Cape Cod Child Development is a trailblazer in applying Lean Six Sigma to the nonprofit world. Watch this 30 minute success story webinar to learn how Amanda Booth improved the time to deliver of grant information by an entire week. Find out how more lead time allowed them to win more grants! https://goleansixsigma.com/success-story-improving-grant-submission-cycle-time-entire-week-amanda-booth/

1. Improving Grant Submission
Cycle Time by an Entire Week
Presented by Amanda Booth
Director of Development and Communications
Cape Cod Child Development

2. About Our Presenter
• Director of Development and
Communication
• Cape Cod Child Development
Amanda Booth

3. Root Cause Analysis
What are the critical findings/root causes that were discovered?
Solutions Implemented
1. The volume of grants coming in at a time. 2.There was a lack of frequent
communication on my part to the grant team. 3. Grant team was not making
all of the grants a priority and other tasks were taking presidence 4. Grant
team did not meet on a regular basis. 5. Grant communication was getting
lost in emails. 6. Grant team would procrastinate 7. Grant members were
submitted incomplete data to grant writer
Graphical Display of Improvement
Insert a chart, graph or visual demonstrating process improvement
List key solutions that were implemented to address root causes
1. set up weekly emails to grant team to remind them of grant deadlines. 2.
set up an initial meeting with grant team to talk about problems, and then a
monthly meeting to address any issues to make sure it is a priority. 3. Refer
to number 2, and now a monthly meeting is in place. 4. Myself and Grant
writer go over guidelines together, and I double check them in the editing
process. 5-7. weekly reminders are now set up in grant team's calendar, as
well as in person follow ups by me if I do not hear from them.
What is the importance of doing this project? (State in lost dollars,
productivity loss, customer dissatisfaction, cost avoidance, risk, etc.)
What are the measureable process improvements/wins?
1. I have seen the last three grants be completed with more than a week
to spare. 2. it resulted in one "yes" from town of Brewster so far. 3. Grant
team is more communicative via email and in person with myself and grant
writer.
The purpose of doing this project is to complete grants more efficiently, as
well as on time (from one day out to seven days out), which will in turn result
in more "yeses" from the foundations.
Take Away: The importance of different types of frequent communication

4. DEFINE PHASE

5. Take Away: This project is worth doing because it will result in getting more grants
Phase Planned Actual
Define: 25-Apr 22-May
Measure: 24-May 22-May
Analyze: 27-Jun
Improve: 1-Jul
Control: 1-Aug
Process Start: Position Person
Process End: Team Lead Amanda Eisnor 6 months
Sponsor Anne Colwell 6 Mmonths
In: Team Member Lisa Cavanaugh 6 Months
Out: Team Member *rest depend on
what grant
Team Member
Project Charter
Problem Statement Business Case & Benefits
Increase the Number of Grants Ready from one day to one week out
Submit grant to foundations
process steps, time to prepare grant narrarive,
time to edit and review all grant materials
IT issues, changes in grant procecures,
decisions to approve or reject grant narrative
Time Commitment
Goal Statement Timeline
The goal is to increase the number of grants ready from one day
out to one week out by July 2017.
Scope In/Out Team Members
Receive criteria for grant
Grants are being completed 90 percent of time within 24 hours of
the due date, giviing the grant writer minimal time to review. This
effects the efficencies within the process which could potentially
result in the decrease of approvals.
It is worth doing this project because: it gives the grant writer more
time to craft the narrative, it will streamline the grant process so
that it is more organized, it could potentially result in more
"yeses" from foundations etc.

