Welcome back! đ
We hope youâre enjoying a lovely transition into fall! Grab a warm mug of your favorite spiced-something and cozy up as we reflect on some grant projects weâve had fun with and provide some knowledge to glean from for moving forward on your funding journey.
In this newsletterâŠ
ICYMI (in case you missed it!)
Blog Alert! Using Grants to Help Fund Your Brand
What Grants Professionals Can Provide
Grants 101: Eligibility & Competitiveness đČ
G.W.A.W (Grants We Are Watching)
ICYMI: Webinar Response!
After last monthâs webinar we had some incredible responses and interest and that we will be featuring the products resulting from it again soon! Stay tuned so that you donât miss the announcement for the next webinar in the series. We are looking forward to diving in deeper and talking more about partnerships and project development with all of you!
Using Grants to Help Fund Your BrandÂ
( & why you should outsource grant writing đ )
More and more, we see businesses and brands stepping up in the marketplace to help support the adoption of regenerative methods throughout every level of the supply chain. They go the extra mile to sustain and strengthen the production of essential commodities like food, make sustainable value-added products that utilize and incentivize these methods, and educate consumers about why it all matters in the first place. They are driven by integrity and the perspective that comes from the awakening to, or inherent understanding of, the fact that we have to start to do things differently.Â
However, all of this effort costs more than our misinformed supply chains and markets have wanted to admit, let alone factor into end costs. These initiatives face financial constraints because entities at every point in the supply chain (producers, copackers, processors, wholesalers, consumersâeveryone) have become accustomed to quick fixes. Even while the detrimental and uneven results of fast-acting conventional methods are well documented, embracing a holistic approach that may result in more regenerative systems requires patience. The additional cost of stewarding and repairing ecological resources presents a gap that needs to be filled between the true cost of producing goods and their current market value.
There are funders out there who make grants to support the very things you are passionate about. They believe in your vision, too. In fact, it aligns with their own, but neither of you can get there by yourselves. It is important to remember that the funding relationship is mutually beneficialâ you are conspiring to make a difference.
Elaina, founder and CEO of Refonte Ventures, recently had the opportunity to review federal grant applications and found out just how tempting assumptions about grants can be, and just how detrimental! She encountered many applications that seemed to lack attention to detail and ability to follow instructions, and it was frustrating. How could a multimillion dollar company totally fail to properly fill out whole sections of the application, or absolutely squander the opportunity to provide more information? If a multimillion dollar company is going to waste their time submitting grants that donât stand a chance, then surely small businesses and nonprofits cannot afford to waste their precious time making the same mistakes.Â
This is why getting help to navigate the grants process might make sense for you and your organization. Though it can seem like a big investment, it is important to consider that the amount you spend to contract a professional is much less than you would spend having a full-time grant writer on staff. Not only that, but your chance of crafting and submitting an effective proposal increases significantly when you work with someone who has an in-depth understanding of the grants world.
What Grants Professionals Can ProvideâŠ
Effectively crafted narratives that clearly convey the complex inner workings that make your business successful.
If someone were to ask you what you do every day you might list tasks that are top of mind, or most exciting for you. But, did you think to tell them that you brush your teeth in the morning and evening? Probably not! It is easy to make assumptions or overlook routine tasks that are critical to the operations of the business, or your relations with partners. The simple act of having someone else step in that wants to understand and help you explain just how things work is game-changing.Â
Support and guidance building and leveraging successful partnerships.Â
We recently collaborated with Alejandra of Diseño de Proyecto Socioambientales in Mexico City to put on a webinar in which we emphasized the idea of creative partnerships. This was born of the understanding that two heads are better than one. We are experts at thinking critically about the collaboration that you and your business have taken part in. We are here to help you solidify those partnerships, and work with other entities that are aligned with your goals. Funders love to see well connected organizations.
Reframing your projects to emphasize how your endeavors align with the funder objectives.
