Grants are always an in demand commodity. Everyone loves the idea of being able to receive funds to further a mission or program without having to repay those funds. This eagerness is often taken advantage of by individuals and companies who range from slightly unethical to those who are blatantly dishonest and deceitful.

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Grant Information
By: McMillan Consulting
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Fall 2013: Version II
Blaire Borthayre & Augustus McMillan
Copyright 2013

2. Grants are always an in demand commodity. Everyone loves the idea of being able
to receive funds to further a mission or program without having to repay those
funds. This eagerness is often taken advantage of by individuals and companies
who range from slightly unethical to those who are blatantly dishonest and
ghtly
deceitful.
Here are some facts you need to know about grants:

97% of grants are awarded to nonprofits. No matter how many infomercials
you see about free money to start your business, pay your bills etc it’s just
bil
hyperbole to get you to purchase their books, seminars, classes etc.

You have to be in good standing. This is regardless of how many people you
have helped in the past or can help in the future. A foundation will not award
an organization that isn’t current on its taxes, 501(c)(3) status, proper
financials, boards, state requirements etc.

You have to be realistic. This means you shouldn’t apply for a $2M grant to
do something significant if you don’t have the capacity to fulfill that grant.
gra
Also your mission and program can’t be too grand. For example, don’t say
you’re going to eliminate teen pregnancy in unwed youths. Instead say and
show how you’re going to educate a particular number of youths and reduce
the pregnancy rate by a (reasonable) percentage in a specific area.
(reasonable)

DO NOT pay a consultant a percentage of the awarded grant. Foundations
will not fund a grant if they know that a percentage of the award is going to
a consultant. Any competent grant writer knows this. So that means th the
that
nonprofit applying for the grant and the consultant will have to conspire to
deceive the foundation. You and the consultant will have to be dishonest
when creating a budget explaining the use of awarded funds.

Any consultant that says they have a very high (80%+) award rate is
very
probably not being completely honest about something. Grants are about a
combination of a good nonprofit and mission, relationships and numbers.
Meaning 25 organizations may apply for one grant. No matter how well your
proposal is written the award may go to a nonprofit with a relationship with
l
the funder. Or there are other numerous reasons you or the consultant can’t
control that will stop you from getting the award.
These are some facts you need to know. We will be happy to share more insight.

3. Current Climate
Crackdown: A couple of years ago the I.R.S. revoked the status of tens of
thousands of nonprofits. If you’re running, or working with, a nonprofit make sure
that you’re in good standing. The last thing you want is to have spent a lot of time,
money, favors and other resources in vain. Foundations WILL either investigate, or
have you prove that you have your nonprofit status.
Economy Still A Factor: In 2013 the state of the economy is still a matter of
opinion. There are some who say the economy has been improving for a few years.
While others will say there hasn’t been a recovery.
Charitable giving is heavily impacted by the economy. Donations rose 0.9% in
2012. The total came in at an estimated $298.4B. "If we continue to grow at this
rate, it will take more than a decade to get back to where we were in total giving in
2007," said Patrick Rooney, executive director of the Indiana University Center on
Philanthropy, which compiles "Giving USA."
Public Pressure: Everyone is suspicious and skeptical now. As a result nonprofits
and foundations come under heavy scrutiny. Whether its airing on the local news,
magazine show specials, newspapers and their sites, social media sites or other
outlets stories of misuse and abuse circulate regularly. Because of this foundations
will look even harder at the nonprofits they fund. This means that nonprofits who
were borderline in the foundation’s eye’s and given the benefit of the doubt will now
be rejected.
Your proposals will have to show that you’ve done some prior work. Hopefully this
work has helped you win over those in the community you’re seeking to operate.
Your proposal will also have to convey efficiency and not be bloated.
More Competition: There are more nonprofits and other grant seeking entities
than ever before. While the number in the early 2000s was estimated at about
1.2M, there are now believed to be at least 1.5M nonprofits in the USA alone. Add
the number of those outside of the U.S. and businesses and individuals who are
fortunate enough to receive a grant and the pie is divided even smaller. As we
mentioned above that pie has already shrunk because of the current state of the
economy.
You can look at the increase of nonprofits as a good thing. Most nonprofits are
created to help. So the more successful nonprofits that exist the more good that’s
being done. Something else to hope for is that with more nonprofits being founded
an influx of new funds will come into the grant environment.

4. Grants For Businesses
As stated in the summary the vast majority of grants from foundations are awarded
to entities that weren’t founded for the purpose of making a profit. Unfortunately
there is ton of money spent to convince you otherwise.
This isn’t to say there are absolutely no grants for businesses. When it comes to
foundations, your best chance will be to find nonprofits who have a mission of
economic development. They most likely receive foundation grants. They will then
disburse the funds to those starting or developing a business.
Another source of business grants are contests. Usually business plan contests. But
there are other types such as messy office, product launches and others. Business
contests are mainly held by colleges, larger businesses, businesses associations
(such as chambers of commerces) and sometimes government entities like a city.
Grants For Individuals
Individuals seeking grants for themselves will have fewer even fewer options than
businesses do. Funders just aren’t in the business of giving money to individuals for
personal reasons. Again, there are plenty of companies and grant ‘professionals’
who make it their business to let us know about all of the free government money
available to individuals. Realistically it’s not as as much or as easy as they claim.
There are exceptions to individuals receiving grants. Of course one that many of us
can think of is scholarships. There are places to get money for school. Its not just
the government. Corporations may give to their employees and businesses and
other entities may offer money because they want/need to promote a certain
industry or degree type.
And while there are nowhere near as many as there are for nonprofits, grants are
available to persons who want to further a cause. Additionally people may have a
little luck getting foundation grants if their (visual) artists, doing scientific research
or another field where there’s a lot of interest.
Grants for home down payments are available. They’ll typically come from local
entities that have been created to spur economic development, home ownership,
community goodwill etc.
Crowdsourcing: There has been an explosion in “crowdfunding” sites popping up.
These are sites where individuals can explain their need for money and receive that
money from other individuals. Many of these sites don’t allow for profit ventures to
be funded on them. That means money goes to causes and missions similar to
those of nonprofits without having to be an actual nonprofit entity.

