The SAPAA webinar on grant management highlighted essential practices for nonprofits. Key points included aligning grants with organizational strategy, strong governance for compliance, early engagement with funders, understanding contract terms, and planning for effective reporting. Challenges and solutions were discussed.
- Lessons and a Lifecycle
- Lesson 1: Grants follow Strategy
- Lesson 2: Operational Grants are Challenging
- Lesson 3: Capacity is Part of Governance
- Lesson 4: Engage with the Funder Early
- Lesson 5: Understand the Contract
- Lesson 6: Start with the End in Mind (Reporting)
- Lesson 7: General Grant Writing and Application Advice
- Lesson 8: Plan for the Worse – Integrity and Trust-Based Models
- Lesson 9: Common Challenges and Practical Solutions
- Lesson 10: Resources and Next Steps
- Taking Nature for Granted
The Stewards of Alberta’s Protected Areas Association of Alberta (SAPAA) hosted a webinar on best practices in grant management. Presenters were from SAPAA and the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation (AEF).
Panelists represented the artistic community (Flying Canoë Volant), Social Services, academic research, consulting (Miistakis Institute), and a funder (Edmonton Community Foundation, ECF). Good audience participation rounded out the event. To all of these individuals, a very hearty – Thank You!
Lessons and a Lifecycle
The following are some of the key messages from the event. In summary, nonprofits will increasingly look to grants to support their missions as volunteers and public enthusiasm continue to shrink. However, grants themselves come at a cost and are not ‘free money’.
Throughout the session, the IPOOG and Grant Management lifecycle model was used to contextualize various concepts.
Lesson 1: Grants follow Strategy
Grant management should not be siloed—it must align with organizational goals and strategic priorities. Successful programs integrate grant objectives with broader mission-driven outcomes.
Know Your Investment: Carefully assess the alignment of your project with the funder and the time investment required (which can be up to 40 hours for a single grant) versus the competition.
Lesson 2: Operational Grants are Challenging
Operation grants are particularly challenging to locate and often the most important to receive. They deal with contingencies and unforseen events that don’t neatly fit into a project or a grant application timeline. The arts community recognizes the role of operations. At the same time, communications with funders may allow for project monies to be reasonably redirected toward an urgent need.
Lesson 3: Capacity is Part of Governance
Strong Governance is your defense against noncompliance, which can lead to reputational risk, board distraction, and the prevention of future funding opportunities.
Treat the grant as a contract and immediately set up systems to track every single dollar of spending to meet compliance requirements. Use centralized systems to track grant deadlines, reporting requirements, and compliance metrics.
Establish clear roles and communication by defining responsibilities across finance, program, and administrative teams to avoid duplication or gaps. Regular cross-functional meetings help maintain alignment and surface issues early.
- SAPAA Pivot: The decision to pivot and partner with peer organizations instead of pursuing a grant demonstrated the need to match the complexity of the desired Outputs with the organization’s existing capacity.
Lesson 4: Engage with the Funder Early
Applicants should chat directly with program staff before applying, as this can help understand the best fit for the grant, receive feedback, and build a meaningful funder-applicant relationship.
The funder may also be aware of other ways to deliver the program. This may include direct involvement in your project or introduction to peer organizations. The funder wants you to be successful and may have other ways to accomplish this.
Understand your project’s Outputs and Outcomes (e.g., site inspections, conservation projects) to then align with the funder’s core mission (e.g., AEF’s focus on Climate, Nature, and Circular Economy).
- Beyond Funding: AEF supports Trust-Based Philanthropy and is open to collaboration methods like grant incubation, where the funder co-designs the scope of work and may participate in an advisory capacity.
Lesson 5: Understand the Contract
Use the funder’s publicly available application scorecard to guide your proposal and understand the evaluation criteria. Before accepting the grant, understand what you have agreed to deliver and the mechanisms available to the organization in case there is trouble ahead.
Lesson 6: Start with the End in Mind (Reporting)
Begin planning for the final report before the grant is even written. Successful reporting requires tracking financial data and non-cash contributions like volunteer hours. It also helps with compliance, telling the funder’s story, and getting more money in the future! Gather and report both qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate impact and inform future applications.
Lesson 7: General Grant Writing and Application Advice
Quality over Speed: It is often better to miss an application cycle than to submit a rushed or weak application, as a declined application can result in a mandatory waiting period (e.g., 6 months before re-applying).
Do not force information to fit criteria; it’s better to note a project weakness and explain how you plan to address it. Use artificial intelligence… intelligently. An application mainly written by AI can raise questions about the organization’s capacity or genuine interest.
Lesson 8: Plan for the Worse – Integrity and Trust-Based Models
Honest communication with the funder is key if a project runs into delays. Communicate early if there are challenges (or success stories). The funder wants you to be successful so build trust and integrity early in the relationship.
Lesson 9: Common Challenges and Practical Solutions
Challenges include staff turnover, inconsistent documentation, and shifting funder expectations. If possible:
- Peer mentoring and shared templates
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Grant readiness checklists
- Create a library of grant artefacts that can be reused
Technology Can Help – but it Will Cost You. Tools for identifying grants were analyzed, They can help stream applications and identify opportunities and included: GrantStation ($250/year), Instrumentl (AI-powered, $250/month), and Open Grants ($350/year).
Many of the tools are US focused with a lack of Canadian results.
Lesson 10: Resources and Next Steps
Recommended resources for learning about grant writing include the Non-profit Learning Center Grants Writing 101 (Alberta government) and the Align Association of Community Services, which lists various funding agencies.
Taking Nature for Granted
Grants have become critical part of the Input landscape for many organizations. Well established processes can make managing a grant a non-event. For organizations new to the grant landscape, planning, discussions with funders, and capacity building is paramount.
Organizational Biology 