Your Questions Answered

Why choose Capitol Funding Solutions?

CFS provides unique benefits to clients in developing sustainable financial strategies through a multifaceted approach to fundraising. To actualize the needs of your business, non-profit, or community, clients are involved in every step of the strategic process of submitting a competitive proposal. Our operating principle is to approach every project with the creativity and commitment necessary to maximize success. Attention to detail, passion for exhaustive research, and the ability to efficiently execute plans are guaranteed when you partner with CFS.

 

What if we have more than one need for funding?

CFS aims to provide its clients with as many opportunities to apply for grant funding as possible and will work with your organization to identify relevant opportunities for each project or funding endeavor. 

 

What types of organizations does CFS work with?

CFS works with numerous clients with varying needs, including developing initial funding plans for specific projects, identification of competitive funding opportunity announcements, and writing/co-writing grant proposals. Clients include, but are not limited to:

• Businesses
• Non-profit organizations
• Government affairs firms
• Local governments
• Native American tribes
• Universities
• For-profit organizations

 

What are my obligations as a CFS client?

The highest level of success comes with full engagement with our service, starting from the first step in the process. While working with CFS, we highly encourage regular communication with our staff to ensure that application deadlines are met with complete and effective information. When preparing your applications, maintaining and updating relevant information on your projects will be crucial in the development of your application and required for submission. In addition, some logistical tasks must be current or updated prior to submission (i.e. UEI number, SAM registration, etc.). Included in our services, CFS will help organize and guide you through the process of these various application requirements that will allow you to receive funding. 

 

What information should I have prepared for our first meeting?

• Your organization's mission/goals
• Contact information
• Current projects/ Funding Needs
• Budget (if applicable)
• Relevant documents (i.e. one-pager, project plans, etc.)
• Project-Specific Questions

 

What if I want to apply for a grant, but have never written a grant before?

We are happy to work with clients with a wide range of experience in grant writing, from those who have no experience in applying for grant opportunities and require a full-service grant writing team, to those who have large capacities for grant writing and simply need help in identifying more opportunities. CFS takes time with each organization to fully understand exactly what their needs are and how to best strategize a funding plan.

What kinds of grants can I apply for?

Federal Grants

One of many different forms of federal financial assistance, government funding is available for projects providing public services that stimulate the economy. These grants operate on a “life-cycle,” recurring annually until all designated funding has been awarded.

Foundation Grants

Independent legal entities and foundation grants are private funding opportunities largely designated for charitable purposes and projects.

BAAs

Broad Agency Announcements are used by federal agencies to solicit proposals from outside groups (often private entities) for certain research and development. These proposals relate not to a specific program, but to the advancement of knowledge and understanding of an area of interest. These announcements do not include a scope of work but detail a problem statement and challenges and solicit an innovative solution. These BAAs may lead to the award of contracts.

 

When are grant applications due? How long does my organization have to complete our application?

Often grant deadlines are cyclical, recurring annually for a specified time period (i.e. 3 years). In some cases, grants have open or rolling application deadlines, allowing for more flexibility in submission. Timelines are highly dependent on the funding timeline but, in general, applicants have about 6-8 weeks to submit between the posted date and the closing date. With recurring or forecasted grants, there is an advantage, as the deadlines can be somewhat predicted, allowing advanced preparation. CFS will provide you with any and all deadlines regarding opportunities that you pursue. We encourage our clients to submit several days prior to the established deadline to avoid technical errors or incomplete applications.