Getting Started
Follow these steps to plan compelling grant applications and assess your organization's readiness.
Start by defining the core problem(s) your nonprofit aims to eliminate. Use the Problem Focus Tool to compare multiple problems and identify which one you're most committed to addressing.
Once you've identified your primary problem, use the Problem Statement Generator to create multiple versions tailored for different audiences - grant proposals, executive summaries, and community outreach.
Build comprehensive descriptions of who you serve and where. This tool helps you articulate your target population demographics, barriers faced, and geographic scope for grant applications.
Create an authentic mission statement, vision statement, and core values based on your real experience helping people overcome the problem you've identified.
Evaluate your organization's readiness across five key areas: Response-ability, Account-ability, Technical-ability, Evaluation-ability, and Sustain-ability. Track progress and identify gaps.
- •Start with the problem: Focus on the condition causing pain or hardship, not your solution or services.
- •Be specific: Use concrete details about your target population and service area.
- •Gather evidence: Add local statistics and data to strengthen your statements.
- •Export and refine: All tools allow you to export to PDF and edit your content.
- •Track your progress: Use the R.A.T.E.S. Dashboard regularly to monitor organizational readiness.
Have questions?