Grant Writing Strategies That Work

[Music] The Small Nonprofit podcast is brought to you by Further Together Fundraising, which is actually my company, where fractional fundraisers work with social justice nonprofits in Canada and the States. Typically organizations who have tried hiring wins or twice, but it hasn't worked out. We use community-centric fundraising to build sustainable revenue systems, and here's the key. We don't just strategize. We roll up our sleeves and do the work with you. Donor meetings, campaign execution, grant rating, all of it. If you're ready to stop doing fundraising alone, visit gofurthertogether.ca. We like when you're just starting out in fundraising, or even maybe how a few years of experience under your belt, it can feel like grants are just out there for the take-in. And they're just a slow-hanging fruit. You're like, "Look at this bill. Give me up to $100,000. And if we get that, then we're sorted for revenue for the year. And I kind of have to come in and bust that bubble a little, but it is so much harder to get grant that I think people really account for. And it takes so much more time and energy. And it's really something that you need to consider. Do you have the skill, the time, and the energy in your organization? Or is your most precious commodity your time better spent out there?" Hi, friends. Ever wondered how you could turn your big ideas into results? Together, let's reimagine a better sector, tackle systemic issues, and yes, raise some serious cash. Welcome back to the Small Nonprofit, the podcast where your passion meets action. Hello, everyone. Today we're going to be talking about why grants are not the low-hanging fruit. Everyone seems to think they are. If you're new here, my name is Mariana. I'm an expert fundraiser with over a Dec. of fundraising experience. And I'm on a mission to make sure that EEDs get the money they need to support their work. With me today, I have Caitlin. Hi, Caitlin. Hi, I have you be here. My name is Caitlin McBride. I'm a certified fundraising executive, also with over a decade of experience. And I am on a mission to make fundraising feel less chaotic and more doable for small profits. And Caitlin has been posting a lot on LinkedIn. So if you're not already following her there, you definitely should be. But she posted something about the struggle that it is to get grants. And it's really amazing to study that she found. So we want to walk you through why grants might seem like an attractive option for your Small Nonprofit and how they can actually become a huge time suck. So, Caitlin, tell me about this. Are grants easy to win? Are they low-hanging fruit that everyone and anyone can get? I feel like this is such a mess that I have to keep busting for so many people. And I honestly feel really bad to burst this bubble sometime. But I feel like when you're just starting out in fundraising, or even maybe how a few years of experience under your belt, it can feel like grants are just out there for the take-in. And they're just the low-hanging fruit. And you're like, "Well, if I just get, look at this bill, give me up to $100,000. And I get to have to come in and bust that bubble a little, but it is so much harder to get grant that I think people really account for. Like, do you have the skill, the time, and the energy in your organization? Or is your most precious commodity your time better spent elsewhere? And yeah, the study that you mentioned, I thought was really interesting. It really captured in a great way all the things that I've been noticing about grants through my over 10 years of writing them. And this is a study from Valerie Grant, who is a grants consultant with a team at Business in San Diego. They'll definitely link to this in the show notes. But they did a study of over 270 grants across 19 months. And they found that when the organization did not have a previous relationship with a funder, like if they were just sending off a cold application, there was no connection, no call beforehand. Percentage of success for that was only 7%. That means that 93% of applications that were sent cold were deducted. To me, that kind of makes sense, though. Because like a cold pitch is meant to catch people who are in market for that product. So a cold pitch is something that is so many funders. And yeah, if they're in a market to be giving out to people in your specific sector, in your specific organization, then you might get lucky. But many people, when they're shopping, they're not shopping for right now. They're shopping for a leader. They're thinking about that strategy. And I'm assuming, because I've never worked on the funder side, that it's kind of similar. Like you do your research before and ask is even at your table. Like an ask would be a trigger to start doing research. If you've never heard of that organization before. Yes, I totally agree. And there's a lot more relationship building that goes into grants. And I think the whole thing that there are, because the application form is on a website. And there's priorities listed. It has the appearance that you can win a large grant just by making cold application. But you're so right. If you lift under the hood and have conversations with these funders, a lot of time, it is about the relationship. And I've been on calls with funders where there's been an application process. There's an application form on their website. And these are like big well-known funders, by the way. And at the end of the call, they were like, okay, great. Well, you know, I'll put you in your budget for this 10 to 1000s. You know, the application is really a formality. Like they're just waiting for it to release the funds. But it was about that relationship. And even things were like, okay, do we apply for like this fund? And they're like, no, there's no money in