An Unsuccessful Grant Proposal
Nadia Eghbal’s ‘No Strings Attached’ Offer Went Viral; Here’s What We Submitted
Note: Given the number of responses Nadia Eghbal received, “the chances of getting a grant were just 0.2%, which means the acceptance rate was about 30x harder than getting into Harvard”. While we did not get this grant, another completely unrelated opportunity recently came up, and we’ll have news on that very soon.
What your project is:
(While to an extent here I will be discussing myself and my own connection to this project, I am requesting a grant for the organization itself, not for me personally. However, the project itself deeply impacts me personally, as I’ll get into, hopefully convincingly, in the section after this one.)
Hi. We are The Belmont Goats. Portland’s nonprofit resident herd, offering an oasis of rural community amidst the built urban environment. The Belmont Goats provides urban public access to domestic goats within Portland, Oregon, and/or its surroundings. This experience also may be provided to specific communities deemed to benefit from such access. The Belmont Goats is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit volunteer organization incorporated in the state of Oregon.
Public access to the herd includes regular visiting hours; group visits by appointment (we’ve hosted anything from bike tours to city planning conferees to elder care outings to photography clubs to preschool classes and more); offsite events such as farmers markets, neighborhood picnics, parades, and street fairs; and (soon) live goatcams.
We have existed as a nonprofit since early 2014, obtaining our 501(c)(3) status that fall. While we frequently hit our fundraising goals during the crowdfunders we run during herd relocations, it can be tougher to maintain ongoing funding levels to cover our routine monthly costs: grass hay for the herd, the insurance that allows us to offer onsite access to the public, and (soon) the Internet costs to provide 24/7 online access to the herd.
While you are angling your grants toward short-term projects (e.g. 2-months versus 1-year), a $5,000 grant would allow us to cover in advance all three routine monthly costs for one year. Rounded up: $120/month for grass hay, $180/month for insurance, and $70/month for Internet service — a total of $4,440 for 12 months.
This would free up our onsite and online donations for additional projects we’ve considered in the past, for costs such as transporting some of the herd to offsite community and neighborhood events, or for unexpected expenses such as site repairs (e.g. we have a small auxiliary shelter whose roof blew off that I’ve balked at repairing any time soon), and veterinary services. It would also preclude our having to do any mid-term crowdfunding between now and the next herd relocation just to ensure we’re covering either our routine monthly costs or any sudden or emergency costs, allowing us to spare our donor base that sort of hit until and unless we’re approaching a relocation process.
Why you’re doing it:
Everyone involved in The Belmont Goats became so for similar reasons, regardless of when they initially became involved: because the presence of goats in the city helped us in some way, and added value to our lives. While as an organization we make no overt medical claims, the board, our volunteers, and many of our visitors (both long-standing and newly-arrived) consider the goats’ presence in their lives to be therapeutic.
On a personal note, as someone who only recently has been given diagnostic labels to place on some of my own challenges and obstacles, it’s distinctively clear that the herd helps my focus, my work ethic, and my ability to interact with people I don’t know. Your grant would not only provide a full year of fiscal stability to a micro-nonprofit, it would help relieve the stress I feel, personally, as The Belmont Goats’ project manager.
As the one herd owner and board member not currently working on a regular basis, I’ve had a great deal of time to devote to this project, and I handle the bookkeeping, our social media, our internal comms, our website, proposal writing (such as this), much of the PR and publicity, most of the inquiries that come in via phone, email, or social, and more. I’m the only one who has the time to cover every day we have visiting hours. I do a lot of work, because I have the time to do it and because I enjoy it. (Well, most of the time.)
In fact, at one point I had considered applying for the grant on my own, and using it to cover my own living expenses for several months, in order to relieve the stress of my own financial issues as I try to turn my newly-given diagnostic labels into tools stabilize my own life while also managing this project. In the end, I think both myself and the organization will benefit far more from a direct organizational grant than from a personal one.
So, while you’ve expressed an inclination to award the grants consisting with “supporting [the grantee] as a fabulous individual”, an organizational grant to something to which I have devoted so much time and effort necessarily also would profoundly support me as a fabulous individual.
To further illustrate why all of those involved do this, I’ll share here an assortment of the comments, reviews, and testimonials we’ve received over the years.
“They are truly special and do something so basic and wonderful for all who are lucky enough to visit.”
— Ashleigh M.“Perfect outing and as close to nature as you can get in the city!”
— Samm K.“A pasture experience with The Belmont Goats is positively restorative.”
— Cat W.“A great attraction local attraction for families and kiddos too!”
— Kristy L.“Great idea and brings so much joy to the community!”
— Lauren C.“They make me smile every time I drive by.”
— Renee B.”I almost wanted to cry when I met these guys.”
— Alice H.“Brings a welcome dose of character to this corner of the city.”
— Matt E.“A great attraction to have in the neighborhood and for the children.”
— Deanna P.“The herd is a great addition to our fun and funky city.”
— Susan B.“Friendly, fun, and all-around wonderful little beings!”
— Steve T.“They are teaching a great lesson on kindness and community.”
— Erica B.“The world would be a better place if every neighborhood had a friendly, charming little herd.”
— Camellia N.“They bring joy to everyone who interacts with them.”
— Amanda E.“They have created not only a bond with each other but with the humans who have spent time with them.”
— Alison B.“They’re cute, they don’t judge us, and they remind us that there’s more to the world than the challenges we face.”
— Rebecca L.“They are a civic treasure!”
— Tim D.“They’ve fostered a sense of community, brightened our days, and brought a sense of much-needed whimsy to our lives.”
— Regan F.“The nexus of an unexpected and spontaneous community.”
— K. Reynolds
An estimated project timeline:
As indicated above, a one-time $5,000 grant (or, more accurately, a two-time $2,500 grant) would cover the project’s routine monthly costs for a period of one year, which would bring us almost exactly to the next time we have to relocate the herd to a new location.
So, if the first disbursement came in May 2017, the project’s central costs would be covered until May 2018.
A few links to anything that will make me feel like you’re a legit thoughtful person:
You can read a more complete history of The Belmont Goats, and find mini-profiles of the herd, at <http://thebelmontgoats.org/>.
You can read a biography of me (herd co-owner, board member, and project manager) at <http://bix.fyi/>.
