I hosted several grant writing workshops recently and to the dismay of many attendees I stressed the importance of starting with ‘why’. A concept developed by author Simon Sinek.

When you start with ‘why’ you identify a need in the community that you or your organization can fill with the skills and abilities you currently have.

 However, a common approach non-profits and charitable organizations take is to find an available grant and cater programming and services to meet grant requirements.

It never seems to work well.

The organization’s vision and mission become distorted. The program is often poorly developed. The implementation is weak. Everything gets messy. Mostly because no one thought through the process or if there was even a need for the program.

I have been there.

 In my last position I applied for a grant that would help students become entrepreneurs. At the time, my job was to run programming that supported high school students in various post-secondary pathways. Entrepreneurship seemed like a great idea. It is a potential post-secondary pathway, right?

 Except at the time, I knew nothing about entrepreneurship.

 I didn’t know how to train students in launching a start-up. I also didn’t know if there was a need or interest in entrepreneurship in our student community. All I knew was that it was an opportunity, and I took it.

 As it turned out, there was not a lot of interest in entrepreneurship.

 We took whomever applied and many dropped out along the way. We did not meet our expected targets.

 I luckily formed a partnership in the community who helped me plan and deliver the student training. I learned along the way, but I did not have the skillset to be of much help.

 It turned out ok, but only ok.

 I was disappointed in myself. My academic training is in program implementation and the program, from my perspective, was not implemented well. I should have known better.

 Had I stopped at the beginning and asked myself ‘why’ I wanted to run the program or asked myself if I had the skills and ability to run the program well, I would have either investigated the topic much more deeply or stopped the process then and there.

 Either way, the program wouldn’t have been launched.

 Starting with ‘why’ would have steered me in the right direction.

 I learned the hard way, but I haven’t made that mistake again.

 As you begin your grant writing process, I encourage you to work from the inside out. Start with why. Search for a grant that aligns with your community’s needs and your organization’s mission. It takes a little searching, and perhaps a little patience. But it will work out.

 If you need support through this process, please reach out. We offer free 30-minute consultations. This could make all the difference in your grant writing success.