that. But it's still there is on the website. Like having that relationship and building that relationship is so key, not just to put yourself out there. And so they have that trust. But also so you actually know what's going on. You actually know what they're looking for. Because it's not always clear on the website. And building that relationship, even if it's just a small touch point to introduce yourself or something like that can gruely and does actually exponentially increase the chances of you getting that grant. Yeah, I think in that study, it was 17%. We're awarded the grant. One of the previous relationships, which is an increase of 140%. On the 7% to applied without having a relationship there. And I feel like if people who are listening to this might be thinking, okay, but 17% isn't even that big of a number. Like you put this time and effort into building a relationship. And still you have less than 20% chance of getting funded. And yeah, that's the true. There isn't 14. We know getting around that. And that is something that we need to consider when we're looking at a grant strategy. And putting our time and our effort and our skills into writing grant. Often the grant application process can be painful. And it takes a long time and it takes you away from other things. Something that I also wanted to know is that the study was actually conducted by someone who was a professional grant writer overseeing a team of professional grant writers. So these are people who are getting paid exclusively to apply for grants. And these are the numbers that they are getting. Right? 7% for a completely cold application. And 17% if there is some outreach before you actually apply. So imagine if you have limited skills and grant rating. If you are a program's person doing it off the side of your desk. Like it's so much easier to understand a way you're having difficulty actually getting that gift. Because these sponsors might already have a relationship that you're unaware of. Or you didn't take the time to get to know them. Where they're giving priorities or just build that connection. Because you're busy. Because you're already doing seven jobs. But sometimes nonprofits saying grants are really low hanging fruit. Like people want to just fill out applications, send them out, have as many staff as possible fill out applications. And that to me is not the right strategy. Because they're not trained to do this. They don't have a case for support like 95% of the time. So they're piecing together past grant applications that might not be relevant to this funder. Also are not tailored to this funder. And then they're not having the results that they want to have. By actually a while ago you drafted this piece for the further together blog around our grants actually the right opportunity for nonprofits. Because a lot of organizations default for writing grants. It's called the action bias. So to the psychology thing like you need to feel busy to feel like you're doing something productive. Even if it's not the right strategy. Even if it's not productive. And I think a lot of organizations fall into this. So I wonder like how do you help people understand if they need to look for grants or if they need to focus on other priorities? Yeah, totally. And that piece came about as a result of just a coffee. I was having with an executive director. And she was like, okay, will we just need to hire? She was really struggling with fundraising. And she was like, well, we just need to hire a grant writer. And I was like, but why? How do you know that to your best strategy? And she didn't know why. But your right is that action bias. It's like people just think of it as default. Well, there's grants. There's grants out there. We just need to be going on getting them. As we talked about, it's not that simple. And it takes a long time to see a return. We say it's like 12 to 18 months before you can really see a return on a grant strategy. And a lot of the time that is because I tend to see more success when I've gone to your grant cycle, gotten denied, been able to come back around for a seat back and reapply again. Then I've got more of an increased chance of success. But as most of the grant cycles, like 12 months, but you have to wait over it and so does take a long time. But yeah, when you're looking at what you need, I think that people who are in a position to hire a grant writer and where that is the best strategy is where you have a really clear project. Got something that you know is out there. It's fundable. Or at least a piece of your ordinance. that you can maybe frame as a project. You have your measurable that you're able to take away from that and report to your funder. You have like a longer term plan. You kind of know what the impact is going to be. You have all of these pieces in place and you just need someone to come along, shape your idea a little bit, understand the funder's needs and their priorities, and then be able to put those pieces together. And really other important that piece that you need to have an in place is stewardship afterward. So like after you're successful and after you get to the grant, how do you show impact for the funder? Do you have people in place and do you have the structures in place to be able to report that and continue that relationship? So this is just a one time thing. If you don't have those pieces in place, now I don't really even gonna help. You have so much more work to do before you can get to that place where somebody just coming in and finding some funders for you and shooting off from applications is actually gonna make an impact on your organization. It is about building the building of structures first. Then maybe you can think of a hiring grant later, others that they're like actual fundraising, which we talked about and something that we