Is it June already?! I still have so much on my spring to do list! This month, Craig and I will take two short road trips which we are very excited about, plant our native flower garden beds, and work on finishing some personal projects around the house. Summer is such a good time to get organized!
2024 Key Grant Findings
One of the databases we use for research has just come out with the 2024 State of Grant Seeking Key Findings. I enjoyed reading their outcomes and felt that much of it resonated and reinforced things we have discussed here in the past.
One of the first things they said in the report was essentially:
- Applying for at least three grant awards greatly increased an organization’s chances of winning an award.
We always encourage our clients to apply for three awards to start. I have always thought this was a good number, one never feels like enough and four feels like too many at first. Three has always felt right to me and now that gut feeling is backed up by some data!
They also dug into some of the challenges organizations were facing as they sought grants. Two they discussed that jumped out to me were:
- Not having enough time and/or staff to complete grant applications.
- Challenges in finding aligned funding opportunities from funders.
These both resonated and are things that an organization like Sunflower can really help with – saving you time and providing targeted and aligned research. Getting time back is obvious, but we pride ourselves on the aligned research we provide to set our clients up for success from the start – a step that many try and skip.
This report was a good reinforcement that Sunflower is getting it right for our clients, that we know where the pain points are and that we are good in a great position to help.
Do you need a grant for any of these unique opportunities?
June – Pride Month
June 17 – 23 – Animal Rights Awareness Week
June 1 – National Trails Day
June 5 – World Environment Day
FACT
Grants are not your organizations crisis plan. Many organizations underestimate the amount of time, dedication, and commitment it takes to be successful in applying for and winning grants. Grant money is not fast or easy money. Keep that in mind.
TIP
Have a well thought out sustainability plan. Grants should not account for more than 30% of your overall organizational budget.
TRICK
One blogger suggested that we all have sections of a grant proposal that we dread writing, and that to get through that, we should reward ourselves at the end of completing them with a treat. Frankly, I’m all about rewards so try this next time for yourself!
GRANT OPPORTUNITY
Jetton Charitable Fund. Youth access to the arts, history, and natural sciences.
Opens June 1!
This is an exciting, inclusive grant opportunity!
Call or email us at 202-277-6344 or at katie@sunflowergw.com.
SPOTLIGHT ON A SUNFLOWER CLIENT
This month we are featuring the Kaneko Foundation.
Established in 1998 by international artist Jun Kaneko and his wife Ree, the Kaneko Foundation is headquartered in the Old Market District of Omaha, Nebraska. Kaneko has a vision to celebrate creativity and is committed to fostering it with four major programming themes: Design, Ideas, Performance, and Innovation.
Their purpose is exploring the creative process — how a new idea is born into the arts, sciences, and philosophy. There is no restriction for creative activity. Imagination has complete freedom. Supporting and promoting freedom in creativity is their mission.
Jun Kaneko was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1942, Jun studied painting, working in his studio during the day and attending high school in the evening. He came to the United States in 1963 to continue his studies at Chouinard Institute of Art when his introduction to Fred Marer drew him to sculptural ceramics. He proceeded to study what is now defined as the Contemporary Ceramics Movement in America.
The following decade, Jun taught at some of the nation’s leading art schools, including Scripps College, Rhode Island School of Design, and Cranbrook Academy of Art, before settling permanently in Omaha in 1986.
The Kaneko Foundation was established in 1998 by Jun and his wife, Ree, whose extensive experience with the Omaha arts community, nonprofit administration, and collaboration have been an essential part of the organization’s development. Jun and Ree envisioned the Kaneko Foundation as a gift to the community, a space that celebrates the creative spirit and explores and encourages creativity in all its expressions in the arts, sciences, and philosophy.
After purchasing a string of buildings in the Old Market, Jun recognized potential in the brick and concrete warehouses and imagined a future for the structures that would contribute to the community and the country that had supported him.
Jun imagined an institution that would bring to Omaha creative people of all types — artists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, poets, and scientists — connecting an increasingly diverse and vibrant Omaha to the arts, culture, and sciences worldwide.
Sunflower is helping the Kaneko Foundation secure funds to make this vision come to life.
That is all for now! Stay hopeful and passionate!
Leave a Reply