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 received 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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Revolutionize your grant seeking strategy!

For a flat price of $27,500 upfront (or for a $7,500 quarterly rate or a $2,800 monthly rate), Sharpshooter will, over the course of a 12-month period:

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

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

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

• Provide access to Sharpshooter's cloud-based grant proposal management site Grant Holster (normally $89 per month).

• Assess and provide recommendations on your organization’s IRS 990, your most important fundraising document. 

• 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, nonprofit 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 $120 per hour (e.g., if you have 12 foundation grants that you want done instead of ten). Our normal rate is $135 per hour.

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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

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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 grant readiness.

 

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

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Sharpshooter Point Report™

To identify the optimal funders for your organization, Sharpshooter identifies keywords and other nonprofit organizations with similar missions. We then conduct a thorough review of previous grants awarded locally, statewide, and nationally to determine which funders have a pattern of funding missions similar to yours.

You will have access to our complete findings, which include:

• A summary of the research process

• The list of top grantmaking prospects, organized by:

  • Deadline

  • Probability of funding success

• Profiles on similar nonprofits and their grant sources

• Profiles on each top grantmaking 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 of your projects or programs. These statements describe the “who, what, why, where, when, and how” of your organization and its programs to make it stand out from the other 1.5 million nonprofits across the nation. 

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The Grant Vault™

Every grant application is unique, but much of the information required for each application is similar. Sharpshooter collects this often-required 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: The problem statement, goals, partners, audience, activities, outcomes, evaluation, budget, staffing, etc. for each of the organization’s program areas

• 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: Copies of news articles, awards, and other information that will help your organization stand out

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

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The Grant Vault™ is a living database that is updated regularly and reviewed quarterly by 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. Funders may review your organization’s information on Guidestar as part of their grant-making process.

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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 the 1.5 million nonprofits in the nation, only five percent have received a Platinum designation from Guidestar.

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

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Reach out now to contact us about the Rapid Fire Accelerator and get your organization the funding it needs!