Qualifications

One of my jobs is a part-time program assistant, or intern, depending on who you ask, at a community foundation. As a part of this job, I occasionally get asked to do initial reviews and brief summaries so the decision makers can make their decisions quicker.

Over time, these shot callers have come to trust my judgment and evaluations. Thus, I think I’m qualified to speak on this subject. So, without further ado, here are the 5 ways to ensure your grant proposal is discarded.

1. Not Reading the RFP

It’s sad that I have to say this, but this does happen more often than you would think. When a grantmaker writes their RFP, they aren’t doing it for their amusement. Often, they are looking for specific information and types of projects. Submitting a proposal outside of the requested format and cause areas jeopardizes your application.

If it’s not an as busy time, you may get solicited for an R&R (Revise and Resubmit) but in a busy quarter, this can easily be the kiss of death.

2. Not Customizing the Proposal to the Grantmaker

Now, some of you may be thinking, do I really have to write everything from scratch every time I pitch to a grantmaker? Of course not. There are some sections you can and should repurpose for each application. One example would be your organizations narrative. This is unlikely to change between applications, and because it’s likely been scrutinized before, is perfectly fine to reuse, should the RFP call for it (see point 1.)

With that being said, the specifics of the proposal, e.g. the ask, details, impact, goals & metrics, etc. should be re-evaluated for each proposal. Sometimes, you can simply tweak the language to more closely match the funder; however, sometimes entire paragraphs or sections will need to be added or removed.

It is very easy to tell when an application was simply copied and pasted from one RFP to the next. As an addendum, if you decide to ignore this advice, at least ensure you don’t propose to the wrong organization. Not only does that leave a sour taste, but it could also lead the reviewer to question your attention to detail. Undoubtedly, this will affect the rest of the application.

3.  Submitting a Project Proposal that starts too close to the Decision Deadline

Although this may come as a surprise, grantmakers also have processes and deadlines they have to adhere to. It is not always possible for them to approve a grant and produce a check within the same day or even week.

If your project’s funding needs are close to the deadline for review, you should strongly consider if this funder is your best source. Further, if the answer to that first question is yes, then you should reach out to them to see if your needs can be met.

Granted (pun intended) if you were building a relationship with the grantmaker throughout the process, then it is unlikely this exact quandary would have happened. They either would have proposed an alternative funding source or another avenue of funding from their organization.

4. Failing to Build a Relationship

It’s unfortunate that some inexperienced organizations view grantmakers, especially smaller or more local ones, as simply ATM’s. Especially now, more foundations are trying to move away from this more traditional view of grantmaking. More are pushing towards partnerships.

Although you may still receive funding from a cold proposal, the likelihood isn’t as great. In fact, some grantmakers have a policy of not issuing any grants to cold proposals. This is because cold proposals miss out on the valuable advice and guidance of the grant officers.

In addition to the missed opportunity for counsel and advice, it is less likely the organizations behind the cold proposals understand the individual funder’s intentions and goals. These factors make some grantmakers altogether hesitant to issue the grant to an unknown, regardless of the proposal quality.

5. Inadequate Reporting

Although this won’t affect a single proposal, if you plan on returning to the grantmaker in the future then this can massively cripple your organization’s chances of a repeat grant. The reason for this is two-fold.

Firstly, when you don’t include everything that is requested in a report or the report is sparse compared to the resources invested, it looks bad. Not only does it signal that this grant was insignificant to you, but it also calls into question your ability to responsibly steward the funds. Reporting is just as important in the proposal process as the proposal itself.

Secondly, like your organization, foundations have stakeholders (donors) that they need to answer to. Without the information about how your grant was used, the overall profile of any particular quarter looks weaker. This, in turn, makes the staff look bad and as though they didn’t do their due diligence to maintain the fiduciary standard.

Closing Advice

To ensure your proposal has the best chance to succeed you should be working with the funder each step of the way. This ensures the funder is interested in your project gives you valuable advice on how best to pitch your proposal for a higher likelihood of a yes.

If you pay attention to their needs and wants, and make their jobs easier, you’ll highly increase the likelihood of receiving a grant. You will also lay the foundation for a long, joyous partnership.