Technology Grantmaking Toolkit: Practical tools for technology
grantmaking in Canada's voluntary sector
7. Tips for smart technology grant seeking ... and making
Objective: Provide grantseekers
and grantmakers with tips to guide the process of dealing with
technology grants.
As outlined previously in this toolkit, using technology effectively
is mostly about thinking strategically and investing a bit of
time in planning. Seeking – and making – grants for
technology should just be an extension of these same principles.
The following is a list of tips intended to guide grantseekers
and grantmakers as they think through technology funding issues.
Funding technology basics
Basic technology infrastructure is now a 'must have' in the voluntary
sector. The following tips speak to how to handle funding for
tech basics:
| |
Grantseekers |
Grantmakers |
| Technology
plans |
Prepare
a technology plan, and update it regularly. This will show
funders that you know what you are doing and will back up
your budget requests. |
Ask to see an organizations tech plan to ensure they have
basic tech capacity in place. If an organization doesn't have
a plan, point organizations to planning resources like this
guide. |
| Computers
and Internet access |
Include
computers and Internet access in all project budgets, just
as you would with other overhead like office space and telephones.
Use TCO to come up with comprehensive and justifiable numbers
for your tech costs |
Accept
that technology is a cost of doing business. Fund technology
line items using the same rules you use to fund other kinds
of overhead. If your funding policies treat computers as capital
expenses, change your policies. Computers are an operating
expense incurred by all modern not-for-profit organizations.
|
| Upgrades
and training |
As
above, use TCO and ask for tech in all your grant requests.
TCO should include your training and upgrade costs. |
| Web
sites |
Tie
major web site upgrades and campaigns to your broader strategic
plan ... and then include web site costs in funding proposals
related to the strategic projects or programs that your organization
is undertaking. |
Look
to see how web investments are tied to other project or program
goals that you are funding. If there is a link, treat the
web site costs like any other cost related to delivering a
project or program. |
Funding strategic technology projects
Voluntary organizations have the opportunity to use technology
strategically to enhance and extend their ability to serve their
communities. The following tips are intended to help voluntary
organizations and funders think through funding for strategic
technology projects.
| |
Grantseekers |
Grantmakers |
| Think
community, not technology |
Strategic
technology projects are focused on providing a service to
your community – the technology is just a means to an
end. Make sure that the community service is the focus of
your project proposal. |
Watch out for 'tech for the sake of tech' projects. Encourage
grantees to spend most of their effort describing the community
service they plan to offer, with only minimal effort going
into describing the tech they will use. |
| Define
clear needs and objectives |
As
with any kind of project, you should include clear information
about the community needs you plan to address and the objectives
that you plan to meet through your projects. Then, link these
needs and objectives to the technology you plan to use. |
A technology project is just like any other – it needs
to be grounded in concrete community needs and framed in terms
of tangible, measurable objectives. If you don't see the link
between the needs and objectives outlined and the technology
proposed, ask the grantee to make the link clearer. |
| Don't
limit yourself to 'technology grants' |
Don't limit yourself to 'technology grants' when looking to
fund a project with a significant strategic technology component.
Funders should be willing to fund technology through their
other programs as long as the community benefit you are providing
fits their program guidelines. |
Be
open to funding technology projects in all of your program
areas. The main test should be whether the project objectives
match up with your program focus and criteria. |
Application Processes
As technology becomes more accessible (and pervasive) for grantmakers
and grantseekers alike, many funders are moving to online application
processes. There are upsides and downsides to this trend, as discussed
in the following article. One of the upsides is that grantseekers
can cut and paste boilerplates they might already have, directly
into grant applications, rather than the time-consuming task of
rewriting for each new application. Electronic submission also
cuts down on costs, like the expense of couriering a grant application
to meet a deadline.
A downside is that online applications, because of their ease
and speed, may invite otherwise non-qualified applicants to simply
email in an application, without considering the "fit"
with the grantmakers objectives. Just as happens with inexperienced
grantseekers deluging grantmakers with boilerplate hardcopy applications,
online application processes may increase the workload for grantmakers,
resulting in long processing times or the need for more grantmakers
to request "letters of inquiry" or invited applications
only.
The caution then to grantseekers who are set up to use online
application processes: for the benefit of all, make sure you fit
the grantmakers eligibility requirements before you submit an
online application. Enjoy the advantages that online application
processes can bring, without allowing their ease to encourage
you to lose sight of the overall goal of the grant writing process:
to produce relevant, tightly-focused strategic technology grant
applications that encourage grantmakers to fund your work.
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