Madison Shampine Grant Writing & Consulting

Every grant writer has been there—it’s an unusually frustrating application, last minute leadership revisions, surprise character limits after you crafted the perfect response—the deadline is quickly approaching and as you prepare to click submit, you get a pop up, “Almost there! Upload these 10 documents to finalize your submission.” Ugh!

Hopefully, you have that magic folder that already contains 95% of these documents. Otherwise, you’ll be tracking down your friends in Finance, Programs, and Operations as the clock ticks closer to the portal shutdown at 3:00pm on a Friday.

Starter Pack Tips:

• Don’t settle for the version Finance (or another team) sent you. No offense to them, but your documents need to be visually appealing, clean, and match the style of your other documents (font, margins, letterhead/logos, etc.)
• Use a professional and consistent document naming convention: Org Name-Year-Document Name
• Invest in the fancy Adobe that allows you to edit and combine PDFs—it’s worth it to have professional looking attachments

Top 10 Documents:

1. IRS 501(c)(3) Determination Letter: This is the letter the IRS sent you confirming your nonprofit status. It should contain your EIN, effective date, and public charity status. The address should match your current address, so request an updated letter from the IRS if your organization recently moved locations.
2. IRS Form 990: This is your organization’s tax return and is a highly requested document. Ensure your CPA gives you a “Public Copy” for sharing externally.
3. Financial Statements: When I see a request for financial statements, I generally assume they want the internal Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement unless they state otherwise. Keep a copy of your previously completed year on hand and ask Finance to send you the monthly year-to-date reports after they have finished their reconciliation. Follow the application instructions to know if they want the previous year’s actual reports or the current year-to-date.
   • Balance Sheet is the same as Statement of Financial Position. This report shows the organization’s assets and liabilities for a specific point in time.
   • Profit & Loss Statement is the same as Statement of Activities, Income Statement, or Statement of Revenues & Expenses. This report shows individual line items for revenue and expenses over a period of time.
4. Audited Financial Statements or Reviewed Financials: These are costly reports to obtain, so small-medium nonprofits may choose not to voluntarily pursue these. Some States or the Federal government may require an audit or review if the nonprofit meets certain revenue thresholds. Some funders may require an audit or review to be eligible for their grant cycle.
5. Current Year Annual Operating Budget: Create a nicely formatted, one-page organization budget summary based on your Board-approved budget. I like to keep it high-level to include your top 5 or so overarching line items (i.e. Personnel, Facilities, Professional Services, etc.) This should be a static document that does not change throughout the year or with different funders.
6. Current Year Program Budgets: Create a nicely formatted, one-page, detailed (all line items) program budget based on your Board-approved budget. You should have  separate budget for each program area that seeks grant funding. This should be a static document that does not change throughout the year or with different funders.
   • To Note: Many smaller nonprofits or those without a dedicated Finance team struggle with creating program budgets; however, it’s a crucial document for grant applications.
7. Board of Directors List: In your primary document, list your Board member names, position on the board, and professional affiliation and title. For example: Bob Smith, Board President, CEO of ABC Business. This version will be your most requested document; however, feel free to create variations that include terms and total years of service.
   • Hot Take: It’s my opinion that you do not provide Board member contact information. First, they’re a volunteer and should not have their personal information distributed. Second, funder communication needs to be streamlined and strategic. It’s okay for Board members to talk to your funders (if the funder requests); however, the Board member should be prepped ahead of time and should not receive cold calls.
8. Annual Impact Report: Annual reports are professionally designed booklets that share the successes of the previous year. These are usually optional attachments, but a great way to show off your organization’s impact in the community.
9. Strategic Plan: Typically, a high-level 3-5 year strategic plan is another optional document; however, is great to share if you have it. This is often a document created by leadership and approved by the Board of Directors.
10. Client Success Stories: Once or twice a year, write up a one-page client success story. Be sure to clearly draw the line between your program and their positive outcomes. Include photos, if possible!

Bonus Documents:

• Keep a blank document handy that has your digital letterhead or logo on it for easy copy/pasting when you need to create a custom document
• Keep a regularly-updated list of grant funders for the current year
• Less common documents include: organizational chart, key staff resumes or biographies, Board-approved non-discrimination policy

At the end of the day, you are soliciting a donor for a significant amount of money. From the application narratives to the documents you upload—everything should be professional, visually appealing, and without any typos or grammatical errors. Creating and/or compiling these documents ahead of time ensures top notch quality with high standards. Good luck and happy writing!