do is part of further together that can build those structures and build that capacity. So the fundraising activities aren't just shooting off applications like throwing spaghetti at the wall and maybe you'll get 7% of a term. You have more of the structures in place to not only increase your chance of grant success, but you also do lack of other fundraising as well. - Okay, so I love that you're saying like a grant writer can't save you. Right, you need a lot of these fundamental basic pieces to actually move forward with even working in an appropriate manner with a grant reader. If you don't have those foundational, it's like start somewhere else. But something else that you touch upon is like grants can actually take 12 to 18 months to actually solidify, which is something that a lot of organizations don't understand. They're asking like when I've been in house as a director of development, they're like, hey, how many of these grants are gonna come in? And it's like, I don't know, some of them are new relationships. And then is it okay, then give me a percentage of all these grants. 20% will come in, 30%, 70%, and it's like, nope, they're one to one. They're like one to one relationship. So I can't even aggregate it like that. It's very difficult to do that. So I wonder if you could talk a little bit about why it takes so long to actually get that grant. Like, what is the process internally that funders have to go through and how does that actually turn into money for an organization 12 to 18 months down the line? - The question that you were getting as well was something I got as well. And like, oh, let me just take out my crystal ball and portal the future and I'll let you know, does take a long time because relationships take a long time. You take a long time to build and funders have that cycles about in the year when they are accepting applications, when they're reviewing applications, and when they're open to having those conversations. So it's about paying attention to those, like reaching out to them at the right time. Like you might see a grant that is absolutely perfect for you and that application is an open for another nine months. So like you just got kind of whole tight at that point or it might have just closed and you're like, okay, I'm putting this in my calendar for next year. And it's about thinking long term as well. If you see something that just closed and you wanna think about that for next year, it's about, okay, I'm gonna reach out in six months time and start to make that connection and build that relationship and then have that conversation see if this is a good set. And if I'm actually gonna move forward with an application. And that is for grants and funders where you're just starting out it's new. And as I said before, sometimes where I've seen doors open the most is where you get that initial rejection where you have to go through a grant cycle to be rejected and then to get feedback and be able to get in front of the funder sometimes for feedback and actually have that conversation and like build onto something back. So it does take a long time, but the rewards can be really great. I actually had a really great experience with a funder one time where I had applied for grants and they rejected me and then I got in front of them and I realized we actually pitched the wrong program. We had a great conversation and in that conversation in real life we had one that really, really aligned with them and I told them about it and they were like, this is perfect, this is unique. I'm like, okay, can I apply again? Like yes, what can I double my ask? And they're like, you can go a lot higher than that. So I actually initially got rejected for an application for $10,000 and in the end, my application ask was $80,000 for that program and that's what they accepted. So it was going through that cycle and having the opportunity to get in front of somebody that really opened that door and created that really good partnership that became a long term funding partnership and like it was huge for the organization and for that program. Congratulations, that is amazing first. That is not easy, second. Okay, I wonder if you've also experienced this in-house 'cause I've definitely had this before when managing a grants person. There's a lot of pressure from your ED or from your board to put grants that you're applying for or looking into the budget. They're like, hey, we're gonna have a deficit so apply to more grants and we'll have that in the budget and then we'll fix the deficit. Like it'll just be evening out and that of course, Zoom work. Well, in my experience, that hasn't worked. What do you think about that? Let's take a quick break. Hi, friends. Have you heard of the What the Fundraising Podcast? It is hosted by the amazing Mallory Ericsson. Tell us about it Mallory. If you've ever thought fundraising shouldn't feel this hard. I want you to know you're not imagining it. What the fundraising is a podcast for fundraisers who are tired of burnout, scarcity and being told to just try harder. Each week, I sit down with scientists, fundraisers and sector leaders to unpack what's actually happening in our brains and bodies, our systems and our relationships with money. This show is about helping you raise more without hating your job and without abandoning your values. You don't have to choose between effective fundraising and feeling good. Come listen to What the Fundraising wherever you get your podcasts. That sounds amazing. Friends, I really encourage you to go listen to the really interesting conversations on What the Fundraising. Let me know what you think. And now back to the episode. This is probably one of the most heartbreaking things. I see where people don't really understand a grand strategy because you're right. They're putting every single thing that