Winning grants is a learned skill. Here is one of things we recently learned: have a “by the numbers” page. A mission statement is necessary but we believe an impact page matters more than a mission statement.
An impact page is one of the first things we look for when evaluating a potential client. It’s also one of the first things funders look for when deciding who will receive funding.
A helpful perspective to know is that foundations don’t fund ideas. They fund execution.
They also want to know what would happen if your nonprofit stopped operating. If the answer is “not much,” there may be relevance and execution issues to address. If your absence would create a real gap in your community, that’s fundable. Show them that in clear numbers.
If you don’t already have one, add a page to your site per the following example:
- People served: lives touched in the past year
- Outcomes achieved: what changed because of your work, by numbers.
- Dollars leveraged: funding secured or matched
Doesn’t need to be flowery or emotional; it needs to be real.
We’ve previously outlined the six things most foundations look for which are: Alignment. Impact. Sustainability. Innovation. Community Engagement. Scalability.
If you’re already tracking and publicizing an impact statement, great. If not, we recommend getting one posted. That one page could make the difference between a “Good Idea” and “Awarded”.