In this webinar, Alice Ruhnke of GrantStation, shared how to infuse your grant proposals with strengths, solutions, and with a clear understanding of what funders are looking for and have a fresh perspective on what works in your organization and community.

1. Putting Your Best Foot Forward:
How to Incorporate Strengths in Your Grant Proposals
Alice Ruhnke
President of GrantStation

2. Agenda
• Fundamentals
• How to identify your
strengths
• How to incorporate
strengths in your
proposals
• Question and answers

3. Fundamentals
Where do I show
how needy my
organization is?

4. Fundamentals
“Strength-based”
Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
Engage all stakeholders
Build on what exists in the community
Strength-based approaches are energy builders

5. Project Planning Framework

6. AI | Grant Sections | Activities
Phase Grant Sections Tasks
Discover Background • Mobilizing the whole system by engaging all stakeholders
• Inquiring into the positive core and strengths of the
organization
• Aligning strengths to meet community needs
• Sharing best practices/organizational accomplishments to
enhance effectiveness and efficiency
Dream Needs
Outcomes
• Creating images of a better world
• Developing strategic, results-oriented vision of the
organization serving society
Design Approach • Creating strategies to reach your dream/outcomes
• Crafting a plan to achieve your dream/outcomes
Destiny Evaluation • Acting to realize the dream
• Celebrating accomplishments
• Changing course en-route if necessary

7. Discover/Organizational Background
What works well in our organization that we can build on?
• What are our proudest achievements in the last year or two?
How do they reflect our greatest strengths?
• What makes us unique? What can we be best at in our world?
• How do we use our strengths to get results?
• What has changed in our community as a result of our
organization’s work?
• What are the core factors that give life to our organization when
it is at its best?

8. Dream/Needs
How can we use our strengths to meet community needs?
• How can we best meet the needs of our stakeholders, including
the people we serve, the community, and employees?
• How can we use our greatest strengths to meet community
needs?
• Who are possible new clients/participants?
• What are the top three opportunities on which we should focus
our efforts?
• How can we reframe challenges to be seen as exciting
opportunities?

9. Dream/Outcomes
What is the change we wish to see in the community?
• What changes do we expect to see in skills, knowledge, and
attitudes?
• What changes do we expect to see in behavior?
• What changes to we expect to see in condition or status?

10. Design/Approach
How will we meet our community’s needs?
• What action will we take to facilitate the change we wish to see?
• How can we involve all stakeholders in the design of the
program?
• How can we encourage engagement, commitment, and
enthusiasm for the program?
• What resources do we need to implement vital projects?
• How can we engage the positive potential of all employees
toward transforming the organization?

11. Destiny/Evaluation
How will we know we are succeeding?
• What meaningful measures would indicate that we are on track
to achieving our intended outcomes?
• What are 3 to 5 indicators that would create a scorecard that
addresses our impact on clients?
• How can we celebrate our accomplishments along the way?
• What can we learn from our efforts?
• How can we communicate our results with the public?

12. Incorporating Strengths into Proposals
Background/Organizational Capacity
• Strengths/positive impacts of your
programs
Need
• Local, relevant, up-to-date, sources
cited

13. Incorporating Strengths into Proposals
Approach
• Evidence-based practices
• Partners
• Key staff

14. Incorporating Strengths into Proposals
Outcomes
• Identify the change you anticipate making in people’s
lives
Evaluation
• Evaluating the changes you will make in people’s lives
Budget
• Cost effective approach
• Cost savings to society

15. Grant Readiness Checklist

16. TechSoup Promotion
GrantStation Membership $99
September 19-20, 2023
Free Webinar
All Aboard: How to Use GrantStation’s Tools
September 14, 2023
2-3 pm ET
Questions?
Free Webinar
How to Use a “Grants Scorecard” to Create Winning Proposals
September 19, 2023
2-3 pm ET

17. .
Alice Ruhnke, President
GrantStation
www.grantstation.com
alice@grantstation.com
877.784.7268
info@grantstation.com
Thanks for Participating!