they're applying to into a budget. And there is an assumption that we're totally aligned. We're definitely going to get this. And I find it so heartbreaking because as we've talked about on this podcast, you develop your program offerings around your budget. So if you're putting things in there, if you're like, I'm definitely going to get this $100,000 grant because we're a perfect bit. You know, just look at all the things on the website, but it's a cool adaptation. You put that into your budget for next year and then you design your programs around it and the sources you can offer your community. And then you have less than 7% chance of actually getting that and then you get rejected. And it can be devastating for organizations and like we've seen it and I've seen it being in house. So I see the pressure and I understand that, but I always recommend being incredibly conservative with putting grants into your budget. I will only put success also for my budget. If it is a multi-year grant, obviously, if I have the longer term relationship and I know about my style, or if it is a grant that we've gotten for many years in a row. And sometimes if it's like a really, really good relationship and I'm feeling secure, if I've gotten the grant before, I'll put it in for next year. But usually I want two to three years of funding first and not just that, two to three years of funding and a continued relationship with that funder throughout the year. So I'm not just coming at them and asking them for money when it comes to application time. I'm still reading them, I'm building the relationship. We're going out for coffee. I have a sense of what's going on there. Is that as important to because priority's changed as well within organizations. You might not have a heads off about that and look too late. - So we talked a little bit about the issues with having a grant writing strategy that's not excellently executed, right? You really need someone who's on top of it, who has the skills, who has the data, who has the systems at the organization, to do that impact storytelling, all that stuff. We know the problems. What are those solutions? Should people listening just be like, that's it, no more grants I give up. I'm getting off this hamster wheel and I give up. I'm going to do something else. Or is there a way to move forward in a way that gets you closer to that 20% awarded? - Grants are still a good strategy. Grants are still a way to connect funders with the organizations that are doing amazing work and to make that relationship possible. I think just looking at it from a different way. If you find an incredible grant that's your wonderful fit for your organization, your first step should be looking for a connection to the hunder, but you can have a conversation. And I often like to check in with staff, check in with board, look for mutual LinkedIn connections, anything I can do to just like, you make that personal intro happen and get on a call with that hunder. I'm not getting on a call so that I can wave a magic wand and do a marketing feel and do a fancy little pitch. I'm there to see if this is a match and to see if what they're saying on the website and what I think is aligned, actually aligns with what we do and the difference that we're making in the world. I've never had a call with a funder where like I haven't learned some incredibly important piece of information that was not on their website. I've always learned something. I've usually come out of it like going in with like, okay, this is a project I'm going to talk about, this one I'm going to pitch. I'd say 80 to 90% time I come out of it being like, "No, that was the wrong thing." So you try completely, but then you build that relationship and not only rebuild that relationship, you've gotten great direction for it. So that just bumps off your probability. Bumps off your success rate. So I think just looking at it from that angle, just start is a really good first step. I would also add like not having grants be only strategy. They're definitely looking at other things because grants are often very project restrictive. So when we work with clients and we see, "Oh, all of your funding is grants." That's great. But no one has how to raise in like, "Bye, be here." You know, because they don't have enough unrestricted revenue. So some organizations, they're great, great, great getting grants, but therefore don't have like that slush fund to move things around the way that they want to. I had this podcast guest episode, Michelle Benson. She is this LinkedIn queen and always talking about fundraising there. She said in that episode, like, "You got to be fundable and findable." Because there's a lot of funders that are actually doing the work themselves. So you don't have to go on right applications that lead to nothing. They're doing the work themselves to go find you. But then when they get to your website, there's no annual report. There's no stats. There's no social proof. There's no stories. There's no audited financial statements. The basics that show that you're a well operating nonprofit, right? So that's another thing that if you have a grant strategy, you want to make sure that when those branches, whether you apply to that organization or not to fund you, when they come to your website, they see that you have a system that they're not just going to give you money and they don't even know what your programs are, right? Your website needs to be very clear about some of the things I keep when I was talking about earlier. So really thinking about your whole grant strategy and not just the writing and applying piece can make an exponential difference in you getting this grant application through. I totally agree. And I love Michelle Benson. I'm such a fan girl. If anybody's listening and not all in her own LinkedIn, maybe before