Grant seekers should look not only at their own needs but also the needs of their funding sources, said panelists at an August 2006 Washington, D.C., gathering sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Panelists gave recommendations about wooing various types of grant makers.

Government Grants
With government funding, "it's not about funding your good ideas but about funding Congress's good ideas" said the Education Department's Karen Stratman-Krusemark.

As such, application criteria are governed by law—written with a goal in mind based on a perceived national need.

She offered Smaller Learning Community grants as an example. The program originally started as a response to the Columbine High School shootings, but as Congress passed President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, the program criteria changed to include NCLB's requirement for greater accountability.

Given the rigidity of federal criteria, Stratman-Krusemark offers the following tips:

• Eligibility is a screen, so don't blow past or sidestep it. Reviewers look at it first.
• Look for a priority favoring novices. If you're able to show that you're a novice applicant, it means a field of fewer applications, so your proposal will have less competition. She noted that 'novice' status is defined within each federal department, so if you have received an ED grant before but never an HHS grant, you are a novice in HHS competitions.
• Don't make government reviewers look for anything; "applications are the perfect place to apply a KISS (keep it simple, stupid) strategy," she said.
• With the advent of NCLB, it's the results that matter, she said. So the accountability piece is essential. The best programs weave evaluation throughout the whole plan.

Business Grants
"Companies are in the business of making money…so whenever a company is giving money, it's to benefit themselves in some fashion (e.g., it's good for the employee pool; good for employee morale; forges connection with customers), said Emily Rothberg, a community development officer at Deloitte & Touche.

Knowing how your program can help a company advance its business objectives is key. "Do your homework, and know what makes your program an exceptional fit with the company's goals and priorities, "she said. Her advice:

• A big, beautiful application doesn't necessarily work. Creating a customized request, and knowing what to customize, takes much more time, but yields better results.
• Most companies don't have a community relations department. Look at different pockets of money (e.g., government relations, press, sponsorships) and align yourself with them.
• "A smart organization knows that meeting at the table this year may not result in support this year, or even next year, but it may in the future." Get to know people inside the company personally, and work toward a long-term relationship.
• Just as congressional priorities change, companies change. So don't assume anything from last years' procedures or Web information.
• Think broadly about support, (e.g., board members, physical resources, volunteers). But know that companies are inundated by requests, and it's not really easier to get a decision on volunteering than on money donations. "Time is still a resource allocation," she noted. So in either case, make the business case.

Foundation Grants
Jonelle Stachura Wallmeyer, executive director of the Alexandria Community Trust, noted that foundations are the most likely place to win funding for innovative ideas. But people give to people, so relationship-building is vital. Her tips:

• Accountability and measurement outcomes are becoming a way of life in the foundation world. "Align yourself to a university and always answer the 'so what' factor."
• Since relationships play such a key role in foundation giving, know who is on your board, who gives to your organization, who are your stakeholders, who are your volunteers.
• The savviest fundraisers meet with organizations just to learn and exchange information, she said. She told of a development officer who met with her periodically for coffee for more than four years. When an opportunity finally arose to fund a program like the officer's, her name was at the top of the list.