Making Friends With Funders

What grantmakers want every grantseeker to know before submitting a proposal!

Make no mistake about it: Grantseeking is a people-driven process. And the key to your success is the grantmakers themselves—the people who make the decisions about awards from corporate, foundation, and government sources.

But who are these people? How do we connect with them? And what do they want from you anyway?

Being a grantmaker isn't as easy as you might think. In this lively session, longtime grant pro and grantmaking program officer Maryn Boess pulls from her own grantmaking experience (and that of dozens of other private and public program officers, reviewers, and decision-makers) to give you a realistic, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to create funder relationships that are authentic, high-integrity, and that work for you.

We’ll pull back the curtain on the realities of life as a grantmaker—and what your proposal is really up against “on the other side.” You'll learn what grantmakers love, what makes them grumpy, and how you can be sure you're delivering what they really want, every time!

Come prepared for surprises, "ahas," and a whole lot of powerful take-aways you can put to work in your own grantseeking right away.

Your take-aways will include:

• know what grantmakers really want most of all—as organizations and as individuals;
  realize what it means to “think through the grantmaker’s eyes” and understand the reality of challenges that program officers and review teams face in their decision-making;
• understand the “Four Keys to Persuasive Proposals” and how each connects with the reader’s own personal sense of purpose;
• recognize how and why a proposal can make a good or bad first impression in just a few seconds;
• learn about the three Powerhouse Proposal Sections that must pull their own weight—and then some!—for your proposal to work; and,
• understand the principle of limited mental energy and how it applies to the choices we make in crafting our proposals!