A large award opens, and the board is excited. The money is real, the deadline is manageable and the program description is close enough to your work that a few adjustments would make it fit. Weeks later you're running something you never planned to run, for people you haven't served before, on a timeline that ends when the money does.
This article explains what mission drift looks like, the costs that don't show up in the award amount, a short fit test you can run before you commit and how to say no in a way that keeps the funder on your side.
What mission drift looks like
Mission drift happens when a program is designed around the money instead of around the people you serve. It tends to show up in a few ways:
- A new population. The notice prioritizes a group you have no history serving.
- A new geography. The funding covers an area where you have no staff, partners or relationships.
- A new service. The project is close to what you do, but it requires skills or systems you don't have.
- A stretched description. The proposal describes your work in language that fits the notice better than it fits your organization.
None of these is automatically wrong. Organizations grow by doing new things. The question is whether the growth is chosen or whether the grant chose it for you.
The costs that don't appear in the award amount
A grant has to be managed after you win it. The notice itself tells you much of what that will involve, so read it as a list of obligations as well as an opportunity.
Rules you agree to
Under 2 CFR 200.308, a federal recipient must request prior written approval from the awarding agency or pass-through entity for a change in the scope or objective of the project, even where no budget revision is involved. The same section requires prior approval for changes in key personnel identified in the award and for changes in the total approved cost-sharing amount. If you stretch to win, you may find you can't easily change the project to fit what you can actually deliver.
Appendix I to 2 CFR 200 also requires notices to describe post-award reporting: the type of reports, their frequency and how to submit them. Add up that workload before you apply.
Money and staff
- Cash flow. Federal rules call for advance payments where the recipient meets the conditions, but reimbursement is used in some cases (2 CFR 200.305). Check the payment terms and whether you have working capital.
- Cost share. Any required match must be verifiable in your records and can't be counted toward another federal award (2 CFR 200.306). It also comes from your own budget.
- Staff. Hiring for a grant means recruiting people into positions that end when funding does. Hiring for a grant you haven't won covers that risk.
Funders can change course
Under 2 CFR 200.340, a federal award may be terminated if the recipient fails to comply with its terms, and, to the extent authorized by law, if an award no longer effectuates program goals or agency priorities, as provided in the award's terms and conditions. The risk of an award ending early is one more reason to build a program you would sustain without that single source. Renewals and multi-year funding explains how to plan for the end of a grant.
Reputation
If you win and then can't meet your outcomes, the funder notices. A smaller grant that you deliver well often does more for your reputation than a larger one you struggle with.
The fit test
Before you commit, answer these questions in writing:
- Would we do this anyway? If the grant didn't exist, would this project be in our plan, and in this form?
- Do we have evidence we're good at it? Can you point to past results, staff with the right experience and existing relationships with the people served?
- What happens in year four? If funding ends, will the program continue, change or stop? Who pays?
- Can we meet the obligations? Do you have the systems for reporting, payment and any cost share?
- Does it pass the board's non-negotiables? Every organization benefits from three to five conditions that any grant must meet.
Say a rural food bank is looking at a $400,000 grant to run a regional job-training program. The notice is a decent fit on paper, but the food bank has never run training, would need to hire three people for a three-year project and has no plan for year four. Answering the five questions makes that visible: the answers to one, two and three are no. Compare that with a $60,000 grant to expand its existing nutrition education, where all five answers are yes. The smaller grant is the better opportunity.
For the mechanics of the decision, see go or no-go. The same questions help with cost share and match when a requirement stretches your budget.
Say no and stay in good standing
Declining is a normal part of grantmaking. A short, courteous note keeps the relationship:
- Thank the program officer and say you reviewed the opportunity carefully.
- Say plainly why it isn't the right fit now. Be honest, for example that it requires work outside your current programs.
- Describe what you would apply for, such as an expansion of existing work.
- Ask to be kept informed of future opportunities.
That tells the funder what you do well, which is more useful to them than a weak application.
Your next step
Write down your organization's three non-negotiables for any grant, for example "we serve only our current counties," "we don't start programs we can't sustain for at least a year after funding" and "we don't take cost share we can't verify." Share them with your executive director or board and ask them to adopt them. The next tempting notice then meets a standard you set in advance.
When a grant does fit your mission, SoliContraX can take you from the notice to a finished application, drafted from your own materials. See how to get started.