“Like and Subscribe” Won’t Win More Grants

I spent what should have been an introvert’s nightmare thoroughly enjoying myself and relearning what it takes to secure more grants. Amanda and I had a booth for the very first time ever to promote our training, keynoting, and podcasting business, HayDay Services, at the Grant Summit hosted by the Grant Professionals Association.

The opening reception was a blur of faces and voices, some familiar, some new. It was exhausting. But then came the many moments afterwards when I could ask people who they were, what they needed, and what was keeping them awake about grant seeking and grant management.

One by one, conversation by conversation, a picture emerged of people wanting to transform communities through grants, needing meaningful work, and striving to succeed in incredibly demanding times, often with bosses and boards that didn’t understand how grants worked, or with funders changing requirements, often in mid-proposal development.

These moments of connection aren’t only important for me during a busy conference. They are essential building blocks to grant seeking success.

It’s true that there are many grant making agencies that lock themselves away from grant seekers through opaque websites and security-fortified online portals. And unfortunately at the time of writing this post, most federal grant making agencies are literally shut down with no one able to answer questions.  But there are just as many, or not more, people who are on staff or boards of funding agencies that seek connections, and an understanding of your community’s strengths and challenges.

Grant-seeking shouldn’t have to feel like you’re in some popularity contest where the numbers of subscribers, followers, and likes determine what is worthy. Transformational change through grants is best supported by building relationships one on one.

It may start through an email, a phone call, a Zoom check-in, or a handshake at a reception. And for introverts like me, it may feel like the last thing you want to do. Breaking it down to one person at a time, one connection at a time, especially outside a stress-filled grant deadline cycle can be the key to ultimately winning more grants so that people can get the tools they need and deserve to thrive.