Stacey Abate, who has raised over $60 million in grants from all types of foundations and government agencies and now teaches a grant-writing course at Rutgers University, says nonprofits need to be strategic and targeted if they want to be successful in securing grants.
The adage about throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks doesn’t apply in the world of grants, where competition is fierce, Abate told members of NJBIA’s Not-for-Profit Council at its April 20 meeting. A nonprofit must align grant applications with foundations most likely to support them.
“When somebody tells you what they want they want to fund, believe them,” Abate said. “Yes, I understand that the Bank of America has a lot of money, but they’re pretty clear that they want it to go toward housing and veterans so that’s not really worth our time to submit a healthcare proposal to them. Don’t waste your time trying to talk them into funding something that is clearly not what they have stated they want to fund.”
To learn more about how to find and obtain both private and government grants, watch the meeting recording here.