5. McMillan Consulting
McMillan Consulting has been providing services related to nonprofits including
1023 applications, financials (including tax preparation), grant search and proposal
writing since 2005.
Augustus McMillan is McMillan Consulting’s managing director and been running the
company since it was founded in 2003.
Kevin Troop is McMillan Consultant’s bookkeeper. He provides our clients with
budgeting and financial document preparation that will assist in grant proposals,
business plan, financial request by our clients and/or their partners and vendors. He
assists our nonprofit clients with creating grant budgets, operating budgets and
their monthly bookkeeping.
Blaire Borthayre is McMillan Consulting’s nonprofit director. She has worked in the
industry for over ten years. Ms. Borthayre has worked in several capacities in the
industry and for several types of entities.
Testimonials
"The grant funding Blaire won for us has been critical for our organization. We were
surprised and pleased at such a quick turn around with a strong grasp of our needs.
I highly recommend her services.” - Lana Millard
"Blaire has provided us with outstanding grant writing services for the past three
years. Thanks to her skills, we have won three out of four grants for which we
applied." -Julie Dillard
“You won’t find a more dedicated grant writing professional than Ms. Borthayre. We
have used her services to assist five of our non- profit clients and her success rate
has been astounding." -Philip Hocutt

6. Grant Awards
Here are some opportunities that were actually funded as a result of grant
proposals written by Ms. Borthayre.
Department of Mental Health (Women addiction & mental illness) $10,000
Johnston County (Child Abuse Prevention) $325,000
Department of Health & Human Services (Compassion Capital Fund) Parenting
Training ($50,000)
Cumberland County United Way (Teen Court Juvenile Justice Diversion) $170,000
U.S Department of Health & Human Services (Teen Pregnancy Prevention)
$250,000
CVS Caremark Community Giving (faith based non-profits hunger, homelessness,
immigrants) $2,750,000
--This grant was totally created by Ms. Borthayre didn’t respond to a RFP but
actually approached CVS because she knew what type of projects they funded
before. This grant was split among 5 nonprofits over a term of three years.
U.S Department of Education (Workforce Development) $55,000
Weingart Foundation (homelessness) $33,360
W.K Kellogg Foundation (Peer Mediation Training School system) $64,000

7. Hopefully this document has given you more insight into receiving grants. There are
over 100’000 funders of various sizes, serving various missions. They range from
foundations established just to do good works, to small entities created by wealthy
individuals to philanthropic arms of corporations. Government entities are also a
source of grants and funds.
Any reputable consultant including McMillan Consulting will not submit a proposal to
an entity that they truly believe will not get funded. It does not help McMillan
Consulting in the long run to submit proposals just to get a fee. Remember part of
grant making is relationships. We don’t want to get a reputation in the industry for
wasting the time of our clients or prospective funders. Be prepared to get your
organization in order prior to submitting your proposal.
Of course McMillan Consulting would be happy to assist you with grant searches (a
service that finds opportunities) so you can apply for the grant yourself. Or we can
assist you in creating a grant proposal if you feel you need help.
A recently awarded grant proposal written by Ms. Borthayre is attached.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can you assist us with grant writing regardless of location? Yes, we can
assist organizations in any state. Travel is not necessary as we can do the
necessary work via phone and email.
2. How long does it take you to write the proposal? Grant applications can
range from three pages to over forty pages depending on the funders requirements.
Thus it can take from two days to four months to write a high quality proposal. A
great deal of research must be conducted in compiling data, statistics and
background for an organization's first grant application. You will find that
subsequent applications take less time since much of the research has already been
conducted. Once the grant opportunity has been identified, we will provide you with
a timeline and price estimate for writing your proposal.
3. Can you help us locate grant funding? Yes. Identifying potential funders can
be very challenging. We can research prospective funders and provide you with a
comprehensive list of the best prospects. The list will include the funding cycle
deadlines, methods of initial contact and average size of grant awards.
4. Do you offer a guarantee that we will receive grant funding? No ethical
grant writer can guarantee funding. Funders give money to organizations based on
specific criterion. A professionally written grant proposal guarantees that your
organization will be considered for funding. A poorly written application that isn’t
compelling and doesn't adhere to the strict guidelines of the funder's proposal
requirements will be disqualified. Funders don't award monies based simply upon
the quality of the grant proposal. The organization structure, mission and goals are
examples of factors taken into consideration for grant awards.

8. McMillan Consulting
Planning-Taxation-Accounting
Accounting-Funding
410-775-6226 p
877-384-5542 f
http://mcmillancos.com
info@mcmillancos.com