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Step 9Writing the Organization Background Component
IN ADDITION TO THE PLANNING SECTIONS of the proposal, grantseekers need to develop an organization background component. This step provides an overview of the purpose of an organization background statement and of what it should contain to best establish a nonprofi t’s credibility. Using examples and a worksheet, grantseekers will learn how to present their organization’s strengths to funders.
Purpose of the Organization Background Statement
What are the mission, values, and other distinguishing characteristics of the organization? And what is it about this particular organization that enables it to successfully execute on what it promises to deliver? The organization background component answers these two questions and more. This is the section of the proposal that highlights all the positive qualities of the orga-nization, which means this section can get rather lengthy if restraint is not employed. Try to limit this component to no more than three pages. A good organization background statement describes the nonprofi t well enough to assure prospective funders that this nonprofi t can successfully undertake the proposed program.
Funders may refer to this section as the “Introduction” or the “Applicant Description,” but the same basic information is expected regardless of its name. This section of the proposal should allow the reviewer to get a strong impression that the organization
• Meets an unmet need or fi lls an essential role in the community
• Is fi scally secure
• Is well managed
O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450.Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:47:11.
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Winning Grants Step by Step86
• Provides important community services
• Understands the community it serves
• Refl ects that community in its board and staff
• Has the respect of the community
Content of the Organization Background Component
Organizations should include the following:
• A description of the organization and its mission and vision, and how it came to be—its history.
• The demographics of the community served by the organization, followed by the ways in which both the board members and the staff refl ect those demographics. This information is growing steadily in importance to funders, as they want to ensure that the nonprofi t is in the best position to truly understand and connect with the community it seeks to serve.
• A description of the organization’s position and role in the com-munity. Who are the organization’s collaborating partners in the community?
• A discussion of the ways the organization is unique in comparison to others providing similar services.
• Descriptions of innovative programs or special services the organization has provided. Has it received any awards or special recognition?
• A very brief history of funding by other sources.
The primary goal in crafting this section of the proposal is to establish cred-ibility with potential funders. Organizations need to use sound judgment as to what is appropriate given the specifi c proposal—and the funder. The guiding question should be, “What is the key information that this funder needs about the organization and its qualifi cations to solidify the case for sup-port?” Similarly, when requesting funding for a highly technical project that makes use of new ways to engage clients via the Internet, information about the organization’s past experience in web-based communications, as well as the qualifi cations of specifi c staff members who would be responsible for the project, would be critical to reinforcing the nonprofi t’s capacity to under-take the proposed project successfully. If proposing a collaborative project, thought should be given to using examples of other collaborative projects in which the organization participated as well as the successful outcomes derived from those collaborations.
O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450.Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:47:11.
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Step 9—Writing the Organization Background Component 87
Testimonials and statistics relating to the work of the nonprofi t may be incorporated, although they should be kept at a minimum. The organization background component should be primarily an informative and interesting narrative describing the qualifi cations of the organization. Understand that the funder would probably prefer a summary of the highlights in the non-profi t’s history that relate to the project needing funding. In this instance, don’t be afraid to use bullet points to highlight items in what would other-wise become very dense narrative.
Don’t eat up valuable proposal space with information on the organiza-tion’s structure or specifi c details about board members and staff unless such detail is requested. Supporting documents, such as an organization chart and résumés of key staff, can provide this information and add credibility to the proposal, and it should be provided in the proposal’s appendixes (see Step Eleven). However, some funders specify what appendixes they will, and will not, accept—so incorporating this information into the background statement might be warranted. Should this be the case, keep it brief. Sum-marize how many staff and board members the organization has and also the number of active volunteers engaged with it.
If the organization is too new to have any accomplishments, try focusing on the qualifi cations of the staff and board to provide some sense of credibility for the start-up endeavor. As a start-up, it will be critical to clearly state the unmet needs or unique problem the organization is being created to meet.
Tips for Writing the Organization Background Component
Background Statement
Start with when and why the organization was founded. Its mission state-ment should be front and center in the fi rst or second paragraph. From there, move away from the philosophy of the organization and begin explaining what it does.
