1. The Pandemic Situation Has Changed

Many awarding organizations are working toward more open processes, freely accessible information, and streamlined application forms to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. The pandemic has afflicted almost everyone, yet not everyone has been equally affected. It has shown discrepancies in the charitable sector’s access to money, and charitable foundations and grantmakers are responding.

2. There is a growing movement in favor of unrestricted funding

The Trust-Based Charity movement is founded on a commitment to eliminating injustices in philanthropy. They not only fight for streamlined granting but also urge donors to trust nonprofit organizations’ knowledge and skills. This is a plea on grantors to let organizations spend funds where they are most needed, rather than putting precise demands on how they should be spent.

3. Grantees Must Prepare for the Aftermath of Grants

Most funding applications ask, “How will your program be supported once the grant is finished?” Grantors want to know that the initiatives they fund will be there for a long time. Grantors want to know not just if the programming will continue, but also if it may be scaled to another community. These are difficult questions to answer for many nonprofits who are struggling to raise funds for the current year.

4. Reconsider how you assess funding success.

How will you evaluate the impact of the monies received if your nonprofit’s grant proposal is approved? Will you take into account the number of persons who attended your events or the number of partners and stakeholders with whom you interacted?

There are complex matrixes available to assist you to demonstrate impact, but NGOs are discovering that people are the most relevant impact measurement. Consider assessing the impact that brings gifting to its most fundamental element: supporting and transforming lives, from attendance to transformation.

5. Some issues are too big for a single organization to handle

Systematic imbalances must be addressed, and many awards rely on a wider group’s collective knowledge and activities. Consider looking for nonprofit partners for your programs as you draft your grant submission. Get rid of the notion that NGOs working on comparable issues to yours are competitors. Instead, consider them potential colleagues and seek funds to work together to solve those enormous problems.

6. Grantors are also donors

Grant writing used to be thought of as a simple cut-and-paste job: edit the grantor’s name and send. To say the least, it’s hit-or-miss—and most of the time, it’s a miss.
Treat your grantors the same way you treat your donors. Learn about their funding preferences and give them a call to see if your project is a good fit. While move management may be the ideal strategy for significant gift fundraising, it is also critical for grant writing.