Expanding Your Grant Funders

Successful grant seeking requires more than just finding potential funders. You must identify the right funder for your organization and project – one whose priorities align with yours and whose requirements you can meet.

Too often, organizations waste time chasing funding that doesn’t fit, leading to frustration and inefficiency. Before investing time and effort into writing a grant proposal, evaluate whether a grant prospect truly aligns with your needs. Here’s how.

1. Identify Fundable Projects. Before diving into research or grant writing, pinpoint the aspects of your organization and its work that funders will most likely support. The more clearly you define your project, the easier time you will have matching it with the right funder. Consider:

• Your organization’s greatest needs and focus your attention here. Just because money exists for a project does not make it right for your organization. Beware of chasing dollars!

• Framing operational costs as a program or initiative. Many funders will only fund programs yet most of your operating costs probably support your programs. When you reverse your thinking, you open many more grant possibilities.

• Which projects have a compelling “why” that will resonate with funders. If you only look for funders who will fund what you want to do rather than why, you will have little success. That is, you will find few funders who say they want to fund computers (your what) but many who want to improve STEM education (your why).

• How your project aligns with community or sector needs

2. Conduct Thorough Grant Research. Once you identify fundable projects, start researching grants. Use reputable sources like Foundation Center, a comprehensive, paid database of foundation funders. For federal government grants, I recommend going to the website of the federal agency with the most interest in your mission or “why,” keeping in mind that many agencies may fund your programs. AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini can help streamline research by summarizing funder priorities and highlighting key trends. Beware, however, as many of these AI-powered tools do not discriminate based on date so they may pull defunct organization or old data.

Once you find a source using one of these tools or others, verify the accuracy of the data using the funder websites. Most databases pull from public data like a 990 that can lag by as much as 18-24 months old. Confirm the currency of the information by checking the funder’s website to make sure their priorities or deadlines have not changed.

3. Look Beyond Databases. Once you identify a potential funder using a database or other search tool, you have to dig deeper:

• Check past grant recipients. Do they resemble your organization? Have they received funding for projects like yours? Guidestar provides a free resource that will let you view 990s for past recipients. Some funders’ websites do as well.

• Contact previous grantees. They may share insights into the funder’s expectations and reporting requirements.

• Talk to the funder. Whenever possible, schedule a meeting to discuss your project and begin to cultivate a relationship and their support. This extra step saves time and effort because it helps you determine if the funder genuinely supports your type of work – and they will often provide insights into the unwritten rules or priorities of their board.

4. Assess the Funder Fit. Not all funders align with your needs. Even if they show interest in your project, ask yourself:

• Will they fund my type of organization? Some funders only support specific nonprofits, like 501(c)(3) organizations or educational institutions.

• Does their typical grant size match my needs? If they primarily fund $25,000 projects and you need $2,000, you may need to expand the scope of your project, number of partners, or move on.

• Is my type of project a priority for them? Even if they fund similar projects, they may fund just a few and invest the bulk of their money in a different cause.

• Timeframe: Do you have enough time to prepare a strong application?

• Payout schedule: Will the funds arrive when you need them? Check the website, look at the frequency of their applications, or ask the funder if you do not know when they will make a funding decision. Most funders will not fund a project that has already begun.

• Capacity: Does your team have the skills and bandwidth to execute the project and fulfill reporting requirements?

• Restrictions: Do any limitations on how you use the money create challenges for your organization?

5. Move from Research to Writing. If your prospect passes all these tests, you transition from research to writing. To maximize your chances of success:

• Follow the funder’s priorities. Use their language and align your proposal with their stated goals.

• Write clearly and concisely. Funders read countless applications—make yours easy to understand.

• Communicate impact. Show funders how their money will make a difference.

• Follow up. If allowed, maintain communication with the funder after submission.

Evaluating a grant prospect before investing significant time in the application process saves you valuable resources and increases your chances of success. By taking a strategic approach – on fundable projects, conducting deep research, and assessing both qualification and logistical fit – you ensure that you pursue the right opportunities rather than just lots of opportunities. While successful grant seeking certainly means finding money, more importantly, you want to secure the right funding for your organization’s mission and capacity.