What are some common mistakes tribal communities should avoid when preparing grant applications?
Kristy McCarthy Weight - Blue Water Grant Development, LLC says:
I would say some common mistakes are not giving yourself enough time for implementation or not budgeting enough funding for what you want to do. Request the maximum amount of time allowed unless it is a very basic project. It is much easier, and looks much better for you, to have your project completed early rather than needing to request an extension, which may not be granted. Similarly, overestimate your costs. This has been a major factor in recent years of rampant inflation where grantees have had to scale back on their deliverables because their costs are so much higher than they budgeted. Never submit current costs in your budget because best case scenario you will be putting shovels in the ground a year after you submit the application so always factor in inflation. In some cases, I have had clients able to complete more work than they had planned because they estimated high. This will always be much easier to explain to your funder than telling them you can’t do as much as you planned because you ran out of money.
Another common mistake is not making sure your financial management is sound and that your policies are in place and being followed before applying for grants. So many applicants lose grants because they have audit or monitoring findings, have submitted their audits or reports late, or have too much unspent funding. The most successful applicants are those who can demonstrate they are good partners for their funders through clean audits, timely audit submissions, timely reporting, and showing timely progress on existing projects. Applicants can even overcome large penalties for being a prior awardee in programs like ICDBG and IHBG-Competitive if they have no deductions for past performance. If a tribal organization has issues with audit findings or past performance, it is a good idea to take some time to clean all that up and strengthening your organization before applying for grants.
Finally, I would say the most common mistake is not following directions and/or not paying attention to details. Take note of every word of the funding notice. Always strive for the 100-point application and address every detail requested, to the letter. The reviewer will likely find deductions so make sure you are not knowingly giving them away.
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