The Rapid Fire Accelerator is ideal for:

• An established small- to mid-sized organization with annual revenue between $1 million - $5 million. While the organization may have gotten a few grants, there is likely no active grant-seeking strategy in place. 

• The organization may have a development director, but does not currently have a dedicated grant professional on staff.

• The organization leadership has a goal of launching or accelerating a grant seeking strategy.

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Raise $25,000 in grants for the year - guaranteed! 

For a flat price of $25,000 upfront (quarterly $7,000, monthly $2,500), Sharpshooter will, over the course of a 12-month period:

• Create a bespoke Point Report™ for the organization to identify top grant-maker prospects. What's that?

• Create case statements for the organization and up to three programs. What's that?

• Fill the Grant Vault™ for the organization. What's that?

• Access to Sharpshooter's cloud-based grant proposal management site Grant Holster (normally $99 per month).

• Provide an assessment and recommendations on your most important fundraising document, the IRS 990.

• Create and implement a plan to raise the organization’s GuideStar rating. What's that?

• Craft excellent proposals for up to 10 private foundations identified as top prospects in the Point Report™.

• Provide up to two hours per month (one half-hour weekly) coaching on grants, additional prospect research, fundraising, best practices, etc. (normally priced at $250 a month)

• Provide weekly project update emails and quarterly progress reports.

• Any additional services will be billed at a discounted rate of $100 per hour (e.g., if you have 12 foundation grants that you want done instead of ten). Our normal rate is $125 per hour.

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If proposals crafted as part of the Rapid Fire Accelerator do not garner at least $25,000 in grant awards, Sharpshooter will donate the balance to the organization. 

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To qualify for the Rapid Fire Accelerator, the organization MUST:

• Score a 41 or higher on the Grant Readiness Assessment. 

• Fulfill agreed-upon expectations, including

  • Meeting deadlines set and agreed upon during the planning period;

  • Providing needed information and feedback in a timely manner;

  • Submitting timely payments - within ten working days of invoice.

• Agree to appropriately steward the grants received (coaching is provided)

• Agree to work in accordance with the Code of Ethics for the Grant Professionals Association and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. 

• Agree to abide by the Donor Bill of Rights.

 

Note: Failure to meet these requirements will nullify the guarantee but Sharpshooter will still fulfill the scope of work to the best of our ability.

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Grant Readiness Assessment

Sharpshooter’s free Grant Readiness Assessment is a tool used by grant professionals across the nation to determine how “ready” an organization is to seek grants. The online assessment asks 19 questions that gauge the organization’s capacity to attract grant makers. 

 

Upon completion of the assessment, a score and a report are automatically generated and emailed to the organization. Organizations that score 41-88 points are considered “grant ready.” Organizations with lower scores are provided guidance on best practices that would help them achieve readiness.

 

To qualify for the Rapid Fire Accelerator, organizations would need to score at least 41 points on the Grant Readiness Assessment. 

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Sharpshooter Point Report™

Sharpshooter works with your organization to identify keywords (prospecting) and other nonprofit organizations with similar missions (cohort analysis). Sharpshooter conducts a thorough review of previous grants awarded locally, statewide and nationally to determine which funders have a pattern of funding missions similar to yours.

 

The findings are presented to the organization and include:

• A summary of the research process

• The list of top prospects, organized by:

  • Deadline

  • Probability of funding success

• Profiles on similar nonprofits and their grant sources

• Profiles on each top prospect

• A list of corporate giving programs

• A list of all foundations in the state

• The raw search data, organized by keyword (it’s a data dump, but we also provide summary information)

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Organization Case Statements

Author Michael Selzer defines a case statement as:

 

"...a written document that states the most important facts about an organization. It can range in length from a wallet-size card to twenty pages or more. Preparing such a statement provides the opportunity to amass data that will best illustrate the competence of your staff and the effectiveness of your work."

 

A key part of the Rapid Fire Accelerator is the creation of well-crafted case statements for your organization and up to three projects or programs. These statements include the”who, what, why, where, when, and how” to make your organization stand out among the 1.5 million other nonprofit organizations in the nation. 

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The Grant Vault™

Every grant application is unique, but much of the information in each is common. Sharpshooter collects this information and stores it in the Grant Vault™, where it is organized and updated regularly. This includes information about:

• General Information: Organization name, address, date of incorporation, tax ID, mission statement, etc.

• Programs: This includes an overview of each program area for the organization and includes the problem statement, goals, partners, audience, activities, outcomes, evaluation, budget, staffing, etc.

• Governance and Staff: Information on each board member and key staff. 

• Fiscal and Regulatory Information: Copies of your 990, your determination letter, copies of policies and procedures, etc.

• Partnerships and Collaborators: Information on partnerships and collaborative efforts with other organizations.

• Awards, Recognition, and Publicity: We store copies of news articles, awards, and other information that will help your organization stand out.

• Notes and Verbiage: We have a “catch-all” folder for any notes, documents, or verbiage we want to keep at our fingertips.

 

The Grant Vault™ is a living database that is updated regularly and reviewed quarterly by the organization leadership and Sharpshooter. 

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Guidestar Rating

Guidestar is a third-party information source on nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. Every 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS is listed on Guidestar. Prospective donors may review the information on Guidestar as part of their grant-making process. 

 

Nonprofit organizations can seek a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum designation from Guidestar, which indicates the organization is both transparent and committed to using nonprofit best practices. Out of the1.5 million nonprofits in the nation, only five percent have achieved the Platinum designation from Guidestar.

 

As part of the Rapid Fire Accelerator, Sharpshooter will help you achieve the highest Guidestar designation possible for your organization.

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