6. Customer Comment
(What Are They Saying?)
Gathering More Understanding
(Why Are They Saying it?)
Customer Requirement
(What Do They Want?)
Voice of the Customer Translation Matrix
Reviewers want grant by XYZ deadline So that the grant reviewers have the time to properly evaluate the grant proposal. Final product matches grant criteria
Amanda Eisnor wants the data for the grant two weeks ahead of time So my grant writer has at least one week to craft the narrative Submit Grant by deadline
Take Away: I’m the customer of this process - and I need grants submitted with more lead time

7. S I P O C
Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers
Grant Holders Grant Data completed grant Grant holders
SIPOC:
Criteria received
for grant
submission
Brainstorm
topics
Decide who is
point person
Collect data
Customer Requirements
accurate information, completed by deadline, fits
into category and all information for proposal is
submitted one week prior to the due date
write grant
submit
Take Away:The important of customer requirements within the SIPOC

8. P roces s Name Increase the Number of Grants ready for submission from one day to one week out
No
Yes
Group or
Departme
nt 6
Group or
Departme
nt 7
C C C D
Grant
S taff
Grant
manag er
and data
collector
Grant
Writer
F oundati
on
Grant criteria
is received
Decision Assign point
person
Gather Data
Submit data
to grant
manger
Select topic
for grant
submission
Brainstorm
topics
Review data
Write Grant
Narrative
Final edits
Submit
narrative to
grant
Submit grant
to
foundation
Take Away: Mapping made it clear how many steps are involved in the process end to end and how many
people it takes to complete the process

9. MEASURE PHASE

10. Take Away:Tracked all aspects of timing around grant process
Measure
Data
Type
Operational Definition
Stratification
Factors
Sampling Notes Who and How
Grant Criteria
Timeline
days-
continuous
The number of grants submitted one week out
by end of day by
external foundation
March-October
foundation sends by
USPS or email
Data
Collection
Timeline
days-
continuous
The time it takes for the data collector to gather
all necessary information needed to help
complete the grant and submit to the grant
writer.
by end of day by
internal deadline
internal deadline is 14 days
before grant is due
data collector submits via
email
Grant Narrative
Timeline
days-
continuous
The time it takes for the grant writer to review
the data, craft the narative and submit to the
grant manager.
by end of day by
internal deadline
internal deadline is 7 days
before grant is due
grant writer submits via
email
Grant
submission
timeline
days-
continuous
The time it takes for the grant manager to
review the grant narrative, make any necessary
edits and gather supporting documents for
submission.
by end of day by
external foundation
timeline
external foundation deadline
is whatever date the
foundation said the grant was
due
grant manager submite via
USPS, email or online
portal. (depends on
foundation)
Data Collection Plan

11. RUN CHART – BASELINE OF DAYS
PRIORTO DUE DATETHAT GRANTS
ARE SUBMITTED
Median: 1.00
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
2
W
oods
H
ole…
M
utualofAm
erica
-…
R
ockland
Trust-April…
C
ooperative
Bank
C
C
…
RunChart:DaysOut
Take Away: Grants from March-April are being submitted less than two days from due date

12. ANALYZE PHASE

13. Grant Process
Systems
Not Aware
Not a priority
Procrastination
Process
volume of
lost in emails
lack of criteria
Forms
incorrect forms
lost form
incomplete
Other tasks insufficent data
People Grantor Data
Effect: Why
not meet
one week
ahead?
Take Away: Biggest issues are making it a priority, people have other things on their plate and the volume
of grants coming into the process

14. Take Away: The importance of prioritizing each grant
Why? Because Why? Because Why? Because Why? Because Why? Because
Why does it
take so long to
write each
grant
proposal?
Because other
tasks take
precedence,
and grant
proposal has to
be detailed
Why does it
have to be so
detailed?
Because the
more detail you
have, the more
the grant
readers will
know
Why do the
grant readers
need to know
so much about
the proposal?
Grant readers
need detailed
proposals to
see if your
priorites fit into
their funding
Why is it
important for
grant team not
to procrastinate
on funding
initatives?
Because
prioritizing the
grant will give
more days for
grant writer to
edit and perfect
Why is it
important for
grant team to
prioritize each
grant more
than one day
Because it will
result in more
"yeses" from
grant
holders/reader
s
5 Whys
Why 1 Why 2 Why 3 Why 4 Why 5

