Start 2023 off strong by making these 7 New Year’s resolutions to get your church grant ready!
It’s that time of year again. You know, the one where everyone decides to make these big, life-altering, habit-changing resolutions. They’re going to start getting up and going to bed earlier; they’re going to start going to the gym twice a day; they’re never going to consume calories; and, they’re going to stop breathing oxygen all together because of pollution, duh. Not really, but you get the gist.
Every year when the new year rolls around, people make resolutions to alter their lifestyles for what they hope is the better. New Year's resolutions date back over 4,000 years to the time of the ancient Babylonians. The practice of these resolutions worked its way through ancient Babylon, to ancient Rome into Christianity around the 1700s. The first day of the new year became traditional for reflecting on one’s past mistakes and resolving to do better in the new year.
To some, resolutions are nothing more than silly promises about renouncing soda, but for others, making resolutions can be very beneficial, even life changing. In the following article, we will be covering seven resolutions to make in the New Year to help your church get grant ready!
1. Resolve to organize church finances
We’ve all heard it, “Get your house in order!” Well, this is similar. In the new year, it is imperative that you get your church finances in order. A church’s financial status plays a huge role in a grantor’s decision on whether or not to fund a program or ministry. When deciding who to award grant money, grantors want to make sure that the program they fund has exceptional accounting practices in place and is resourceful with their money.
Grantors do not want to give money to programs that are bad stewards or have a negative track record with their finances. By having your church finances in order, you are able to prove to the grantors that you will be able to wisely use the money they are giving you the way you said you would.
Two ways to ensure that your church finances are in order are verifying that your church has a budget and seeking to get all finances organized and up to date by using professional accounting software. First, a budget allows grantors to see how you are responsible with money and show that you are capable of spending it in a culpable manner. Secondly, organized, up-to-date financial reports show grantors that you are financially aware and capable of attaining your program goals and sustaining it beyond the grant period. You want to portray to the grantors that you can be trusted with their money.
2. Resolve to track in-kind donations
Another key component that you will want to incorporate this year, if you are not already doing so, is tracking in-kind donations.
In-kind donations are non-cash contributions or donations made to nonprofit organizations (for example, churches), by individuals, other organizations, or companies. These non-monetary donations consist of the transfer of an asset, usually property, goods, or services.
In the church world, in-kind donations also refer to volunteer work. For the most part churches run on volunteer work so more than likely you probably already have in-kind donations that you can be tracking.
But why do you need to track in-kind donations? Well, in-kind donations benefit your fundraising campaigns and grant writing efforts in four ways:
Increases funding for church programs and projects
Increases revenue on profit and loss statements
Simplifies and accurately tracks volunteer service
Demonstrates community funding partnerships
Before awarding grant funds to a nonprofit organization, grantors will request evidence of an organization’s fiscal stability and sustainability. In other words, grantors want to know:
Is your church program or project a good investment?
Will your church be able to financially complete the proposed project?
Will your church be able to financially operate and sustain the proposed program?
In-kind donations strengthen a church’s, or nonprofits, overall picture and build its credibility and reputation. It says, “They’ll have the resources to successfully implement their program’s goals! So the big picture here, track your in-kind donations!
If you would like to learn more on in-kind donations and how to track them, we encourage you to purchase our Grant Writing Strategies for Churches workbook which includes an entire section devoted to in-kind donations and how to track them!
3. Resolve to build a volunteer spreadsheet
Another key element that you should incorporate into your new year is developing a volunteer spreadsheet. This is closely related to the previous resolution: tracking in-kind donations.
Your volunteer spreadsheet should include whether or not your volunteers are church members or non-church members, name, sex, age, racial/ethnicity demographics, hours involved in the project or hours that were donated to said project.
Next, consider calculating the in-kind value of all of the volunteer hours, and incorporating this data into your spreadsheet.
For example, if someone came and volunteered to build a wall or to teach a class, calculate the hourly rate for that service times the total hours served to determine a dollar value. In other words, what would it have cost your program if you actually had to pay for the service they provided.
Increasing active volunteer service within communities is a huge part of a lot of grantors’ mission and vision statements. Likewise, they are looking to support nonprofit organizations, including churches, that promote volunteerism. By developing a volunteer spreadsheet, you will have data to back up the volunteer service at your church.
4. Resolve to organize key church documents
In congruence with developing a volunteer spreadsheet, make it a priority to gather critical church documentation that grantors may request and file it.
Again, grant making organizations are looking for nonprofits who prove to be organized and trustworthy. By having all of your church documentation filed and together in one place, it will make your grant writing process that much easier.
But, what are the necessary church documents that I should be gathering and filing? Well, I am so glad you asked. Check out our article, 23 Necessary Documents Needed in 2023, to discover what documents you need and what they are.
5. Resolve to craft mission and vision statements
Mission and vision statements play a huge role in grant writing. Grantors want to know what your church stands for and what they desire to do within their community.
If your church does not already have a mission and vision statement, the first step you will want to take is writing both of those. If you find yourself struggling to write a mission and vision statement, Exousia has an entire chapter in Grant Writing Strategies for Churches devoted to mission and vision statements, as well as mission and vision worksheets to walk you through the writing process. Plus, check out this article, How to: Write Powerful Mission and Vision Statements, for more insight.
6. Resolve to fine tune your program’s deliverables
Another change you should make in the new year in getting your church grant ready is fine tuning your program’s goals, description, objective and outcomes. Goals, program descriptions, objectives and outcomes are also known as “deliverables.” Your program’s deliverables must clearly demonstrate to grantors that it can realistically accomplish what it says it will and in a specified time period. If grantors can see that you will deliver what you promised, they are more likely to fund your program.
Author Dani Arthur’s article, “Develop FUNDable Church Programs,” is a great resource to check out as it covers the nuts and bolts your church must do to attain grant funding. In this article she further describes a program's goals, description, objectives and outcomes and their importance when it comes to grant writing.
7. Resolve to document your church’s history
Last on the resolution list for the new year is gathering your church’s history. Church history is super important in terms of grantors’ decisions to fund a program or not. Grantors strive to fund programs that know what they want to accomplish, strive to reach their goals, and consistently align with their own deliverables.
When gathering your church history, you will want to include the details that demonstrate how each program, event and activity offered aligns to your church’s mission and vision statements. Share details that demonstrate your church’s strong reputation in the community, and specifically how your church delivers high quality programs and initiatives.
By doing so, you prove to be credible, reputable and a good steward. Your church history must show that your church is concerned, responsive, and seeks to impact and affect positive change in people's lives in your community.
New Year’s Resolutions Wrap-up
Resolutions can be somewhat of a hassle and sometimes even just a joke. When it comes to making changes in the new year for getting your church grant ready, however, these are all crucial changes to make.
We would love to help you get your church grant ready and coach you through the process in the new year with our monthly coaching plans. If you are more of an independent learner, Exousia also offers an online learning institute that allows you to learn at your own pace!
Oh, one final resolution to make this year in an effort to get your church grant ready: Sign up for our email newsletter to receive free educational grant writing resources and articles right to your inbox!
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