The System is Stronger than your Desire for the Result
I’ve recently been recalling an old classmate who used to carry a ziplock of salt in his pocket. Throughout the day, he’d put his hand in his pocket, feel the baggie, taste a pinch of salt, and the salt would remind him that he was thirsty.
I had the same questions that you’re having, but here’s the thing: he stayed hydrated. He was meeting his goals, no matter how atypical his system was.
Historically, I have worked with clients who believe in their heart that they will have a successful grant program because they want one, that they will win this competitive grant because they believe in their mission, that their program expansion will occur because they will it to be so.
Wanting to win a grant is not a system. Applying for a grant because you like the funders “vibes” is not a system. Believing you will get funded because you “just know” the funder will see value in your vision is not a system. And a system will beat a desire every time.
Audit your Structures
Grant management is a game of strategic losses. Statistically, you’re going to lose more than you win. Have you ever looked at your losses strategically? Most of us hate looking our “mistakes” in the eye, but if you’re not auditing where things are going wrong, you can’t create the system that will work for you.
More is not the Answer
Volume for grants is not a system for revenue in the same way that chugging a gallon of water before bed is not a system for hydration. Submitting 20 more grants to “increase your odds” only works if you’re tracking what your odds are. No system, no success.
Building your system
Learn from your losses: every loss is an opportunity for a conversation, for feedback, and for understanding your system more. 50% of the time, funders will just tell you they simply received too many applications, but in instances where you can get real feedback it is truly incredible what you can learn.
Track your data: it is shocking how little I see this implemented. What are you most funded programs, and your least? What A/B testing has had the biggest impact on your win rates? How do you determine next year’s revenue? Your guesses are no good here, show me the data.
Pinpoint your pain point: is it sitting down and writing? budgets? data? calling funders? compliance? The more familiar and comfortable you become with your own weaknesses, the better you can build structures to support them instead of willing your way out of them.
At the end of the day, before I am a grant writer, I am a systems builder. When I first witnessed the pocket salt, I had no idea the impact it would have on my 20 years later.
