The Get Grant Ready! Overview is designed to walk you through how to use assess your union’s current grant readiness and internal capacity to successfully apply for a grant using AFSCME’s Grant Readiness Organizing Tool.
Ready to begin? Start with the “Get Grant Ready!” Overview to take the first step towards new opportunities for your union.
AFSCME’s Grant Readiness Organizing Tool
Getting grant ready starts with AFSCME’s Grant Readiness Organizing Tool. This downloadable tool is designed to help you and your team become familiar with the type of documents, organizational information, and data frequently requested in grant applications.
For those new to the grant process, this tool will help you determine any additional planning you’ll need to get “grant ready,” while more seasoned applicants can use the tool to identify and organize commonly requested organizational information.
Tool Overview
The Grant Readiness Organizing Tool has two tabs:
● Organizational Information Tab: Use this tab to capture administrative information for the union overall. The information listed is typical for public and private grant applications.
● Project-Program Information Tab: Use the Project-Program Information tab to gather and track data and documents for the programs you’re currently running or planning to launch.
Each tab is divided into multiple sections (denoted in green). For ease of use, the tab layouts mirror each other. Within the tool, you will notice several columns with questions or prompts.
Column A: Lists the documents or data typically requested by funders within an application. This documentation or data can be requested as a part of an application form, within the narrative, or as an attachment.
Column B: Use the dropdown to indicate whether you have the information in Column A (Choices are: Yes, No – needs to be created, No – needs to be located, or Not applicable).
Column C: Record where the information or data requested in Column B is saved in your grant files or server.
Column D: List who “owns” the information at your union, meaning who is responsible for tracking it or who can help locate it.
Column E: Track the last time this information was updated.
Getting Started
Welcome to this Getting Started Guide for using AFSCME’s Grant Readiness Organizing Tool. Conducting an organizational and programmatic grant readiness assessment can take time so this tool is designed to make the process efficient. Follow the steps below and you’ll be on your way to Getting Grant Ready! in no time.
Step 1: Build Your Team
Getting grant ready takes a village. Before you dive in on your own, we recommend you form a grant readiness team.
● Consider who will be involved in the coordination, development, management, and administration of grants and ask these co-workers to join the review team.
● Aim for 4-5 team members. Many hands make light work. This will allow you to delegate some of the tasks. However, even 2-3 team members can usually get things done.
Step 2: Schedule an Initial Kick-off Meeting
Once your grant readiness assessment team is in place, schedule an initial kick-off meeting to review the organizing tool. This initial meeting should take about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 3: Prepare for Your Kick-Off Meeting
Once your kick-off meeting is scheduled, we recommend the following next steps:
● Create a Kick-Off Meeting Agenda and Objectives. A sample agenda with sample objectives is available to you to download on the Resource page. Customize it to meet your needs.
● Share the agenda and the Grant Readiness Organizing Tool with members of your team 2-3 days ahead of time.
● Ask team members to come prepared to review and discuss the resources listed.
Step 4: Host Your Kick-Off Meeting
Now it’s time to host your kickoff meeting. Here’s a recommend approach to conducting your initial meeting:
● Before starting the meeting, ensure everyone has access to a copy of the tool or can view it on a screen.
● Review the agenda and objectives with the whole team. Give team members time to ask questions about the agenda and share what they hope to achieve.
● Go through each section of the tool, focusing on whether the required information is available. Remember to capture this information in Column B (“Do we have this information?”).
● Record the name of the staff member who has or may have access to the information in Column D. If unsure, mark “TBD.” If possible, list a point-person even if the response is “No” or “N/A.”
● Document where the information is saved and when it was last updated in Columns C and E, respectively. Note that completing this information during the initial review is optional and can be added at a later time.
● Decide where documentation collected will be saved and include a link or file path as needed in the follow up notes.
● Send out follow-up notes with next steps for completing the grant readiness process at the close of the meeting. (See Step 5 for tips.)
Step 5: That Was Fun. Now What?
At the end of your kick-off meeting, you will likely need to schedule a follow-up meeting to dive a little deeper into each section of the tool. Here are some tips for keeping you and your team members accountable, on task, and organized.
Deciding Where to Start: If your team identified multiple documents to locate or create among multiple sections, we recommend focusing on one or two sections at a time. To determine which section to tackle first consider one of the following approaches:
● Start with the first section and work your way through each section of the tool in order.
● Start with the section with the most “Yes” boxes checked. Once completed, move on to the section with the next largest number of “Yes” boxes checked. Continue until you have completed each section.
Divide and Conquer: Assign a team member(s) to be responsible for each section and/or document/data requested.
● Organizing Tip: Review the MOCHA Framework from the Management Center. Download this Delegation Worksheet from the Management Center or Resource page to help determine roles and responsibilities of team members.
Accountability Is Key
● Create a timeline for completing the grant readiness assessment.
● Establish regular check-ins to hold team members accountable.
Additional Tips and Recommendations
● Make this organizing tool and grant readiness process work for you. As you begin to work with the tool, feel free to customize it to meet your needs.
● Use this exercise as an opportunity to gather and organize all your grants information in a central location.
● Consider creating a “Grants Core Documents” folder to house the documents and data identified in the tool. We recommend organizing the folder with subfolders that mirror the Grant Readiness Organizing Tool as featured here. (See Box.)
Contact Us
We are here for you! Please contact us if you have a question, concern, or request regarding workforce development.
research@afscme.org