Our Members Are Winners!

Ellen: Cindy, how do you describe what GrantStation is, or why Membership is such a crucial tool for successful nonprofit organizations?

This is why I pose this question - even though I’ve had almost a decade here at GrantStation. When asked, my family still can’t describe GS Membership in 30 seconds or less. Now, it could be that they know too much about GrantStation, and share my enthusiasm for Membership, but I am guessing that they need a short, pithy answer.

Cindy: Let me start with the pithy answer: GrantStation helps organizations find the funds they need to do their good work.

Now let me share with you a longer, perhaps more thoughtful, answer to your question: Why is Membership in GrantStation crucial for successful nonprofits?

I originally developed our most popular database, the U.S. Charitable database, as part of another company called the Alaska Funding Exchange. And I did it for a specific reason – the same reason that many of us end up developing our own spreadsheet for a program or project. I was tired of spending countless hours doing research, re-reading information I’d read before, and continually trying to build profiles on potential grantmakers via a word doc! It was a prime example of that well-known definition of insanity which is “doing the same things over and over and expecting different outcomes.” And believe me, there were times when I felt like I was heading off the rails! It was tedious, mind-numbing work, which seldom produced a new and exciting potential funder.

So, I developed this database primarily as a tool for myself, and then shortly afterwards realized the information in the database was priceless, so I flushed out the content, with the help of my lead researcher, Julie Kaufman, who is even more priceless then the database itself! The idea was to share this information with as many folks as I could – hence the mission of GrantStation, which is to level the playing field for all organizations.

Ellen: As you know, I tend to go to numbers and statistics when I try to define a concept or service. Often, I get those statistics from the State of Grantseeking Survey. One thing that was very apparent in the survey results was this: GrantStation Members are more effective grantseekers.

For example, check out these key points contrasting the grantseeking experiences of GS Members vs. all respondents to the survey:

• Forty-five percent of GrantStation Members reported total awards of $100,000 or more, compared to 38% of all respondents.
• The median award total for GrantStation Members was $68,900, compared to $44,100 for all respondents.
• The median largest award for GS Members was $50,000, compared to $35,000 for all respondents.
• The median largest award from government funders (an aggregate of local, state, and federal government) was $153, 975 for GS Members, compared to $125,000 for all respondents.

Cindy: While I am incredibly pleased with these numbers Ellen, I am not surprised. My own success rate went way up once we’d fully developed that first database. Obviously, a key to winning grant awards is to identify the most appropriate grantmaker for a given program or project. That’s what we pride ourselves in doing – providing up-to-date, quality information on grantmakers so the person doing research is focused on the right grantmakers, hence their higher success rate.

Ellen: I really believe that initial or continued investment in tools to help organizational growth, such as Membership in GrantStation, are core actions among successful organizations.

Cindy: I couldn’t agree more. But everyone needs to be selective – just subscribe to those tools and resources that truly help you move forward in your fundraising efforts. For example, there are a number of free (or relatively free) tools you can utilize, such as Excel to help you manage your grantseeking efforts. And, I believe, there are also reports within QuickBooks to help you generate reports around your grantseeking efforts. I just caution folks to be very clear about their needs as they select these tools. Obviously, we’ve built GrantStation’s databases (U.S. Charitable, Canadian, and International) based on what specific knowledge you need to do a successful search for potential funders. I also think that our tutorials and sample winning proposals are quite helpful whether you’re just beginning to write proposals, or whether you are a professional.

Ellen: One last note for our readers! At GrantStation we help you to keep your organization financially healthy through assistance in developing a strong grantseeking strategy. Member Benefits provide the tools for you to find new grant sources, build a strong grantseeking program, and write winning grant proposals.

Cindy: I’d like to wrap things up with our mission statement; it speaks to the concept of “leveling the playing field.”

GrantStation’s mission: We are dedicated to creating a civil society by assisting the nonprofit sector in its quest to build healthy and effective communities.