by David Tandet The most profound grant writing rule I ever learned is “the donut rule.” A long time ago I heard William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin’ Donuts, being interviewed. The interviewer asked Mr. Rosenberg the secret of his success. Rosenberg answered, “Give customers what they want, not what you want.” Actually, that’s similar to [...]

by David Tandet If you’ve been around a library, bookstore, coffeehouse, or airline seat in the last few decades, you know who Sue Grafton is — “A” is for Alibi . . . “U” is for Undertow. I saw an interview with Ms. Grafton and she said she took classes to learn about police procedural [...]

Moving Forward Together by David Tandet One of the concepts Jonathan O’Brien stresses in his groundbreaking book Right Before You Write is the desirability — make that necessity — of collaboration among potential grantees. It’s an idea whose time has come with the intensity of a gazillion dollar project. The idea of nonprofits working together [...]

 by David Tandet The real scoop on getting your grant proposal seriously considered? Use spell check. That’s not my opinion. It’s straight from the lips of Holly Cole, Verizon’s Director, Government & External Affairs, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Ms. Cole gave that advice during a recent presentation at the Ventura County Community Foundation. It [...]

by David Tandet Philanthropy and public relations have a long history together. When 19th century tycoons were attacked as robber barons, several set up foundations to contribute to good causes — in part to fend off the verbal assaults. Sometimes the infusion of capital into new works was so great that foundations had to set [...]

by David Tandet Jerry Lynch quoted former Olympic volleyball player Lori Endicott in his  sports psychology classic Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: “There are six people on the volleyball court. We all have different strengths, weaknesses, personalities. It creates a dynamic that’s more exhilarating than an individual sport.” In Right Before You Write, Jonathan O’Brien has [...]

by David Tandet What do well-written screenplays and successful grant proposals have in common? A lot, it turns out. Jonathan O’Brien explains all about it in his book Right Before You Write. O’Brien’s “Almost World Famous Seven Cs” can be applied to both disciplines. If it sounds like a gimmick, well yours truly is for [...]

by David Tandet Came across a terrific item by Emily (Emily’s World) on how non-profits can use the social web to spread the word. Believe it or not, the whole concept of simply “getting the message out” is not as much of a no-brainer as it might first appear. That’s because a lot of people [...]