| Regardless of your experience, skill level, or even the | | | | therefore give up. |
| quality of your competition, with enough time, the | | | | If they persevere and continue to pump and pump |
| following principle will allow you to win grant funding | | | | the lever, eventually a few drops of water will |
| for your organization! The single principle that will give | | | | appear. At this point, a lot of people say, "You've got |
| your organization a huge advantage and will virtually | | | | to be kidding! All this pumping, and for what? A few |
| guarantee your success is CONSISTENCY. | | | | drops of water? Forget it!" |
| In fact, the only thing that can stop you from | | | | A ministry may say, "after a full year of grant writing |
| developing a successful grant strategy and securing | | | | we only secured one $5,000 grant. What good will |
| the funding your organization needs is to not utilize | | | | that do my ministry?" They don't see the results |
| this principle... and that is the number one reason why | | | | they were expecting (expectations can really hurt us |
| incredibly deserving, compassionate, and valuable | | | | at times). They think their plan isn't working, and they |
| ministries never obtain the funding they need to | | | | quit. The wise ministry will persist and continue to |
| survive and why they eventually close their doors as | | | | pump in their grant development efforts. |
| a result. | | | | If you continue to pump, eventually, you will get a full |
| Many wonderful ministries get frustrated when they | | | | and steady stream of water. Congratulations, |
| start to implement a grant development strategy and | | | | success! |
| do not see the results quickly enough. They look at | | | | Now, here is where grant development gets really |
| their competitors and notice the amount of funding | | | | exciting... |
| they have secured and wonder why they are not | | | | Once the water is flowing, you no longer need to |
| yielding the same results. Having an organized | | | | pump the lever as hard or as quickly. It's easy to |
| approach is, of course, important. However, I have | | | | keep the pressure steady by just pumping the lever |
| found that the number one reason ministries fail at | | | | CONSISTENTLY. But now you need to KEEP |
| grant writing is that they quit before they start to | | | | pumping! |
| see results. | | | | So, what happens if you let go of the lever for too |
| A lot of people become gung-ho about new goals or | | | | long? The water falls back down into the ground, and |
| opportunities, and they charge out of the gate in an | | | | you're back at square one. If you come back and |
| explosion of activity - yet their intensity and | | | | pump the lever easily and steadily, you still won't get |
| commitment quickly fizzle. Meanwhile, those who | | | | any water. You have lost the vacuum, or the |
| begin the journey with less flash but a greater | | | | momentum of your compounded effort. The only |
| commitment to consistency eventually catch up to | | | | way to get the water flowing again is to start all |
| their flamboyant peers and leave them in the dust. | | | | over. |
| Your ministry should do what most ministries do not: | | | | The ministries that persist long enough to start to |
| Stay consistent. | | | | see funding have a new problem when it comes to |
| Darren Hardy notes that the "lack of consistency is | | | | consistency...they forget to keep pumping. The |
| the subtle stealer of dreams. The stop and start | | | | problem is that they work really hard to get the |
| process kills progress in any pursuit. In fact, | | | | funding flowing and then take a break. Ugh! Now |
| inconsistency is one of the biggest reasons people | | | | they have to pump like crazy again just to get back |
| don't achieve their goals." | | | | to even. Living life in a constant state of fits and |
| When you start thinking about slacking off on your | | | | starts is frustrating and demoralizing. |
| action plan, routines, and rhythms, consider the | | | | Consistency is one of the most important principles |
| massive cost of inconsistency. It is not the loss of | | | | of grant writing success. |
| the single action and the tiny results it creates; it is | | | | Does this sound like your ministry? Is your grant |
| the utter collapse and loss of momentum your entire | | | | development process full of starts and stops? Flurries |
| progress will suffer. | | | | of activity followed by months of stagnation? Have |
| Zig Ziglar uses the analogy of a hand-pumped water | | | | you quit grant writing because you determined that it |
| well. The water table is 25 feet below the ground. A | | | | just will not work for your type of ministry? |
| pipe runs down to the water, and you have to pump | | | | Here is the message: Grant writing works for every |
| the lever to create the suction that brings the water | | | | ministry! If you have a consistent, persistent, and |
| above the ground and out of the spout. | | | | organized effort you will see success. This is not a |
| When most people start a new endeavor, they grab | | | | question of IF you will see success but WHEN you |
| the lever and start pumping really hard; they are | | | | will see success. |
| excited, committed, and resolute.... They pump and | | | | If you are thinking that your ministry simply does not |
| pump and pump, and after a few minutes, when | | | | have the resources to do this the right way, consider |
| they don't see any water, they give up pumping the | | | | using an outsourced grant development consultant. A |
| lever altogether. | | | | consultant will develop an organized grant |
| The same principle applies to grant writing and | | | | development strategy and then implement that |
| development. Many start a new grant writing | | | | strategy in a consistent and persistent manner. If |
| endeavor by submitting a flurry of application to | | | | you are patient, and the consultant is up-front and |
| dozens of foundations. A few months later when | | | | honest with you about what to expect, you will see |
| they still have not received any grants (or sometimes | | | | success and your ministry will gain the funding it |
| even any responses), they conclude that grant | | | | needs. |
| writing just will not work for their ministry and | | | | |