communities, to maximize their grant success. I got on the line with Shavonn to talk about the environment for grant seeking in 2021, how to get it right and succeed, and how these resources impact our crucial goals of equity, inclusion and social justice. Check out <a href="https://www.thinkandinkgrants.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Think and Ink Grant Consulting</a> online.

Diversity, social justice and your grant-seeking strategy - Shavonn Richardson