By Angel Wright-Lanier

We've all heard the expression, "the tail wagging the dog." For the past few years I've witnessed several instances of this adage -- organizations that seek and win grants, yet have no system in place for proper grants management. Since we're using expressions, I could also call this "putting the cart before the horse."

What good is winning a grant if you have to return it in a year or two because of poor management? Someone once told me that paying for a grants management consultant is like buying flood insurance. You know you need it but you pass on it, and when the flood hits you're really sorry you didn't purchase the insurance.

This is especially true for organizations that receive state or federal funds and are subject to audits. Hiring a grants management consultant, or at least ensuring that your staff understands the funder's expectations for grant dollars, can save you from unfavorable audit findings. Such findings, especially if they go unaddressed, can lessen your chance of receiving additional grants.

Here are three essentials you should have in place to be successful during the management portion of the grants life cycle:

1. An established grant application procedure. Has your organization defined how it wants employees to handle a grant application from start to finish? In practice, a grant often shows up on the council or executive board agenda before finance or budget staffers have vetted the grant's impact. Review every grant application to determine its impact on the organization's financial and human resources.
2. Familiarity with state, federal, and foundation regulations. Funding agency rules can be very tedious, but every grant manager must be familiar with them. Frequent audit findings relate to a lack of supporting documents for time and effort reporting, lack of separation of duties, and the inability of an agency to produce source documentation (receipts, deposit slips, and other important paperwork). For federal circulars (useful also with state and foundation grants) visit the Office of Management and Budget.
3. Implementation planning. Be sure to adopt a policy of hosting an implementation meeting after an award notification. All staff and partners involved with the grant should understand their role in implementation.

How many times have you heard your executive board or council say, "Let's get a grant"? The next time you hear someone utter those words, remember: Taking the time to put grants management policies and procedures in place before your organization writes another winning application will allow you to continue to run successful programs and keep the auditors happy.

Angel Wright-Lanier is president of Governmental Solutions Experts, which offers solutions in government operations and management, government relations, policy research, and analysis. She also served as intergovernmental relations manager for the City of Raleigh, helping to improve the city's grants line of business and establishing policies and procedures to drive the city's grantsmanship.

If you want to do business with the federal government -- including applying for grants via Grants.gov -- you must register with SAM, the System for Award Management. Over the past year, the government has combined and migrated several systems, including the old Central Contractor Registration (CCR), into SAM. A PDF of registration guidelines for new grantees is now available, as well as a YouTube webinar on how to update your registration from the previous CCR system to SAM.

Speaking of Grants.gov -- it's gotten a facelift. According to the website, the content and functionality are the same, but the new user interface is intended to be more streamlined. A new PDF, the Applicant User Guide, provides details on searching the database, registering with SAM, and applying for grants. 

Visit the GrantProse Resources page for new grant writing guides, or download the latest PDFs here: 

• Writing SMART Objectives and Outcomes offers resources and suggestions for writing measurable objectives and outcomes.
• Planning for Sustainability discusses preparing for life AFTER the grant, and offers tips on writing the sustainability narrative of your grant proposal.