HANO launches grant writing
and proposal review program

Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations held 11 town hall meetings last year on six islands to hear from Hawaii nonprofits what HANO could do to strengthen the nonprofit sector. A frequent suggestion was to provide grant writing services and to help nonprofits, especially small organizations without development staff, to make stronger funding proposals.

Starting this month, HANO is launching a pilot Grant Solicitation Support Services Program designed as a benefit both for grantees and grantors. The objective is to support HANO nonprofit member organizations and assist them in identifying and soliciting grants from local trusts and foundations. 

The program offers HANO member nonprofits with annual revenues of up to $1 million affordable proposal review and grant writing services by experts, a team of carefully screened, experienced and qualified local independent consultants. The process will help members hone their grant writing skills, make their efforts to obtain foundation funding more effective and improve their understanding of how foundations make funding decisions.

HANO's proposal reviews will strengthen proposals and ensure effective use of grant opportunities. The proposal writing service will produce professionally developed proposals tailored to your objectives and the interests of the prospective funder. An organization using these services will build its capacity by learning how to better present the next proposal and better understand its relevance, growth potential and the challenges it must address.

The program is available on a limited, members-only basis. HANO will provide ten proposal writing appointments per month on a first-come-first-served basis to member organizations with operating budgets less than $1 million. The service also is limited to proposals for local trusts and foundations. Application deadlines should be at least three weeks from the time of contract.

Grantors will also benefit from this program by receiving more appropriate, relevant, complete, concise and thoughtful grant applications. Click here to request a grant review or proposal or contact Lily Bloom Domingo for more information at (808) 529-0465, lbdomingo@hano-hawaii.org.