This is one of the few sections of a proposal that can be created as a standard component and used repeatedly. Grantseekers will be required to make small edits to tailor the background statement for specifi c funders on occasion or to highlight items of special interest to a particular funder. Otherwise, this section is fairly standard for most proposals.
Read the following Sample Organization Background Component. Then, using Worksheet 9.1, gather the information for this section of your organization’s proposal. Next, write the narrative, using the Sample Orga-nization Background Component as a guide. Finally, review the work using the Organization Background Review Questions. Organizations should be able to answer “yes” to each question.
O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450.Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:47:11.
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Winning Grants Step by Step88
Sample Organization Background ComponentSwim 4 Life was established as a 501(c)3 organization in 2008 by 2000 Olympic swimming hopeful Jane Swimmer, who emerged as one of the brightest female swim stars in the United States at the 2000 Games. The mission of Swim 4 Life is to empower youth in underserved communities, through high-quality programs, to utilize the discipline of swimming to improve physical fi tness, nurture self-esteem, and acquire the confi dence to advance their lives.
Jane was an eleven-time U.S. National Champion and two-time USA Swimmer of the Year. In 2005, she started for-profi t swim schools at various community centers in two other counties in Any State. Inspired by the results achieved at her for-profi t schools, Ms. Swimmer began to explore the idea of bringing a high-quality program to youth in underserved communities that would off er the same standard of excellence found in the best private club programs, such as her own. However, she continued to focus on the for-profi t schools until January 2007, when she conducted a pilot water safety program at the West Hanover Swim School with fi fty middle and high school students who were bussed in from ABC Youth (ABCY), a nonprofi t organization that provides enrichment programs in the Gathentown School District. The results clearly demonstrated that the program could be replicated eff ectively in a nonprofi t setting.
Because the school lacked the capacity to accommodate growth of Swim 4 Life programs, and considering the cost of recruiting and transporting youth across the city to the selected site, it was determined that the optimal pools to use for program sites would be those located in the communities where the target population lived. The fi rst site chosen was Arthur Schomburg Middle School in South Spring, where a pool that had been out of service for fi fteen years was about to re-open. In 2008, a second site was added at the Rockmore Education Complex, a high school near downtown Abbington. The Adapted Learn-to-Swim program began at the high school in summer 2008 to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
As of 2006, the Gathentown Unifi ed School District must comply with a statewide mandate to include aquatics programs in all high school physical education curricula for 9th and 10th grade students. However, because of poor staff training and long-term cutbacks in funding for physical education, the district was ill-prepared to teach students to swim despite its large investment in building nine new high schools with competition-size pools.
Too often, youth in the communities our program targets lack the opportunities, guidance, and/or family support equal to that of their surrounding counties to provide them the foundation to help guide them in the right direction. By providing these kids with valuable access to swimming via the Swim 4 Life program, we endeavor to empower these kids to learn the values of self-discipline, decision making, hard work, and dedication that have a real chance of forever changing their lives. The aim is to inspire children to explore their potential through swimming and give all children the same opportunity to enjoy the sport.
The organization uses swimming to reach out to children who are at risk of failure in school, gang affi liation, unhealthy lifestyles, including childhood obesity, and other physically, mentally, and emotionally unhealthy outcomes. More than 450 youth have participated in its short history, and 85 percent of those in the non-adapted classes have passed a water safety survival test. Programs are delivered by two full-time and seven part-time employees, with a seven-member board of directors providing oversight and governance.
O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450.Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:47:11.
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Step 9—Writing the Organization Background Component 89
WORKSHEET 9.1:
Organization Background Exercise
[Organization Name] Accomplishments Personnel
Location
Legal status
Date of founding
Mission
Target population
Programs
Partnerships
How unique
Special recognition
Summary of need statement
Financial
Board and staff
Winning Grants Step by Step, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
On the Web
O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450.Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:47:11.
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Winning Grants Step by Step90
Organization Background Review Questions
1. Does the organization background section give the nonprofi t cred-ibility by stating its history, specifi c qualifi cations, purpose, programs, target population, total number of people served, and major accom-plishments?
2. Does the background suggest sources of community support for the proposed program?
3. Does this section highlight any awards received? This can include winning government funding through a competitive process.
Now it’s time to pull the entire proposal together with the proposal summary, which is Step Ten.
O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450.Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:47:11.
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