An Interview with Melody Hernandez

Why it's grant work, not grant writing.

Meet Melody – She’s got a great perspective on grant work.

My happy encounter with Melody started as many do – through a random conversation at a fundraising networking event. After writing grants for years and facing the challenges you read about in the Follies, I have an even deeper appreciation for people like Melody. Through Root Reach Rise, she leads a network of experts doing grant work. (Read on for her thoughts on this term.) I knew Melody would have great insights and am super excited to have spoken to her recently.

What is your philanthropy role and how long have you done this work?

I’ve been a nonprofit grant consultant since 2014, but development work has been part of my journey from the start. Early in my career I was a classroom teacher and served on the grants committee, helping with educational grants to fund supplies and programs. I’d gather teacher input for reports and manage the process. It taught me the value of grants – and it certainly seemed of interest to others when I applied for jobs!

I also wondered why schools weren’t paying teachers a living wage but always seemed to have funding for equipment and big expenses. Why couldn’t we use a penny of that to raise salaries? Surprisingly, I felt that I could make much more of a difference with grant work than I could in the classroom.

And working the other side of grantmaking – overseeing a city grants program, and a small corporate giving program where employees nominated nonprofits – also shaped my perspective.

I clearly remember the first grant I wrote – and got! It was for a breast health program serving Spanish-speaking migrant workers who had lots of barriers to accessing care. It was such an important role – the grant paid for a health navigator to drive them, arrange for childcare, etc. – so I really felt that the funding I raised made a big difference.

Tell us about something funny, crazy or unexpected that happened in your world of Doing Good.

It drives me crazy to see funders who ask long detailed questions and give a tiny space to respond. These questions have more characters than the answer field allows! You really have to be on your game to provide a great response in a small space.

I’d love to see more funders suggest character limits to set an expectation, but not restrict the response length.

Proposal questions like “In one to two paragraphs, tell us…” offer flexibility, and honor language and cultural preferences that a nonprofit may have.

If you could change one thing in the process of fundraising, what would it be?

Rethink “by invitation only.” Grantmaking should be more about what you know than whom you know. Consider the arrogance in how this is communicated. No one can be aware of everyone who’s doing great work in the community! There should always be a way for a foundation to meet new nonprofits through a quick phone call, a letter of inquiry (LOI), or an online form to introduce your work.

The “we’ll find you” assumption of proposals by invitation only is a mistake. The nonprofits that a funder already knows aren’t necessarily doing better work than the ones they haven’t yet met.

Lots of excellent nonprofits just aren’t connected. There should always be a path for access.

Think of your favorite funder – What makes them great?

There is a commonality among my favorite funders. They:

1. Invite multiple ways to submit applications and connect. Nonprofits can build a funding relationship by proposal, a 20-minute phone call, or a video application. This is especially valuable in attracting diverse applicants, such as those where English may not be their first language.

2. Ask “Is there anything else that we should know?” This creates space to speak to something important that didn’t fit neatly in the proposal questions.

I love it when funders give nonprofits voice to create context and nuance about the work their organization does.

What is your favorite “a-ha” fact about the nonprofit sector? What’s something many people don’t know?

The fact that it’s grant work, not grant writing. There is so much to do before you start writing! At conferences for grant professionals, they don’t talk much about writing – they talk about the organizing, the research, the project management. The writing is the icing on the cake.

A person writing at a 4th grade level with deep program experience will create a more meaningful proposal than a slick writer who lacks solid program information.

[Editor’s note: I teach fundraising because I believe so passionately that anyone with storytelling and project management skills can be a great fundraiser.]

It’s so much more about everything else and so much less about writing.

What are you reading, for work or fun?

I was such a reader for most of my life, but now my eyes and brain are tired. So I listen to podcasts. Some favorites:

You’re Wrong About explains how societal memory is different than the actual facts of an event. It gives me a new perspective.

Behind the Bastards gives me empathy for people throughout history who have done some terrible things. And losing that $10,000 grant pales in comparison to some of these stories.

Both remind me that we must question. And not let our egos get in the way.

That’s another thing I like about grant work – the process requires that you look at yourself and your impact through a critical lens. Checks and balances are good to have, and to keep, in place. We’re all human. Good intentions can lead to bad practices.

Taking a step back to look at what you’re doing should also be true for funders.

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