Rebounding After a Rejected Grant Proposal

What To Do If Your Grant Application is Rejected
It’s normal to experience rejection when submitting grant proposals, many grant-makers receive thousands of applications. In fact, only one out of every ten proposals submitted by nonprofit organizations is funded. No matter how discouraging they are, you can learn a lot from rejected grant applications that can give you a leg up with future grant proposals. Here are three tips to help you move forward after a rejected grant proposal.

Triple Check your Application
This may seem redundant, but check over your application again and consider any weak spots that may want to fix the next time around. Did you submit your application just hours before the deadline? Did you submit all of the required information and provide detailed summaries of the project and budget? Did you ensure that the program matches the objectives of the grantmaker? Be honest with yourself and work to improve your grant writing skills with each proposal you submit.

Ask for Feedback
Keep in mind that many grantmakers do not offer feedback on grant applications, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. This can be especially useful if you contact the grantmaker prior to submission because they are more likely to reply to a familiar name. While you may find that your application contained several errors, you might also find that your application was quite impressive, but funders wanted to focus on certain goals or initiatives.

Look at the Grant Recipients
You can get a lot of information from the nonprofit organizations that got their grant proposals approved. If you have a contact at one of the organizations, it can even be helpful to reach out with questions about how they approached the proposal. If not, checking out the organization’s website should suffice. Look into the nonprofit’s goals and programs. Be sure to keep your eye out for press releases or new posts about the grant and the project they will be using it for.

The key to being awarded a grant is never ever giving up.  Continue to identify and apply for mission-aligned funding opportunities that you are eligible for.  That’s what every organization that ever received funding did repeatedly.  

Onward and Upward!
Cheryl Smith

Source Article: Nonprofit Times : Grappling with Rejection

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