The Three C’s of Grant Writing (Part 1 of 3)

Funder’s dollars are getting tighter, application processes are getting tweaked, and I would say we are all continuing to see an increase in the use of “The Three C’s” by funders.  What are “The Three C’s” you ask?  In alphabetical order, not by order of importance: collaboration, collective impact, and cooperation.  From the local United Ways to the large national funders, the various methods of working together, increasing efficiencies, and increasing the value realized for each dollar granted are under strict scrutiny by grant makers.

While the three terms share some key attributes, they are distinctly different when looked at as part of a program’s design and implementation.  Here are the three working definitions I use for “The Three C’s”:

Collaboration: Organizations submit joint proposals for funding to address common issues of organizational capacity and program outreach where they have similar outcomes to accomplish.

Collective Impact:  Organizations are part of a larger commitment of a group of important actors/organizations from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem.

Cooperation: Organizations explain the networking and information sharing that is occurring with other similar organizations in their community and include any shared values that the organization has with similar organizations in their community.

How should “The Three C’s” influence your grant seeking efforts, if at all?  Check back next week for part 2 of 3 about “The Three C’s” for DH Leonard Consulting’s perspective on how collaboration, collective impact, and cooperation should influence your grant seeking efforts.