17 Nov Did You Know: How to Find the Right Grant Opportunities for Your Organization by Roxanne Jensen, Ed.S., GPC

It is challenging for many nonprofits to find the right grant opportunities. It can be tempting to go after every grant opportunity. However, being selective is important. Not every grant is going to be the best fit for your organization. Choosing the wrong grant opportunity can potentially waste organizational time and resources.

Start with Your Mission

It is important to focus on your organization’s mission and goals as you begin your grant research. Funders are looking to support certain causes and projects. If your nonprofit focuses on housing for homeless veterans, applying for a grant that supports rapid rehousing for youth experiencing homelessness would not be a good mission fit for your organization. In an initial search for homeless grants, these grants would potentially qualify. It is only through a more careful analysis of the funder’s priorities that refinement of the list of possible grants to those that align with your organization’s mission is possible.

Identify Your Needs

After you have looked critically at your mission, it is time to closely examine your organization’s needs and strategic priorities. Do you need funding to keep your programs running or growing? Or do you need general operating support to keep your organization running smoothly? By understanding these specific needs you can refine your grant search to match these funding priorities. Funders generally have clear guidelines about what they will and will not fund, so identifying your organization’s needs ahead of time will allow you to prioritize your search to those grant opportunities that will have the most impact on your organization’s strategic plan.

Use a Simple Checklist for Eligibility

One strategy I have found useful in my grant research is using a simple checklist to evaluate whether a funder is a good match. I ask myself a few key questions (like the ones below) to assess the overall mission fit.

☐  Do the funder’s stated priorities match your organization’s mission?

☐  Does the focus of the grant match the work of your organization? (For example, if your nonprofit focuses on mental health, does the grant specifically target mental health programs?)

☐  Does the funder provide grants in your geographic region?

☐  Does the funder provide the type of support your organization needs? (project-specific funding vs. general operating support?)

☐  Is the grant award amount realistic for your organization? (too small of a grant amount may result in a poor return on investment, whereas too large of a grant amount may exceed the need of your organization and/or its capacity to manage)

By utilizing a checklist similar to this early in your research, you can eliminate any grant opportunities that are not right for your organization and focus on those that have the greatest potential.

Read the Guidelines Carefully

I cannot emphasize this enough… always read the grant guidelines carefully before you move forward with a grant opportunity. Sometimes, a funder has very specific requirements about location, project focus, or organizational size that restricts who can apply. In addition, some funders have complex applications or extensive reporting that might be a strain for small organizations with limited resources. These small nonprofit organizations may want to avoid these types of grants and focus on funders with more manageable requirements.

Key Takeaways:

Here is what you need to know about finding the right grant opportunities:

1. Search for grants that match your nonprofit’s mission.
2. Know exactly what you need funding for… whether that is project-specific funding or general operating support, and how the funding can support the strategic priorities of the organization.
3. Evaluate each opportunity with a simple checklist (mission match, program match, geographic match, etc.) to ensure eligibility.
4. Always read the guidelines to make sure to meet the eligibility requirements and are ready to handle the funder’s requirements.

Nonprofits can transform their research by being more intentional as they search through potential opportunities. It is not just about finding funding… it is about finding the right funding. By using a simple checklist and aligning your mission, needs, and capacity with the grants you apply for, your chances for success increase.

You can find other blog posts in this series here. AGS also offers several on-demand webinars on a variety of topics to support the full grant cycle, including grant research and prospect identification. For example, check out Grants 201: Prospect Research, the first session in our Grants 201 Series! All of our grant training sessions are taught by credentialed grant professionals and are approved for continuing education units by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute and CFRE International. Check out our website to learn more and sign up for our training newsletter.

If you are interested in grant services, training, or federal review services, or are interested in our career opportunities,  Julie Assel, CGMS, GPC, President/CEO will be happy to talk with you about this opportunity and provide you with a quote for grant services.

AGS blogs, funding alerts, and trainings are aligned with the Grant Professional Certification Institute’s Competencies and Skills.

• Competency #2: Knowledge of organizational development as it pertains to grant readiness; Skill 2.1: Assess organizational readiness to seek grants, including mission alignment and capacity for project management.
• Competency #3: Knowledge of strategies for effective program and project design and development; Skill 3.1: Identify appropriate funding sources based on organizational and programmatic needs.
• Competency #6: Knowledge of nationally recognized standards of ethical practice; Skill 6.1: Identify ethical practices in the research and selection of funding opportunities.