Why is there a need to hire a Professional Writer or a Specialist to write proposals?
Can I hire a grant writer for a percentage of the grants awarded?
Can I apply for grants if I don't have 501(c)(3) status yet?
My organization is in the planning stages. Can I get a grant to help start it?
What percentage of grants are you awarded?
You are not located in my city/state/country, can you still help me?
Is there really Free Cash Grants for Anything and does the Government give away millions for free?
How long does it take before we receive the funding?
How long does it take to write a grant?
Why are written material and an evaluation process important when our program is strong and successful?
Does Mountain View Resourcing have a special relationship with funders?

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Why is there a need to hire a Professional Writer or a Specialist to write proposals?
Acquiring funds requires hard work and a lot of time. There are many factors to consider in order to be given support — and there's a great need to get the attention of the funding organizations over other hopefuls. Grantwriters are trained and skilled to convert your ideas into effectively written proposals. Another benefit to contracting with a professional is that you benefit from their expertise but cut down on overhead costs.

Can I hire a grant writer for a percentage of the grants awarded?

The answer, simply, is no. Commissions are considered unethical by almost all professional organizations and funders. Grant makers frown upon contingency fees, and many will not fund your organization if they find out you pay consultants on this basis. Funders seldom allow a grant writer's fee to be included in the program budget.

Can I apply for grants if I don't have 501(c)(3) status yet?

While there are rare exceptions, to be eligible for the vast majority of grants, you must have a 501(c)(3) letter. Following the submission of an application, it takes the IRS up to six months to issue a determination letter of tax exemption under Section 501(c) of the tax code. There is no point in conducting grant source research or submitting proposals until you either have the letter of determination in hand or are within a month or two of receiving it.

My organization is in the planning stages. Can I get a grant to help start it?

Applying for and receiving grants for start-ups are difficult. Funders generally want to see a successful track record of your organization. Other fundraising efforts are usually more profitable to get your organization started and allowing you to pursue grants down the road.

What percentage of grants are you awarded?

Mountain View Resourcing does not attempt to calculate a percentage of grants funded for several reasons. First, we work for all kinds of public and nonprofit agencies, large and small, old and new. This means that some have strong track records with funders, while others are attempting to enter new service areas. It is also very hard to predict success because of changing economic conditions and increasing competitiveness for shrinking dollars. Success can depend on the quality of the program itself and the quality of relationships the organization has already developed with funders.

We do not screen clients for their funding "potential." Rather, we generally accept any assignment, provided that we have the capacity to meet the deadline and the applicant appears to be eligible. Over time, you should achieve a 25% - 50% success rate. If less than 25% of your proposals are being funded, there is probably something wrong (e.g., incomplete application packages, ineligible applicant, poorly developed program, etc.). If more than 50% of your grants are being funded, you probably are not stretching the envelope far enough by trying to get grants to extend your agency's service capabilities.

You are not located in my city/state/country, can you still help me?

We work with clients all over the nation and in other countries. Through our memberships with funder databases, we have access to local/national/global funders no matter where you operate. With today's technology, most if not all, of our working relationship can be conducted over the phone, through teleconferences, e-mail, faxes, and the internet. If a longer working relationship is established in the form of a contract and a personal meeting is necessary, travel arrangements can be made.

Is there really Free Cash Grants for Anything and does the Government give away millions for free?

There are many gimmicks out there claiming the above is true, but it isn't. Many of these advertisements make a lot of money misleading and repackaging ambiguous information that is published freely to the public by the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (www.cfda.gov), Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) other grant making organizations on the web, and a good public library. More often than not, any money that is available has many limitations. Not just anyone can apply for money to fix their roof or any other personal pursuit.

How long does it take before we receive the funding?

Never assume that you could have the funds as soon as the proposal is approved. Funding organizations follow a process for releasing funds can often take several months.

How long does it take to write a grant?

There is no standard answer to this question. Typically, firms spend anywhere from three to four weeks preparing a government proposal, excluding any advance preparation time and one to two weeks writing a proposal for a private funder. In many instances, short proposals can take as much time to prepare as long proposals, so length of the proposal or the government's page limitations is not always a factor. Here are some of the key questions to help discern how long it will take:

Do you have experience in doing the type of work called for in the RFP?

Have you prepared and submitted Government/Private proposals in the past?

If so, were they successful? If not, why not?

Have you read the entire RFP, including the scope-of-work, instructions, and evaluation criteria?

Do you have any written materials available about your company and/or your products or services?

Do you have anyone on staff that has time and would be available to assist in the preparation of the technical proposal?

In other words, it is a much longer process up front to help develop strong program components, gather quantifying data indicating the success of the program and compile all the information and language from scratch to meet the specific questions asked for by the funder. Subsequent proposals do not take as long.

Why are written material and an evaluation process important when our program is strong and successful?

No matter the success or size of the program, unfortunately, the funder doesn't know how worthwhile your program is in order to support it. If you have a good program, you will have to provide detailed information to the potential funder proving its strength. Evaluating your program from season to season or year to year will also demonstrate statistically how successful your program is. To determine if your program really is complete and valuable, funders will ask many detailed questions that will have to be answered thoroughly for them to grant an award.

Does Mountain View Resourcing have a special relationship with funders?

We do not have any special relationships with funders and never attempt to influence funding decisions through lobbying efforts. Funders typically do not know about our involvement and we are transparent in the proposal development process. Our goal is to prepare high quality, technically correct proposals, enabling our clients to be considered for funding.

We do, however, have appropriate connections to a network of funders through memberships and software allowing a thorough search to be conducted matching up a program with all likeminded funders.