How Grant Funding Works and How It Can Help

Grants have long been associated with the nonprofit world, but that has changed. Now grant funding for new products and processes are available to all size for-profit companies. They are offered by foundations, corporations, government agencies (local, state, and federal), philanthropic organizations, and international entities across 60 categories. But first, it is important to understand how grants work.
 
A grant is not a loan. Funds coming from a loan are less restrictive and you must pay it back. When you apply for a grant, you submit a proposal where you identify the needs, goals, objectives, activities, staffing, and method of evaluation of the positive greater good you propose will come out of the allocation of funds. Just as important to know is grants are competitive. This means to win the award, your application must stand out and effectively communicate your message with passion and precision. Following are several do’s and don’ts to position your company for success.
 
Do Your Research: Reading the grant summary isn’t enough. Spend time learning about the funder’s past and current priorities and take a deep dive into the grant history of the company from previous award descriptions to past recipients. If at all possible, try to connect with the funding source to tell them about your project to further discover if your vision is in line with theirs. Ultimately, by learning all you can about their past and present purpose as it relates to their grant award program, you will have more context to further enhance your abilities to best frame your proposal for a win.
 
Don’t Waste Your Time: Make sure you are eligible. Review the eligibility requirements for both the applicant and the scope of work because every point you achieve counts. Companies and projects who meet eligibility will get a serious review and others will get discarded. Pay attention to everything from geographical location to timing on progress to expectation on outcomes. Funders create grant opportunities with very specific requirements for a reason and you must be a match to be awarded the grant. If you are close but are still coming up short, move on to the next.
 
Do Tout Your Success and Leadership: Having your company, executives, or medical products named to important lists like Best Of, Most Innovative, Top Award Winners, and more will be an important part of your grant submission. When trade media, peer groups, industry, and community leaders identify your achievements and honor them, it builds credibility for your company and reinforces the strength of your leadership and forward-thinking approach toward innovation. Quite simply, these matter. Being ranked on prestigious lists and receiving awards and recognition for your medical products, especially if your grant competitors have not, will set you apart and can make the difference in the final stage. Additionally, if your company executives are voices in the media, participate as speakers or panelists at conferences, or contribute to educational or certification programs, include all of it. All media coverage and listing of events should accompany your grant application.
 
Don’t Generalize Your Budget: This part of your application should be done with as much detail as possible. When you discuss prototype development, don’t just cite how much money you will allocate toward it overall but how much will go toward each component. In terms of staffing, break it down by the portion of 1.0 FTEs (full time equivalents) or consultant hours for engineers, designers, support, and legal teams; the allocation toward product testing and expected costs toward focus groups; redesign efforts for functionality or compliance issues; etc. Identify all programmatic expenses that will be needed from office/warehouse leases to equipment purchases to costs for legal and IP. This level of detail in your budget demonstrates respect for both your project and the grant funder. Another way to distinguish your application in the budget section will be to identify what the grant money won’t cover and how you anticipate funding that portion of your project.
 
Do Consider a Professional Grant Writer: To be successful in winning a grant award, it is necessary to communicate effectively with a mix of genuine, heartfelt passion and a true seriousness-of-purpose. This requires skill and talent, which is why grant-writing has become a profession, often with pros engaged on a freelance basis. Whether you work with an experienced grant writer or write the grant proposal on your own, the passion you feel toward your business, employees, customers, and goals must jump off every page, while sharing your succinct and focused project and plan.
 
Grant money can be a valuable and viable way to move your medical product development vision forward. The time is now to explore grants.
 

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Libby Hikind is founder and CEO of GrantWatch.com, the largest database search platform with more than 25,000 grant opportunities across 60 different industries including healthcare and manufacturing. A leading expert in grants with over 20 years in the industry, Hikind previously served in Washington, D.C. and twice remotely as a federal grants peer reviewer.