ONSITE NEEDS ASSESSMENTS

These meetings are all-day, open-ended group discussions between our Funding Advisors and clients that allow us to assess the clients funding needs and priorities. During these meetings you and your staff will also have the opportunity to meet and become acquainted with your Funding Advisors who will work closely with you during the contract period.

Following the assessment, our research staff and Funding Advisors will review the data and information gathered. Once we have determined your needs and outlined the programmatic and fiscal resource gaps, our research department will identify a set of funding opportunities that address those needs, either partially or fully. This is important, as some grants may only be qualified as enhancements of existing efforts.

We then discuss your overall budget and have further discussions and interviews with you to determine whether resources can be reallocated to serve the targeted needs or used to meet matching requirements. This process allows us to identify financial restrictions (e.g. limited availability of matching funds) that could prevent you from addressing its needs. It also provides an opportunity to highlight any previously untapped non-traditional funding sources that may have been overlooked. For example, we may find that an economic development grant also has a public safety equipment component that can fill a technology need.

The end result of the assessment process is the development of an individualized Strategic Funding Plan. This report will highlight available funding sources that match your needs and eligibility criteria. This plan outlines your funding priorities and links those priorities to specific grants that are expected to be available over the life of the contract.


GRANT WRITING

Our writing process provides for continued coordination with clients to ensure that we are accurately and passionately portraying the program for which the funding is requested. The following are examples of some of the unique features of our specialized writing process:


■ Deadline-advanced grant writing. Over the past few years, a trend of shorter response times has emerged regarding the release of federal RFPs (Request for Proposals). In the past, a 90-day response time was the norm. Now responses are frequently requested within 45 days, or even 30 days. If an RFP has never been released before, we will work diligently you to respond within the timeline offered. This is a new challenge that our professional staff has met with success. However, if an RFP has been released in the past, we will design the grant program in preparation for the next fiscal year's RFP release, based on the previous RFP guidelines.

■ In-Depth Understanding of the Evaluation Process. In addition to the shorter response times, over the past few years, funders have begun to place greater emphasis on accountability. In other words, the evaluation component of most grant applications is required to be extremely clear, detailed and focused on establishing scientifically based results. We have a deep understanding of the evaluation process as well as direct access to expert evaluators.

■ Consistent approach. All our writers follow a consistent approach in proposal writing. This ensures that no important steps are missed in writing a successful application.

■ Efficient use of time. Our writers will make efficient use of the your staff's time. Project managers/grant writers will not take up staff time with questions that can be found through simple research (i.e., the area's population, the structure of the local government, etc).

■ Comprehensive Project Management. In addition to writing proposals, our grant writers will guide and control the process of applying for the grants from start to finish. This includes setting up a schedule that allows sufficient time for each step in the process to be carried out, being prepared for all meetings so that the parameters of the project can be outlined, asking cogent questions, and adhering to established deadlines.

■ Quality Assurance. Another unique feature in our writing process is our dedication to assuring the quality of the product we create for you. Program designs are developed through a combination of researching best practices and staff knowledge and experience. All applications are reviewed multiple times by our Quality Assurance Team, the grant writer and the client contact before submission to the funder. Our goal is always to create the most competitive applications possible, and our quality assurance process enables us to consistently reach that goal.

Please note: Seeking funding from private sources (foundations and/or corporations) differs slightly from the process detailed above. Securing private funding often requires the development of a relationship between the applicant agency and the funder. Our Funding Advisors assist clients in establishing and nurturing these relationships, as well as the preparation and submission of letters of inquiry and proposals.

TAILORED RESEARCH

The Randall Funding & Development Research Department is responsible for daily prospect research into State, Federal, Foundation and Corporate funding opportunities; oversight of the Federal Funding and Special Alerts; specialized research in response to client information requests, and preparation of Strategic Funding Plans. Our highly trained researchers review multiple information sources for new funding opportunities and follow current State and Federal budget proceedings to provide up-to-date information on future program availability. In addition, they continually review new information sources, subscriptions, and newsletters to determine their applicability and maintain an extensive reference library. In addition to the Funding Advisors, these knowledgeable research specialists will be available to answer questions and assist you with complex aspects of funding programs. They will also inform you when a program is cut, changed or dramatically affected.


