Could This Be Your Passport To Nonprofit Clients?

“If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”
– Bob Hope, American comedian

In This Issue:

Editor’s Note: Well, twelve weeks of recovery and rehabilitation began for me this week. So far, so good. Thanks so much for the many kind notes you’ve sent along – they have been very encouraging and inspiring. I’m looking forward to resuming my usual issues next week – but am grateful that CP reader and expert grantwriter Bruce Ripley was willing to step in with a guest essay this week. I have done a bit of grantwriting myself and agree with Bruce wholeheartedly – it’s a much-needed service that can be very rewarding for the writer as well as the organization. Read on to learn more…

Could This Be Your Passport To Nonprofit Clients?
by Bruce Ripley

If you’re looking for nonprofit clients, you may get offered a chance to write a grant proposal rather than a direct mail letter at first. I hope you don’t make the same mistake I almost did.

When I was offered a grantwriting job by my nonprofit employer in 1999, I almost turned it down. I knew nothing about this sort of writing – except that it required a fair amount of math, and sounded like a crashing snore.

Turns out, taking the job was the best decision of my career. And if you accept the same type of assignment, I believe you’ll feel the same way. Why?

For starters, grantwriting can pay well. One of the best-known grant consultants in the U.S. commands more than $200 an hour. Established freelance grantwriters in my neck of the Ohio River Valley charge up to $95 per hour. With more nonprofits scrambling for the same pots of money, competition for government and foundation grants is fierce. So nonprofits desperately need grantwriters who can raise money for their current and planned activities.

It’s surprisingly easy to break into grantwriting. I landed my job with no experience and no English or journalism degree, and I did little marketing to get the freelance clients I’ve had so far. Plus, a lot of people dismiss grantwriting as too boring or intimidating…which means fewer competitors for you.

Performing well with grantwriting assignments can lead to other types of work. By telling prospective clients that grant proposals I’ve written or edited have raised $7.3 million, I’m giving them a solid reason to consider me for fundraising letters, award nominations, and just about anything else they need.

Grantwriting is an acquired taste in some ways. Despite being the offspring of a math teacher and engineer, the budget sections of grant proposals daunted me for a few years. And government applications in particular can be tedious at times.

However, grantwriting shares more similarities with direct mail copywriting than you might think. You need to turbocharge your proposal with “The Four U’s” described in AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting…establish the organization’s credibility…and generally show your prospect why she should care about your proposal more than the dozens – or hundreds – of others flooding her foundation’s mailbox.

To get clients, one of the best places to network is your local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (www.afpnet.org). Although they don’t have as many chapters, the American Association of Grants Professionals (www.grantprofessionals.org) may be worth your time as well. If you need samples, write a short proposal on a pro bono basis for your favorite charity.

A word of caution…nothing will ruin your reputation faster than agreeing to work on a contingency basis (i.e., you get paid only if the proposal is successful). The practice is considered unethical by the associations mentioned above. You also run a very high risk of not getting paid. Go to Vegas if you want to play the odds. For grantwriting, stick to an hourly rate or flat fee.

To learn about grantwriting from seasoned pros, I recommend Writing for a Good Cause by Joseph Barbato and Danielle Furlich and the “Grants and Foundations Review” link on CharityChannel’s website (www.charitychannel.com). You may also want to check out The Grantsmanship Center’s website (www.tgci.com) for a list of grantwriting workshops near you.

Like the fundraising market in general, grantwriting’s greatest rewards come from helping others less fortunate than you. Or from helping to sustain historic or cultural treasures. If you take time to learn about grantwriting and the nonprofit world, you’ll get paid in more ways than one.

Resource Referral: Doing Good Work

What if your sales copy did more than just earn you a six-figure income?

Imagine how you’d feel if it also helped 3 million people in 29 countries get access to clean drinking water…

… or provided safe, secure housing for 5,400 families in the U.S.
… or protected 160,000 acres of timberland in Tennessee and Oregon
… or put 23 new computers in the elementary school down the street …

Click here to find out about this extremely profitable and fulfilling market.

Quick Copy Tip: What You Can Learn From Doing Nothing

I once had to visit a corporate shrink. There was nothing wrong with me, per se. But I was on the management team of my company, and all managers were asked to sit down with this guy for a half hour “assessment.” In about 10 minutes he slapped a label on me. He said I was an obsessive-compulsive doer.

I won’t repeat the label I gave him under my breath on my way out the door.

Years later – as I’m lying in bed recuperating from surgery, attempting to keep my foot elevated above the level of my heart and still maintain some productivity…I’m thinking that (bleep) might have had a point.

For some of us, it’s next to impossible to slow down. Even when our bodies aren’t racing, our minds are. And yet, as I force myself to sit quietly, I notice more creative thoughts crossing my mind. More ideas opening up to me than usual. And strangely enough…I feel happier and more content.

Granted, it could be the pain killers…but I think I’m on to something here…

I think there is more value to doing nothing than most of us realize. And since I have no choice but to explore this topic for the next 12 weeks…I’ll keep you posted on what I discover!