No deadlines. Only windows of opportunity.
When I was a grantwriter, I once cut it so close to a deadline that I had to drive a proposal 3.5 hours to deliver it. I handed it off with 30 minutes to spare. I hadn’t procrastinated. Really. It was a collaborative project (funders love those, right?). The energy, ideas, and details kept growing and changing until a few days before the massive proposal was due. I was working my tail off. Definitely, not procrastinating. It took me every minute of the 3 days I would have needed to guarantee postal delivery to finish the narrative our work deserved. Luckily, today, many proposals are submitted and received electronically, and we’re keeping tired grant writers off the road. (By the way, the project didn’t receive funding in spite of amazing collaboration, darn good writing AND being handed in on time!)
But, electronic delivery hasn’t resolved all of the angst that goes with deadlines. A few years ago, I was vacationing with a group of friends celebrating a milestone birthday. While most of the group spent the afternoon sightseeing, one member of the party disappeared so she could complete a grant request. (Not to the McElroy Trust of course.). She wasn’t cutting it close to the deadline because she was lazy or a bad leader. No, she was cutting it close because she was already working 12 hours a day to manage her understaffed organization to serve people that need help. She showed commitment when she gave up her vacation to submit a proposal to compete for funds to help her organization. But, at a high cost to her, personally. (By the way, she received the funding.)
Photo by Katrina Hemann, Waterloo Schools
Giving Up Deadlines
At the McElroy Trust we’ve given up on deadlines. Why? We think your work, the work you do with people and communities who need your help should be more important than the time you spend filling out paperwork for the McElroy Trust. If a family needs your help on the same day you should send an LOI to the Trust, we want you to help the family. If a new donor calls and wants a tour on the same day you should turn in a proposal, we want you to steward the donor. We also want organizational leaders to go on vacation and spend time with their families. You need to recharge to fuel yourself for this important work.
Clarifying Windows of Opportunity
In the three years since we gave up deadlines, we’ve had lots of feedback. We heard from grant seekers that LOVED the flexibility. We also heard from people who missed what deadlines could do for them: motivate them to finish a proposal, push a coalition to decision making, and prioritize the time to finalize their budget. The feedback was useful and we’re putting it to work.
Submit your LOI at anytime. (Do it as soon as you can. It’s a fast form and there’s room to adjust later). Expect that we will approve or deny your LOI within 2 - 3 weeks.
Submit your application at any time. Our Board will review proposals received approximately two weeks prior to their meetings. These dates are when the Board will review grant proposals for 2023.
Submit Date: Review Date:
January 29, 2024 February 7, 2024
May 20, 2024 June 5, 2024
October 3, 2024 September 23, 2024
November 25, 2024 December 4, 2024
These dates are NOT deadlines. They’re windows of opportunity. We promise to work with you and be as flexible as we can with the timing of your proposal. If you aren’t ready to submit for one meeting, we can review your grant at the next. Do not hesitate to call or email us with questions about timing. We can help you decide what is right for you and your organization.
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Please, keep up the great work to help young people in our region. We appreciate what you do. If you know ways that we can make the application process better, let us know.