At some point, the nonprofit sector picked up the idea that there is a distinct moment where an organization will be “ready” for federal funding. Organizations wait for a green light that no one is actually prepared to detail. It’s all abstractions and jargon or it's a 40-item readiness checklist that is both incomplete and overwhelming at the same time. Mid-sized nonprofits with solid programs and real community trust assume federal grants are for someone else.

After more than a decade of writing federal proposals with small and mid-sized nonprofit organizations, I see it differently. Federal grant readiness comes down to two questions.

Key takeaways

• Federal grant readiness starts with wanting federal funding and accepting that your organization will grow in uncomfortable ways to manage it.

• Capacity you do not have today may be able to be written into the budget of the grant itself: data staff, administrative support, a full-time program director, CRM upgrades.

• Organizations that voice worry and want to talk it through are often more prepared than the ones that say "we've got this."

• Federal grant strategy means funding the work you already need to do, in its existing or next iteration, not applying for everything you qualify for.