So your non-profit organization received a marketing grant? Congratulations! But, now what do you do with it?

That’s where grant money can feel like a blessing and a curse. When you were a child, did you ever have a phase where you really, really wanted a pet? Maybe it was a puppy or a fluffy kitten. Or maybe you were one of those snake kids. Either way, you probably begged and pleaded for your parents to let you get a pet of your own. Then, finally, the day came when your dream came true. Now your little bundle of fluff (or scales) was in your hands, licking your face. That’s like the day you found out that your nonprofit was awarded a grant. Then, your parents began to show you everything required to take care of your pet. You have to feed it, water it, clean up after it, and train it… all so it would be the great pet that you had imagined. Why did no one tell us about the work, stress, and responsibilities required to get the most out of this gift?

Receiving a grant is the exact same scenario. It can be the most exciting thing and the most daunting thing all at the same time. But, it’s all manageable. Let’s take a moment and breathe. Relax, here are our top three tips and tricks to help you make the most of this new gift. Besides, getting a grant is way better than getting a snake, right?

Have a plan.

It’s easy to get excited and spend grant money like throwing something at a wall and seeing what sticks, however, there’s a better way to benefit from a grant. Developing a plan for growth, either for your organization as a whole or for one specific area, starts with defining targeted goals for the future. We suggest getting together with management, staff, and board members to gain different perspectives about your organization’s pain points, areas of growth potential, and possible improvements.

Once you and your leadership have a good top-down view of these items, it will become much easier to know where you should focus your efforts. Decide what needs to be addressed now, what can wait, what can be addressed with effort, and which items require a budget. This will act as your road map and keep everyone on the same page when it comes to allocating grant money.

Make the most of every dollar.

Sure, with enough time, studying, and YouTube videos, you could probably become a confident marketing specialist… but is that what you want to do? Is that what your organization needs you to do? Can you gain that knowledge and experience fast enough so that you can implement a successful strategy in a reasonable time? We’ve done our fair share of working with non-profit organizations to know that wearing multiple hats to get the job done is commonplace. However, we’ve also seen the effects of wearing too many hats, trying to handle too much, and setting individual goals that are too lofty to be reasonable. Don’t feel like you have to do it all yourself. Sometimes, the better and best option is to utilize the money to hire an expert in the marketing field. Bringing in an outside consultant or working with an agency can be the most cost-efficient approach that gains a better bang for your grant bucks. Advertising agencies are commissioned by most media outlets so tapping into their expertise costs you nothing and an experienced agency will research your target demo to determine the most cost-effective way to get your message to the right audience. Save time, effort, and money, by putting your marketing strategy in the hands of an experienced expert and it can help boost your organization’s business without suffering burnout or overloading a staff member.

Say the right things, the right way, to the right people.

Having a solid strategy helps you and your organization stay on track, but you also need to ensure that your organization’s content, social media posts, and overall messaging speak to your audience in the correct way. Are you targeting an older demographic or are you focused on reaching newer generations? What if your current followers aren’t your target audience? These, along with other questions, can help you understand what type of messaging and content you should be putting out. That can mean the difference between putting out a very specific topic-focused blog article and a playful series of video reels on Instagram, or maybe even both. These items all add up to form your messaging, and it’s extremely important to make sure your message arrives at the best time, in the best way, to the correct audience. Imagine reading a scientific journal article to a group of kindergarten students. That’s the wrong message and the wrong audience. Make sure you’ve got the right message and you’re delivering it to the right audience.

Find more grants.

Whether you’ve just gotten a grant or are in the research stage, knowing about all the potential grants that you could be eligible for is key. There are an extreme number of grants out there, grants for things that you may not have even thought about. Did you know that there is a Google Ad Grant specifically for non-profits that awards access to up to $10,000 worth of Google ad credits per month? The biggest hurdle here is knowing where to find these kinds of grants and how to successfully apply and take advantage of them. We recommend searching online as well as reaching out to similar non-profits like yours, even ones in different cities and states, to see if they have been in your shoes previously.

At Kelley & Associates, we’re always excited to connect with incredible non-profits on a range of topics. Check out some of our work with organizations like Porter-Leath, Meritan, Shelby County Health Department, and the City of Germantown. If you need some guidance with marketing strategy, creative consultation, content creation, or just some direction on how to get the ball rolling after you’ve received a grant, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at admin@kelleyadv.com and schedule your free consultation today.

Hear what our clients have to say:

“Kelley & Associates researched our target audience to ensure they not only developed impactful creative but negotiated cost-efficient media tactics to stretch our limited budget and reach and connect with our audience in creative and innovative ways. Kelley & Associates was even able to optimize and target down to the zip code level across the media landscape resulting in a very effective, highly targeted campaign.”

-Melanie Keller, President and CEO, Meritan