I got a LinkedIn, I love her cartoons. She's so great. And give a positive note and everything in a positive angle. I've been writing grants for over 10 years. I've seen a lot of everything. I think in the last maybe four to five years or so, I have seen a change in not all that more and more funders moving towards trust based on the land for being and moving towards granting program that really come at it with the organization in mind. And grantors that are like simplifying their application process. Granted that are not asked me for unlinked these reports. They're asking for a phone call. They're like a video call or something. So there's still amazing funders that are out there. And I think that this is a good strategy, but as you said, grants do tend to be very project-based and project restricted. And for who we are still in the hamster wheel, a lot of grantors like to fund new projects. Once you have a project that has been funded and it's great and is up and running, you're then kind of at a loss for how to continue to fund it because they own the new thing. But I do think that there is an increasing tide shift in terms of trust based philanthropy and funders who are understanding that organization know how to best end their funds and they know how to profess their community. There's definitely a few incredible and wonderful funders that I've had to in recent years. And there's more and more of them out there. Somebody else that I wanted to say is for people listening, if you're struggling with your fundraising strategy, you're like, are grants a right fit? I don't know exactly for grant ready or if we should be trying something else. You can definitely just reach out to Caitlin and I. You can tell you very easily. There's a link in the description down below in the show notes that just shows you how further together can help you with this kind of thing. But something else that I would like to say is that it's really important to understand where you are starting from. If you think you have these systems set up and you don't, it will show up in your results, right? So measuring the inputs, that's something that I like to talk about fundraising as a system. The inputs that you're putting in. So yes, the number of applications, but also the number of outreach points that you've done with a funder, the number of impact stats that you've collected, the number of stories that you've shared, right? That is also part of the system that will help inform what kind of outcomes you're getting. So if you're not getting the outcomes that you're getting, check the inputs to see if there's something that could be tweaked there. The leading versus lighting metrics that you talked about blew my mind and love that. And that is something that you're just talking about having that pressure from within organizations where they just want you to get applications out and out, maybe like reframing that the measure of somebody's performance isn't just the number of applications that they get out. It's like the number of touch points that they have with a funder, really. How many calls and things that they had? How many? Thank you notes that they send. Let's put more in to measure success than just getting an application out the door because anybody can do that. I can do five applications this afternoon, but they won't be good and they won't be successful. Kaelin, before we go, is there anything else that you want to say? I think carefully considering a grant strategy is so important. Understanding that just because it's out there doesn't mean that it's really out there. You have to lift the hood. You have to do your research. You have to try as much as you can to connect with somebody. The things look like a really good opportunity and then log on to what is probably my favorite page on the internet. I miss this for getting charities only, but the CRA Charities stage for one search foundation. You can find who foundations have actually funded and how much you realize that. So, actually, this great opportunity for funding, dreamed everything that I thought was available, and they've only got 15,000 that they give out total every single year. I'm going to send a week doing this application and if I get something, it could be like two grants. So, but during the research, about making those connections and understanding that, like with much of anything else in the fundraising, grants are a long game. They're not little hanging through because something you have to work at, but it can be worth it. So, we go again, I want to encourage you to follow Caitlin on LinkedIn. She is popping off over there. Everyone's commenting on her stuff. Like, more than 600 likes, okay? That doesn't tell you, go check out her LinkedIn and her content. You're in the wrong space. You know me. I'm like an accidental influencer. This is great. It's a very surprising for me. It's fun. And that's it for today's episode of the Small Nonprofit Podcast. I am sure like me and Caitlin, you have been very frustrated with what's going on with grants in 2025 and how hard it's been to actually build these relationships and get these grant funds through the door. But there is a lot of opportunity out there. So, make sure that you're building your basics first before going out there and trying to be fundable. As always, if you want to see our lovely faces, you can watch this episode on YouTube. You can like, comment, and subscribe. You can even leave us a message to say what kind of episode you'd like to hear from us next. But that's it for today. Until next time. Bye for now. [MUSIC] Thank you for listening to another episode of the Small Nonprofit. If you want to continue the conversation, feel free to connect with our guests directly or find Yon LinkedIn. Let's keep moving money to mission and prioritizing our well-being. Bye for now.