Both the economy and the American Recovery Act have many healthcare organizations rethinking their funding strategies; however as I mentioned in my first post many are intimidated by what they see as a very challenging process. Thus, despite the billions of dollars available through the federal agencies on an annual basis as well as through the Recovery Act, many folks instead look to balancing their budgets by cutting staff and services or raising fees at a time when many families are having to radically tighten their belts.   

The rationalizations that I most often hear are that "it" is too hard or takes too much time or is too competitive or costs too much to administer if they should be so lucky to overcome these hurdles.  These are the folks who really have not put together a grant funding strategy; who only look at "it" from the perspective of one grant at a time and not as a long term fundraising strategy.  Certainly it is true that not every healthcare organization is eligible for every grant. But, how do you know if federal grants should or should not be a part of your fundraising portfolio unless you take an in depth look at it from the perspective of a long term strategy instead of a one grant at a time gamble?

What prevents your organization from pursuing federal grants?