9 Tips to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Grant
What are your chances of winning a grant? On average, sources estimate that 1 in 7 applications are approved for funding. So how can you increase your chances of winning a grant? GrantWatch is here to help! The database offers 9 helpful pointers on crafting strong applications, from selecting the right opportunities to showcasing your project’s impact.
9 Tips to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Grant
1) Target Your Funders
There are many different types of funding sources, but which funding source is best for you? Private foundations continue to be the most likely funding sources for most respondents. Private foundations are the source from which grant seekers are most likely to receive an award. Although government grants are still “big money,” organizations should keep in mind you likely have less than a 50% chance of winning a grant.
- Private foundations
- Community foundations
- Corporations
- State Government
- Local Government
- Federal Government
Pro Tip: If your organization is small (budget under $1 million), new (in existence for less than five years), or has never received a grant larger than $45,000, smaller foundations will be your best funding sources.
2) Submit at Least Three Grant Applications
The more applications you submit, the greater the likelihood of being awarded a grant. Applying for at least three grant applications increases your organization’s chances of winning at least 89%!
- 1 Application: 63% of respondents won at least one grant.
- 2 Applications: 75% of respondents won at least one grant.
- 3 to 5 Applications: 91% of respondents won at least one grant.
- 6 to 10 Applications: 97% of respondents won at least one grant.
- 11 to 20 Applications: 98% of respondents won at least one grant.
- 21 to 30 Applications: 99% of respondents won at least one grant.
You can see that submitting three or more grant applications to various funders is the ‘magic number’ if you want success when applying for grants. So don’t be afraid of your first rejection; instead, use it as part of your learning curve to help you improve your likelihood of success the next time!
3) Don’t Rush the Research
Compiling a grant application takes time. On average, grant research usually takes more than three days per grant for 40% of grant seekers. Making a plan for – and the writing of – the grant application usually takes more than five days. This is an important process that you should not rush. After all, if a foundation is willing to fund your project, you can’t expect them to blindly award you funds. You need to show them the facts!
Consider hiring a professional grant writer for help with the research, development and overall polishing of your grant application. Grant writers have experience in writing winning grant applications for a wide variety of grants. These include state and local governments, foundation and corporate grant opportunities, individual contracts, and all federal grant-making agencies.
4) Meet the Eligibility Requirements
If your organization doesn’t meet a grantor’s strict eligibility requirements, you will not receive the funding requested. It’s tempting to think a funder might ‘bend’ their eligibility requirements after they read about your great work. If your application does not pass the check for basic eligibility requirements, IT WON’T BE READ!
Pro Tip: If you don’t qualify, don’t apply.
5) Submit a Compliant Proposal
A grant application has two parts, the substantive content and the packaging of the application (including formatting). Both parts must adhere to the funder’s guidelines to be compliant.
- A funder’s application guidelines will usually tell you how to structure the proposal. This includes major headings as well as topic components.
- On the packaging side, for example, did the funder say to “submit a 14-page proposal with 11-pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced text, with 1-inch margins, on letter size (8 1/2 x 11 inch) paper?” Did the proposal you submitted meet all of these requirements? Incorrect formatting of your proposal will be a sure sign to the funder that you haven’t followed their submission guidelines.
If you don’t follow the directions, you can bet the funder will not read your proposal. Formatting checklists come in handy for this kind of cross-check.
6) Make Sure Your Proposal is Coherent and Readable
If you submit a poorly written proposal, your application is less likely to receive funding for two reasons:
- The funder may not be able to figure out what the goal is that you’re proposing to achieve or how you intend to accomplish that goal.
- A poorly written proposal will likely be unclear in its objectives and is something that may make the funder question whether your proposal would be a good investment.
Even if you have met all of the application guidelines, your application may not make the ‘short list’ for further review if there are spelling or grammar errors. If you don’t have strong writing skills, or if you need to prepare a proposal in a language in which you have little or no familiarity, it is essential to find an editor who can work with you to polish the text to make it as clear as possible.
7) Don’t Submit a Generic Proposal
Submitting a proposal only made up of text copied and pasted from other proposals is unlikely to be successful of being awarded. While re-using text in more than one proposal can be acceptable, keep in mind that the requirements and interests differ for each application. If you don’t tailor each proposal to meet those requirements, your proposal will not be appealing for the potential grant funder to consider.
8) Prove You are Responsible with Money
How strong is your organization’s structure and finances? Sometimes, a well-written grant proposal gets rejected because the funder questions the organization’s capacity to carry out the work described in the proposal. Funders will ask for a variety of documentation, including previous tax returns and financial records, so make sure these records are up to date and in compliance.
9) Know Your Strengths
Are you seeking general operating or start-up funding? As opposed to program funding, these types of grants are generally tougher to get funded. Grant proposals have a greater chance of being awarded if they can offer a compelling solution to a well-documented community problem. It’s important to remember that grant funds awarded are most likely to be utilized by an organization to provide needed resources needed to help their community – not to help the organization itself to ‘stay afloat’ or ‘get off the ground.’ Make sure you have an activity, service, project or program goal in mind intended to benefit others.
Where to Start Your Grant Journey:
GrantWatch is a valuable resource that helps you increase your award chances. To help you get started, we recommend you view sample grants, resources for nonprofits, 990s, and grant application toolkits. Finally, when you’re ready to move forward, choose the subscription that best suits your organization
About GrantWatch
With over 8,200 grants currently available, GrantWatch.com is the leading grant listing directory. Upgrade to a MemberPlus+ subscription to view the full grant details, including eligibility criteria and application information. For more information, you can also visit the GrantWatch FAQ page. To see the great value of all 20 of the top GrantWatch features, click here. Watch the latest episode of GrantTalk, powered by GrantWatch, with host Libby Hikind. You don’t want to miss this. Visit us on YouTube weekly. Get your copy of The Queen of Grants: From Teacher to Grant Writer to CEO, by Libby Hikind.