Joy Skjegstad is a grantwriter with 20 years of experience who has a heart for the part that Christian organizations play in their communities, and she wants to see them flourish. She has worked with hundreds of ministry organizations in her career, and has found that nonprofit ministries are generally less knowledgeable than their secular counterparts in “discerning which grant funding to seek, understanding how to build relationships with funders, and putting together proposals.” In her book, Winning Grants to Strengthen Your Ministry, Skjegstad clears some of the fog for Christian organizations so that they can partner with like-minded donors and have as great an impact as possible. She makes the point that faith and fundraising are not incompatible, and encourages grant-seekers to integrate their Christianity into their fundraising values.
Skjegstad first asks readers to consider whether grants are right for their ministry, and includes an easy-to-reference checklist that helps grant-seekers assess whether or not they are prepared to write a grant proposal. Different types of funders, such as private and community foundations, corporate foundations, and corporate-giving programs, are described and defined. Additionally, the book lays out the differences that exist among general operating grants, program or project grants, capital grants, and capacity-building grants.
Skjegstad prepares readers to think about what funders want in a donee and shares some basic fundraising etiquette –specifically in approaching secular funders. She emphasizes strategies for finding and evaluating donors with similar interests and focuses. An exercise is included on this topic, consisting of a list of questions that serve to helps grant-seekers determine how well their organization fits a potential donor.
Readers are guided through the preliminary steps to preparing a grant proposal – specifically, crafting a compelling case statement – and given specific guidelines and descriptions about proposal content, style, length, and attachments. Lastly, the book guides readers through the uncertainty of waiting for an answer to their proposal, steps to take when the answer is given (whether it is yes or no), and relating with donors as time goes on. Two subsequent appendixes give an example of a typical grant application form and a chart highlighting the differences among several different types of “faith” organizations.
The book is a practical map for navigating through the uncertainties and technicalities of searching out, requesting, and receiving grants. Skjegstad writes clearly and purposefully, with an obvious desire to serve Christian ministries so that they may better serve their communities. Winning Grants is a useful tool for anyone who could use guidance in the grant-seeking journey.
--Kelsey Luffman is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online