15. Take Away: Measuring the cycle time helped to understand why grant information came in late
Hypothesis # Possible Root Cause (x) Root Cause Hypothesis Result
1 Preparation Time
Grant team does not make grants a priority which results in grants being
submitted within 24 of being due.
TRUE, see run
chart
2 Preparation Time
Other tasks are taking precendence over grants, which results in less than 24
hours time to both edit and submit.
TRUE, see run
chart
3 Preparation Time
The volume of grants that need to be completed within 2-3 month's time can
prevent grant team from completing seven days out
TRUE, see run
chart
Root Cause Hypothesis

16. IMPROVE PHASE

17. Take Away: It is imperative to implement all of the communication tactics above
Project Goal
Enter Goal Statement below:
(As stated on Project Charter)
Very Low
(less good)
Moderate
Very High
(best)
1 2 3 4 5
Potential Solution Potential to
Meet Goal
Positive
Customer
Impact
Cost to
Implement
(1 = $$$
& 5 = $)
Stakeholder
Buy-in
Time to
Implement
(1 = Long
5 = Quick)
Weighted Criteria 10 9 8 7 5
Set up weekly calendar reminders 5 5 5 4 5 188 Yes
Set up a mandatory monthly meeting 4 5 5 4 4 173 Yes
Follow-up in person as due date approaches - set
up reminder to do this weekly
5 5 5 4 5 188 Yes
Adapted communications to style of colleague
(i.e. Sonia prefers text, Barbara in person)
4 5 5 4 4 173 Yes
Mandatory brainstorming session before each
grant with entire grant team to go over grant
guidelines and what to write about
4 5 5 4 4 173 Yes
Total
Score
Implement?
Yes/No
Solution Selection Matrix
Please rank each solution for each criteria
by using the 1-5 Scale as indicated below

18. RUN CHART POST-IMPROVEMENTS OF
DAYS PRIORTO DUE DATETHAT
GRANTS ARE SUBMITTED
Take Away: Resolving issues from my root cause analysis made the biggest improvement
Median: 4.00
1
3
5
7
9
1…
2…
1…
1…
3…
7…
2…
1…
RunChart:DaysOut
# of Days Out Grants Received

19. CONTROL PHASE

20. Name of the
Measure
Input,
Process or
Output?
What is the
Target?
Method of Data
Capture
Checking
Frequency
Person
Responsible
Upper/Lower
Trigger
Measure
Who Will
Respond?
Reaction Plan
Number of grants
completed on
time per month
0
100 percent
on time
Excel
Spreadsheet
weekly
Amanda
Eisnor
once a week
Amanda
Eisnor
Communicate with
Chief of Education
and grant team
Number of
reminders needed
to complete grant
on time
I 100% Outlook Calendar
two to three
times per
week
Amanda
Eisnor
once a week
Amanda
Eisnor
Continually send out
reminders to grant
team and follow up in
person
Monitoring Plan Response Plan
Take Away: Need to communicate with grant team in a variety of ways regarding grant deadline

21. Process
Innovation/Addition/Change/Removal
(Describe the solution)
Process Benefits
(Describe measurable plus intangible
benefits of the change)
Area/Department/Business Unit
(Indicate the area that could
benefit from innovation transfer)
Bi-Weekly calendar reminders
for various grants
Faster grant completion Grant Team
Mandatory monthly meetings Prepared to complete grant on time Grant Team
Monthly communication with
grant holders
Grant information submitted matches
grant topic
Grant Team
Innovation Transfer Opportunities
Take Away:The more reminders I send to grant team, the faster I get information needed back

22. LESSONS LEARNED
• The importance of frequent communication with grant
team
• The importance of a grant calendar
• The importance of brainstorming
• The importance of learning each individual’s preferred
communication styles
• The importance of working ahead of time on each grant

23. PROJECT BENEFITS
• Working ahead of time on grants will give more time to review
and perfect the grant before submission
• Completing grants ahead of time will essentially result in more
“yesses” from grants holders, foundations etc.
• Learning communication styles of each member of the grant
team results in our team working better together, and makes
us stronger as whole
• The more “yesses” our nonprofit receives, the stronger our
programming and organization as a whole will be

24. Questions?

25. Getting Started
Check out more success stories from Go-Getters
just like you at GoLeanSixSigma.com/Success

26. Thank You for Joining Us!
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contact@goleansixsigma.com
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