How would you handle a poorly prepared grant application?

Removed by me. I misunderstood the question.

I too would be very concerned about their ability to effectively run the program. It show a lack of dilligence a no attention to detail. Two very important skills in running a non- profit I would suspect.

Also, the flippant nature of some if the responses makes me question there maturity.

I would politely ask for a resubmittal. If you think the cause is worthy and they mean well, I might extend the revision dealine a bit if that is allowed.

@Mr_M: Yes and no. In these instances, the ultimate recipients are completely removed from the process. The program directors/managers/administrators are applying on behalf of their program. @cprevite makes a good point. The word flippant is what I thought of while reading. It was almost as if they were saying, you know we need it…why make us jump through hoops? These monies have been available for years, but I’ve never seen such a poorly prepared group of applications.

What’s worse, I NEVER heard of a grant application that wasn’t reviewed by a higher up before it went out! These bad ones pass through SEVERAL people before they get to you!

If they are not following details, it would be an automatic rejection.
No money to make a copy? Copies are dimes a page. That’s a lame answer, and would show to me that they can’t even manage a $5 bill for the most basic of supplies.

It’s an insult to those who did strive to ensure their application was precise and perfect to the last bit.

Giving them one chance to correct it is more than enough gratuity, in my mind. I think this is a fair chance for them to shape up or be shipped out. If they are not attentively watching for the grant results, especially if they know they will be contacted if there are problems, and they do not answer back in 24 hours, I would consider that as them saying “We didn’t want to put in any effort for the money, and we feel we are better than others and can not do the same work and get the same result. So when do we get the cheque?”

Explanations on applications? That’s hilariously lame. I used to put silly answers in my high school tests when I didn’t know the answer, just to take up space and give a LOL to the teacher. I would never consider doing that, or making an excuse for the lack of effort, when I was applying for grant money or doing any other substantial application in “the real world”.

I’ve reviewed and prepared grants as well. It’s simple: if you don’t get it all in on time you miss the train. Period. Those are the rules. If you let it slide – even if Mother Teresa herself prepared it – you are opening yourself up to suits. Don’t worry, they will be back for the next round and their application will be perfect.

I WILL tell you this. If the only thing you’ve been doing with the poorly completed ones is to accept them, or return them to the sender asking for additions but STILL accepting it, then they will NEVER send them in to you right. They’ll do it at the last minute just to meet the deadline.

I have a slightly different take on it, having recently heard some housing and immigration non-profit organization reps speak on NPR. Is it possible that some of these applications are from non-native speakers or organizations that are new to the grant-writing process? If that is true, maybe a letter detailing the inadequacies of the application with a limited time for revision (but longer than 24 hours) is appropriate?

You know your work best and what is acceptable or not, but it does seem to me that some newer groups of people may be soliciting money and need more help in understanding the process.

Some grant applications are extremely complicated, and they ask for things that aren’t always appropriate for an organization. They send you running all over the place for stuff that seems pretty useless. I can understand why people would fall down on completion because of that.

The other thing is that most non-profits—particularly in arts and service—are horribly busy and horribly understaffed, and are probably doing these grants in a rush at the last minute.

I would look at their proposals, and if the proposals were good, I’d cut them a break. If they were stupid proposals, you can use the failure to submit a proper application reason, or you could actually tell them the truth. Myself, I prefer the truth, but then, I’ve been consorting with all kinds of liars all my life. Maybe I’m just getting weak in my dotage.

Bythebay
I am currently in our RFP process for aging services. We don’t make any exceptions. We first do a technical review and if they haven’t met the formatting requirments they get weeded out then. If they are late in submitting, they are not considered. (one person ran through the door ten minutes late and was not considered).
I put out five RFPs for twenty six services at the same time, I don’t have the time to make exceptions. Besides, if there are appeals, it is a lot cleaner if no exceptions are made.
I figure if they can’t follow the rules in submitting for the grant, then there us a good chance they will have problems following the rules if they are awarded the grant. And, since I monitor the resulting contracts, I don’t want any troublemakers.
Sounds like we are in the same busness. If I remember correctly, you are in S.F. I am in the valley.

Having written and reviewed grant applications I agree with basp. If someone can’t figure out how to write a proper grant application how can you assume that they will be able to administer the grant properly?

Give the grants to the folks who know what they are doing. That way deserving folks will still get the benefits and the grant will be properly used to give them those benefits.

I agree with @basp and @Darwin. I’ve been on both sides of the fence, writing and preparing grant applications. Yes, writing the application is a time consuming project; however, you are asking for money – IMO, put your best into your work.

When I started reviewing applications for an organization, I learned that the person before me would send them back, with notes for the organization to correct or they would make the extra copies for them – by doing this, she was slowing the process down and in a way, favoring specific organizations. I had to make the decision to stop doing all the extras and remove those organizations from the process, if their application was incomplete or they just didn’t following the directions and supply the information that was originally requested. The process had been so bogged down before I started that the awarding of grant money was often delayed by months. That gave us a bad name. I had to put a stop to all of it and tighten the process. I met some opposition at first; however, within a year, we had a better reputation for meeting our deadline and giving more back to the community. (faster, too!)

As a side note, when someone was rejected due to flaws in their application, 9 times out of 10, I would receive a phone call asking what the reason was – if they didn’t understand the rejection letter. I had no problem explaining the errors and suggested that they try to find someone that had experience submitting grant apps. Maybe the person would donate some of their time and/or just work on the grant app – like a seasonal employee.

Of course, my first response (unacted on) to the question “How would you handle a poorly prepared grant application?” would be to make paper airplanes, as in when life gives you useless paper, make origami!

@Darwin I’ll keep that idea in the back of my mind…someday, I’ll use it!

I think..ya, toss em out. Like someone said, if they can’t follow basic guidelines, you’d have concerns about how they’re going to spend the money. “Snacks and other essentials?” LOL! Oh, I’d send money for THAT cause!