A Primer for Pre- and Publish-Award Grant Readiness

Within the final 5 years, nonprofits have witnessed a major upswing within the availability of federal funding. Initiatives just like the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and different pass-through funding to states and native governments have spurred a surge in nonprofits looking for federal funding.

This pattern just isn’t restricted to a particular measurement or expertise degree of nonprofits, as each giant and small, skilled and new, are venturing into these funding alternatives. Nevertheless, many organizations are unprepared for the multitude of rules and necessities related to managing federally funded packages.

Perceive Your Group’s Capability

Your group ought to think about these 4 parts earlier than making use of for any grant, particularly these related to federal {dollars}.

• Threat Evaluation – what might threaten the mission or the group?
• Capability and/or Partnership – what can the group deal with internally? What wants are lacking? Who is perhaps an appropriate accomplice to help the mission?
• Program Evaluation – what’s going to occur to this system to accommodate the expansion?
• Sustainability – what must be inbuilt now for long-term success? How will this system proceed after the grant concludes?

Spend a while pondering via your threat evaluation, as a result of it might present up in a number of components of your group. When assessing organizational threat, there are 5 particular areas to think about earlier than making use of for funding.

1. Monetary: this threat might end in a unfavorable monetary affect on the group, reminiscent of waste of sources or lack of property.
2. Operational: this threat might forestall the group from working in the simplest and environment friendly method or be disruptive to different operations.
3. Regulatory/Compliance: this threat might expose the group to fines and penalties from a regulatory company because of non-compliance with legal guidelines and rules.
4. Reputational: this threat might expose the group to unfavorable publicity. Assume, “What if my group’s title confirmed up in a narrative within the Washington Publish about this?”
5. Strategic: this threat might forestall a company from engaging in its targets or assembly its targets.

Along with threat, federal authorities companies are asking candidates/recipients to show their capability to handle federal grants via a sturdy inside controls coverage and procedures handbook (generally in the course of the pre-award stage) that outlines how organizations will likely be good stewards of presidency funding. That is the important thing to threat avoidance and mitigation.

Use the RBW Technique Threat Evaluation Questionnaire for Authorities Grants to information particular concerns on executing a federal grant award, together with subrecipient monitoring, monetary integrity, and recipient oversight capability.

Assessment the Funding Alternative Announcement Rigorously

Once you begin the appliance course of, evaluate the announcement fastidiously for programmatic necessities reminiscent of analysis, organizational construction, planning, and outreach. Use a proactive lens in direction of the post-award section and perceive if modifications are wanted from a programmatic, monetary, and operations vantage.

Earlier than agreeing to tackle federal funding, your group ought to completely perceive the monetary implications, together with how funds will must be tracked, how employees and contractor effort and time will must be recorded, what program prices are allowable, and the way they are going to be communicated and tracked with program employees and finance employees. From an operations perspective, how will reporting expectations affect present operations, and who’s concerned in managing the assorted administrative necessities?

Assemble Key Stakeholders

Carry the next stakeholders collectively within the software stage to know, focus on, and contribute to this system growth. This collaboration is not going to solely make the appliance stronger, however it is usually more likely that the group will likely be ready to execute this system as deliberate and supply the long-term administration and oversight required of huge multi-year awards. These key stakeholders embody:

• Growth employees or these concerned in fundraising or grant-seeking efforts
• Program employees or those that are conducting this system for which funding is requested
• Undertaking Oversight employees such because the Principal Investigator or different mission administration function
• Monetary employees answerable for price range creation and accessing and controlling related monetary documentation
• Organizational Management who has the authority to signal and commit the group
• High quality Assurance staff members, Topic Matter Consultants, and/or Program Evaluators as relevant

Replace Insurance policies and Procedures

The group receiving federal funding will likely be impacted not simply from the inflow of {dollars} but additionally within the areas of insurance policies (new ones could also be wanted and present ones up to date to satisfy requirements), infrastructure (packages, techniques, instruments, and coaching might must be up to date), administration (recordkeeping, monitoring, reporting might all must be developed, revised, or applied otherwise), and single audit preparation (for organizations expending greater than $750,000 in federal funds in a single yr).

Guarantee Program Sustainability

With a give attention to the grant administration, it may be straightforward to lose sight of how this system will proceed. Apart from looking for out extra funding (renewal, and new non-public and public sources), there are some choices internally to assist maintain this system. Some concerns are:

1. If this program is crucial, can a few of it’s absorbed with basic working help?
2. In case you are leveraging exterior companions, is there a vested curiosity in persevering with this program as a collective? In that case, can there be shared monetary funding?
3. From a public relations perspective, how are you utilizing social media, electronic mail campaigns, and different digital and print advertising and marketing sources to share the optimistic impacts of this system?

There are different sustainability measures, however these replicate some methods to keep up the nice work that’s happening via the federal award.

Keep away from These Widespread Pitfalls

Listed here are a couple of widespread errors that organizations new to federal grant funding usually make.

• Missing techniques and processes, together with monetary (coding to observe grant {dollars} to program price range), administrative (time monitoring, measuring targets that aren’t the identical as what was listed within the software, reporting deadlines), or programmatic (onboarding time for grant particular employees, lack of promoting/outreach to achieve consumption numbers dedicated to).
• Poor change administration infrastructure, together with a breakdown of staff communications because of turnover or incomplete coaching (doc every thing to arrange upfront for the inevitable change in personnel at some degree of this system), program modifications required because of facility closures or supply methodology modifications that occur on the program supply degree however aren’t communicated to the complete grant staff for broader affect inspection, and unmet expectations reminiscent of delayed info from employees or lacking accomplice work plans.
• Lack of entry, such because the Grants.gov AOR is on trip when the grant is due, or the Two Issue Authorization code pings somebody’s cellphone which is not with the group. It may additionally be new tools put in as a part of the grant doesn’t embody coaching for all concerned events or the drivers essential to run the tools aren’t added to employees computer systems. Work stoppages in a tangential trade or a shared facility cross-scheduling when this system is about to occur are just some of the potential challenges lack of entry can create.

Create a Plan of Motion to Handle the Grant Publish-Award

Federal funds are a robust device to make a major affect locally and amongst these your group serves. It may be a catalyst for additional funding at a degree in any other case unattainable. There are rules and necessities essential to keep up the move of public {dollars} and public belief in your group. However with correct planning and preparation, your group can handle federal funds, conduct federally supported programming, and create a unprecedented affect in your communities, and on the world.

Need extra info on making a plan of motion on your group to handle your federal grants? Take a look at the webinar I Signed Up for What? A Primer for Pre- and Publish-Award Grant Readiness.

Becky Jascoviak of RBW Technique helped with this text