FUNDING ADVISING

Your appointed Funding Advisors will serve as your primary contacts. The Funding Advisor's goal is to make your relationship with us productive and successful. Many of our existing clients have come to think of their Funding Advisors as integral parts of their staff. Their responsibilities include interviews with key staff members, research and tracking of funding sources, program design, facilitation of program design meetings, oversight of other grant writers dedicated to specific projects, quality assurance, internal draft proposal review and other services as necessary.


GRANT WORKSHOPS & TRAINING SEMINARS

We provide staff training seminars and workshops in a number of different subject areas. Staff training workshops typically last from three hours to two-and-a-half days, depending upon the number of subject areas selected for inclusion in the training. We have conducted staff training for Cities, Counties, School Districts, Universities, Regional Councils and Non-Profit Organizations throughout the country and have a distinguished reputation as an authority on grant funding procurement in the United States. Seminar topics include but are not limited to:

- Grant Research & Tracking Strategies
- Public/Nonprofit Sector Collaboration
- How to be an Effective Grant Writer
- The Importance of Evaluations
- Understanding Foundation and Corporate Grants
- Taking Advantage of Formula, Block and Entitlement Grants
- Simplifying Grant Administration and Reporting
- Improving Nonprofit Service Delivery In Your Community
- Indirect Cost Rate Recovery ?Understanding the Audit Process
- The Value of Local Partnerships and how to Build Them

Please note: We offer these workshops and seminars in both English and Spanish for your convenience.


THE GRANTSMATCH

The GrantsMatch is a newly developed, highly innovative grant research and management tool that has the power to seamlessly walk a client through the entire process of securing grant money. The GrantsMatch is a direct extension of our proprietary database containing over 5,000 Federal, State and Foundation grants. Since the creation of our database in 1998, our talented research team has been populating it with valuable grant information on a daily basis by utilizing over 100 subscriptions, newsletters, catalogs, websites, reference libraries and government contacts to ensure nothing is missed.

The GrantsMatch is designed to be simple and easy to use. With the options of a quick keyword search or an advanced search, you can instantly sift through thousands of grant programs with the click of a button and find the programs that best fit your needs. Grants can be selected and added to various reports and grant deadline calendars that can be printed, emailed to other staff members or sent to one of our Funding Advisors for review. In addition, the GrantsMatch is an open portal to our writers, advisors and researchers. This means that you can click on a grant summary or multiple summaries for which you would like additional information or to discuss in further detail with one of our Funding Advisors or Researchers and receive a response within 24 hours. If you decide that you would like to begin writing an grant and don't have the time or resources to do it, you can simply click on the 'Request a Writer' button and you will receive an introductory phone call and email from one of our professional grant writers within 48 hours.

The philosophy behind the creation of the GrantsMatch was simple. We wanted to package the power of our database, research department, advisors and writers into a user friendly, all-inclusive, web-based tool.

Learn more about the GrantsMatch by clicking here www.GrantsMatch.com



GRANT EVALUATIONS

Most grants require some sort of post-award evaluation process at least once during the life of the funding. These evaluations can be crucial to the continuation of the funding and the success of future applications for the same project. We have talented evaluators that can work with you to ensure your evaluations are done in a timely, professional and thorough manner.


FEDERAL & STATE REIMBURSEMENTS

There are hundreds of Federal and State programs that allow Cities, Counties and other organizations to recoup certain mandated or unavoidable expenditures. These programs are often hard to find and require significant amounts of paperwork and accounting. Our specialists can identify opportunities for reimbursements and quickly gather the information necessary for timely and effective submission of your reimbursement claims.