You might know of all the reasons you need and want the funding, but it is important to understand that funders donât just want to help you. Instead, they want to understand how helping you will in fact ripple outward, having a deeper impact and effecting a wider audience. Grants professionals are keyed into how to strategically frame the work you do and your vision in terms of the funderâs priorities.
A valuable set of assets that will serve you in marketing, future grant applications, partnerships, and so much more.Â
Last, but not least, grants writers will leave you with the skills and the assets that can be repurposed. You will have the template to write more strong grant proposals, and be on your way to becoming an insider in the grants world. You also will have fostered important connections that will continue to be fruitful for your business.
Here are some clients that we have worked with who create regenerative CPG, and how we have helped them to access grants and rethink funding strategy.Â
KALONA REGENERATIVE NETWORK đ
Operating since 2005 as the regenerative dairy brand Kalona Supernatural, the company realized that all of the work they had been doing to support and educate their dairy producers in order to source the high quality raw milk that was made into their products was something they wanted to expand upon through the creation of the nonprofit - Kalona Regenerative Network. Since then, we have been working with them to access grant funding to help cover the costs of the work they were already doing as a business, grow that work to impact more regenerative dairy producers, and educate consumers to increase producer incentives!Â
A REGENERATIVE SPIRITS BRAND đ đ·
This company came to us with an impressive vision and robust track record in business and successful collaboration. Through our eligibility assessment process we advised them to aim higher and helped them to put the incredible work they already have been engaged in into context in the grants and funding world. Now, we are preparing to apply for a larger award that will cover the full budget that they have laid out for the project. While the grant they choose to go for may be more complicated than they originally thought, we were able to help them to see that the foundation for such a proposal was there all along.Â
A CATTLE RANCHER PRODUCING GRASS-FED BEEF đ„©
This family-owned and operated grass-fed beef company needed funding to help pay for the raw commodity and processing costs required to take her cattle to their value-added form. The goal was to get nutrient dense grass-fed regenerative beef products into school cafeterias across California through a program that she runs in partnership with other ranchers, processors, and nonprofits. We helped one of the owners find the grant that fit her needs best and that allowed her to apply using the ranching business as the applicant entity, but with a proposal that supported the entire value-chain she worked within. This grant included funding for the marketing budget for the program, significantly lowering the amount herself and the partners would have to spend on updating and expanding their marketing.Â
Grants 101: Eligibility & Competitiveness
Why should you conduct an đđčđ¶đŽđ¶đŻđ¶đčđ¶đđ đźđ»đ± đđŒđșđœđČđđ¶đđ¶đđČđ»đČđđ đđđđČđđđșđČđ»đ? đŁ â
Year after year the feds or a private organization that you admire announces a funding opportunity that you have wanted to apply for. Finally, after years of developing your business or nonprofit and creating and strengthening partnerships youâve decided itâs time to pull the trigger and put in an application! đ„ł
W A I TâââÂ
Even though the funding opportunity announcement says that the award max is $3M, the maximum available for the đ±đłđ°đ«đŠđ€đ” đ”đșđ±đŠ that you are applying for is actually only $80K and you need $3M to make your project work. While the announcement said âfarmers and ranchers can applyâ, there are specific legal requirements for the entity types, and for the numbers of farmers and ranchers that have to be involved, etcâŠand there is no way of knowing all of this unless you read the đđŸđđ print newspaper-column-formatted RFP (What is RFP, you ask? The Request For Proposals - one of đŽđŠđ·đŠđłđąđ acronyms for the same thing).Â
Long story short, donât spend countless hours toiling over a proposal UNTIL you have conducted an eligibility & competitiveness assessment! đ§ŻÂ
Donât know how? đ€ Thatâs why weâre here! Our team at RefontĂȘ Ventures has had the privilege of navigating this process and often finding a better fit opportunity for funding your project! Book a consultation with us to learn more!
đ Grants We Are Watching đ
What do you think? Is there more that you would like to read and learn about in our newsletter or through what we offer? Tell us at grantwriting@refonteventures.com.
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Till next time!
~ The RefontĂȘ Ventures Team