Let\’s talk Data

Byadelaide@papermoonservices.com

It’s no secret, I love data. If you’ve worked with me, you probably have a detailed spreadsheet tracking your win rate and award rates for grants new and familiar; you likely have a stock pile of data points you don’t know what to do with. For me, this information is like a soft feather pillow that carries me off to dream land.

I’ve come to realize that this data looks about as welcoming as the entrance to a haunted house for most. Many Directors and Executives I’ve worked with have closed their eyes when I’ve pulled up statistics. I had one Executive Director tell me “I don’t want to know, because I’m scared of bad data.”

But here’s the secret: There is no bad data, only good data and helpful data.

grant success rates

The central question here is: do you track yours? I’ve been writing grants for a decade, I have NEVER encountered a development team who was tracking their success rate. Instead this is what I’ve heard:

  • “That’s a very complicated statistic, actually”

  • “Well, you win some you learn some”

  • “Industry standard is 30%, we’re probably around there”

  • “I haven’t tracked it per se, but it’s close to 90%”

All of these answers give me heart palpitations. These statistics are actually easy to track, but the real problem is if you’re not tracking, how are you forecasting?

The f-bomb: Forecasting

If data makes you uncomfortable, budgeting probably does too. As for forecasting? That’s budgeting plus data, you are likely in a world of pain.

How did you forecast this year? Last year’s grant revenue plus 20%? Maybe you just googled grants that were out there. If you’re not using your data, you might as well ask a magic 8 ball.

Your data & you

For the last 3 years, I have been able to predict grant revenue within 5% for my clients at the beginning of the fiscal year. This isn’t magic, it isn’t even that hard. It is about knowing your data, and having a real conversation with yourself about what that means.

I don’t care if your win rate is 1%, this number empowers us to predict revenue from grants you already know about, or understand how many new grants you need to find to achieve a set budget.

Data is empowerment, it is resilience.

If you wear a smart watch to improve your health, increase your daily steps, or decrease your resting heart rate, why aren’t you using data to improve how you do grants?

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