Scaffolding Grants

Introduction

Grant funding can be an extraordinarily complicated process. Some grant writers and non profit leaders perceive that all grants must be a new program without other funding inputs. A strategy to cultivating a healthy grant making strategy is to scaffold grants when possible. This process includes identifying multiple funders for the same or similar project and particularly when a funders maximumum award is not enough to support the entire program.

Types of Scaffolding Grants

A sophisticated grant writing strategy includes targeting a host of funders. In many cases, corporate entities provide funds for non profits around certain mission areas. These are typically smaller grants on the order of $20,000 to $50,000. Because of the smaller amount, it may be necessary to scaffold a couple of these together to address pieces of a program instead of the entire program. In some cases, the funders may fund equipment but not operations and then you can target the specific items you need to help with the program, but consider other funders for other aspects of the funding. Make sure that this is transparent to the funder so that they do not get the impression that they are the lone funder. It is also important to have 3 or more funders in mind for a specific program and that way if one is not awarded the organization still has the funds available to operate the program.

It is important to note that some federal grants may specifically decline to fund projects that are scaffolded. In these cases, it may be more important to consider collaborators and particularly if the organization has not sought or been awarded a federal grant in the past. Partners make grant awards more plausible in many respects.

Benefits of Scaffolding Grants

Scaffolding allows the organization to focus less on the program to be funded and more on the components of the program that are more important and more aligned with the funder. Focus is an important aspect of grant making as being too broad can turn funders away. Scaffolding of multiple sources of funds can make sure to address multiple components of a program or continue funding into the future. It can depend on the type of program being funded. Many corporate funders have quarterly funding windows. This allows for multiple submissions, if needed. Creating a good grants calendar that is mapped to the strategy of cascading funding for specific programs is important. Some funders may help with operaitonal expenses and this may give some flexibility to address the needed funding.

Tips for Writing Scaffolding Grants

Develop a target list of funders from an array of corporate, local, and other foundations. Make sure to highlight key words in the funders announcement and alignment with the mission of the funder and the mission of the organization to be funded. Be transparent about the use of mutliple funding sources. This is often asked in grant application questions. There are funders that have deadlines for their funds each month. Make sure to consider different application dates and times so that these do not coincide too much. This does not mean that they won’t be awarded at the same or similar timeframe, but it could help in meeting multiple grant application deadlines in too tight of a window.

Conclusion

Scaffolding of grants is an important strategy to consider depending on the type of funder. It is important to plan this out in advance both with a calendar of grants in a given period of time and the strategy around which program.