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So the question we're going to answer is, what is a grant? It's like, what is a grant? When we seek funding and we get our 501 and we're like, okay, I got my 501, I need to get grant funding because I heard there's a lot of grant money out there, and that if I get my 501, I can get free money. How many of you heard that there's such thing as free money? Well, I'm going to tell you, there's no such thing as free money and not a free grant. Okay, a grant is a conditional gift or a conveyance of funds with strings attached. So that means a grant is a conditional gift, there's conditions attached to the gift that you received. And a conveyance is for giving one person, giving one money to the other person, and there's strings attached to that money. Okay, that means that there is something that you have to do in exchange for the funding. You're required to use it in a certain way, the way that the funder wants you to use it. You are to perform some function, and most grants require you to prove that you perform that function in a satisfactory way. They may have you do a report. Many of them will have you do a report when you're finished, may have you do reports throughout the whole funding cycle. You may have to do a video, and they may even come out to your site to see that you spent the money in the manner that you say that you're going to spend the money in. Another thing that we think is like, okay, so I have a nonprofit status, I have an idea, this is what I'm going to do with my nonprofit, I need money for it, I'm gonna go and I'm gonna tell the funders this is what I wanna do. Well, one thing we have to realize is the funding source identifies the problem that they want to address. So the funders, the foundations, the federal government, whoever you're getting funding from, they already know what their mission is. They already know what their purpose is. They already know what they want to see achieved. They may wanna reduce homelessness, reduce drugs and alcohol, reduce crimes, gangs, whatever. They already have in their mind what they wanna do. What we do when we submit grants is we tell them how we're going to help them achieve their goals, their missions, which should align with our goals and our mission. But it's about them and what they want to achieve and what they want to see happen to their money. It's not us just going as nonprofits going and saying, hey, we have this idea, we want your money. Okay, so we may— we— the idea does originate with us, so we can come up to them with an idea, but our idea has to go in line with what they want to do. Okay, so we show them what we can do with the funding that we're going to request for them. Okay, so a grant is not all about your ideas, it's a plan. It's a plan on how you're going to help the funder reach their goals. So when seeking funding, it's important for you to know what the funder wants, and you must come up with a plan to not only get funding for your organization— it's just not about getting funding for your organization, organization, but you must have a concrete plan on how you're going to give the funders what they need. You see, grant writing, it's a win-win partnership. It's like you give a little, they give a little, they give you some, you take some, you guys work together, and it's a win-win plan, win-win partnership. And at the end, you're building your organization and you're meeting their missions and their goals as you're meeting yours. So it doesn't mean that your idea is not important. Your idea is very, very important, and your idea should probably align with the funders. But just remember, it's not only about what you want, it's about giving funders a plan on how your organization is the best organization to work with them for them to realize their goal. You have to show them why your plan is a great plan. You have no idea on how you'll meet the funders and your organization's need, right? So one thing you have to know, you think, okay, very creative. It's like, I need to get really creative on this. Because there's no funding that will turn a bad idea into a good one. You can have the worst idea and there's no amount of funding that you can throw at that idea if it's so bad, it's so horrible. And when you have really horrible, bad ideas, it's only because you haven't done the research ahead of time. You haven't nurtured it and found out how to turn this idea into something that is viable. But keep in mind, there are many ways to get a good idea funded. So if you have a good idea, there's so many ways to get it funded and there's so many different funding sources. You could take that one idea and have it funded by so many different funders, and you can do so many different things if your idea is so good. So when you're thinking about your plan, have a great idea. You wanna make sure your idea matches funding. So keep in mind, it takes a while to work out your plan. You may not have your full-out plan before you begin writing your grant. But as you're searching and learning more about the funder, you have to learn about the funder, what they want, and learning and searching more about your community and your target clients, your plan will begin to form. So until then, an idea is just something that exists in your mind. Your task is to present the idea and your plan in a fundable proposal. Okay, so you're going to take a vague idea and you're going to identify a specific problem or need associated with it. And you're gonna do your research, and you're gonna make sure that it aligns with the funder's goals. So your goal is to convince the funding source that you understand the need and can help them solve the problem. So remember, they've identified the problem, so you need to let them know, you know what, I understand the need. You need to know it more than they do. Sometimes their funder will know it more than you, and you show that you don't know. So before you approach them, you want to make sure that you're fully aware, because why would they give their your money to someone who does not even understand the problem. Just because you've been through it, okay, you've been through it. Just because you've seen it or you hear a lot about it on the TV or you know someone who knew someone who had a problem or you may have had a loved one or a child that has that problem, you understand the need, but to really, really understand it on a larger scale than just what's happened to us, you have to really get out there and be able to articulate it to the funder that I know what's going on in the community, I know there's a need, I know this is a problem, I know what age group. I know why the problem. I know all the demographics. I— so you really have to be able to let them know that you understand the need, because that's what they're looking for, someone who's going to take their money and they're going to help them solve the problem. So every time you write a grant proposal, whether it's for expanding an existing program, starting a new project, whether you're buying land, you're getting a vehicle, construction, or even general operating expenses, You, you have to demonstrate to the funder that their support will help move your organization toward fulfilling its mission. Okay, so your organization is important to the funder because they don't want to throw money at an organization and after one year you're going to sink, or you're going to close your doors, or it's not fulfilling your mission. So you have to demonstrate to them how their funding will support, help move your organization towards fulfilling its mission. Okay. So it's really important that you really are strong and concrete in what your mission is, and that your organization and your program and your services are in line with it, and also in line with the funding that you're asking for. Okay, funders are interested in supporting organizations that can show intentional movement towards substantial and sustainable change. So they want to make sure that you are going to be in existence for a long time, that you're going to make a substantial difference, difference, and the change is going to be over the long run. Okay, it's not like, let us just give you this money for one year, we're gonna touch it for one year and you're done. They want to know how you're going to sustain this change.

So if you got any information out of this video and you would like to know more about starting and building your nonprofit, go ahead and hit that subscribe button, and I'll be sure to get you more videos similar to this where I'm answering questions, where I'm taking you step by step, so different processes. And if you have a question, go ahead and ask the question in the comment section, and I'll get back to you, and I will answer your question. Thanks for doing what you're doing to make this world a little bit better. Nonprofits, we rock this world.

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