What does it take to get government funding? Here are some ideas to ponder and steps to take:
Assess your funding opportunities. What are the goals of the funding organization? Right now goals permeating government funding opportunities are creation of green jobs, energy efficiency, sustainability and curtailing climate change.
Identify your goals based on the assessment. Can your organization create green jobs? Do you have a product or service that promotes energy efficiency? Does your service provide sustainable green jobs and help low-income communities prosper? Does your clean technology prevent carbon emissions?
Develop and cultivate relationships with funding organizations? These partnerships enable you to “listen” to your funding organization and truly get a sense of what they need. Your organization can validate these needs and continually assess how you can develop capabilities to meet these needs through a dynamic reflective process.
Maintain the credibility of your organization with good business practices and excellent service. Funding from the government is often leveraged. Do you have partnerships in communities where the funding agency operates? Are your accounting processes transparent? Will your service be sustainable after initial capital is reduced? Promote your success stories, take responsibility for your failures and show how you have modified your business as a result of failures.
Write and make presentations that are easily understood by your target audience. “Speak their language”. Do not make them work hard to understand what you are providing. Lay out your proposal as outlined above: describe the funding organizations needs, identify your organization as the best one to meet these needs; and prove you are the best by identifying benefits to the funding source and the community in which it operates.
