Successful grant writing isn’t a product of luck. In fact, the vast majority of successful grants are won before the writing even begins. It generally boils down to a strategic, two-step process you can do long before approaching grantmakers or submitting applications.
Over the last 25 years at Communication Mark, we’ve seen organizations fall into the same traps over and over again. Many dive into their application processes too quickly, which leads to inconsistent messaging, burnout, and missed opportunities.
This leads many well-deserving, highly valuable organizations to lose out on funding opportunities simply because they’re not using the right process.
The good news? Many organizations can take a big step toward success before submitting their application by following this disciplined two-step process:
1. Determine your overall strategic approach by drafting a general case for support.
2. Before approaching each grantmaker, select the aspects of the case to pitch to that funder.
Here’s a simple breakdown of these grant writing strategies, how to navigate them, and how you can explain to your team why both are necessary.
This first step, the case for support, will help you get organizational consensus around key elements of the project you’re presenting to grantmakers. It’s also an opportunity to wrap a slew of services into a nice, neat project with clear parameters.
A strong case for support tells a compelling story by concentrating on a few critical community needs and the strategies to address them, keeping your message clear, consistent, and manageable.
The good news? This foundational work only needs to be done once.
Here are each of the components.
Successful grant writing strategies must align with your leadership team's priorities.
It’s a good idea to allocate four to eight weeks (~35 working hours) for grant strategy planning to ensure there’s time for discussion, executive decision-making, and buy-in. But you can also speed up the timeline if you don’t have days to spare.
Remember: Each new project is like being in a new band that has to play a string of gigs. Your organization has skilled individual players, but even the best musicians must agree on their shared look, attitude, identity, sound, and song selection before they start booking venues.
Once your leadership team has definitively decided to seek funds for a new project, look for a clear consensus on any measurable needs to address.
Doing this first prevents you from seeking project funding for anything your organization isn’t prepared to run. It also ensures organizational consensus and prepares key info for the next stage.
We’ll think through the strategies for this in the section below.
Now that you have leadership buy-in and have stopped mission creep, it’s time to put words behind the case write-up itself.
You may recognize the elements from other grant proposals you’ve seen or done.
If you can complete this section well, you’ll have articulated key arguments for project implementation, while forming an internal consensus that will make approaching grantmakers much easier.
The second of the two strategic steps happens each time you’re ready to approach a grantmaker for support. It may be helpful to think of it as a separate step — because writing grants, like dancing or making music, is fluid and contextual.
Note that a case for support isn’t written for a specific audience, but a grant application is. Even though you’ve already prepared some written documents, you’ll need to spend time writing up each grant application.
Here’s the most efficient way to get this done.
Your application focus depends on many factors, starting with the grantmakers themselves. So, you should learn as much about a grantmaker as you can, even if you are reapplying. To do this, you can
A grant-writing superpower is the ability to define the project you propose. While you should always be transparent in your approach, it often makes sense to focus your request on the aspect of your case for support that best aligns with funder priorities.
Rather than altering your mission, this step simply emphasizes relevance for the grantmaker. This makes you more likely to be a ‘hit’ for that funder.
Think of it this way: If your organization is a band, and your case for support is your entire songbook, each time you go to a grantmaker is like preparing for a new gig.
Playing country for two-steppers at a raucous late-night honky-tonk is a lot different than playing, say, a Bar Mitzvah. You must consider the audience and venue ahead of time, choose which songs and how many, dress appropriately, and decide how much patter you need to add.
Your case for support may have broad appeal, but a grant application often requires you to highlight the part that most interests the funder. This likely means that, after providing the broad strokes of the project, you need to focus the rest of your request on a smaller component of the case that requires more detailed explanations.
One solution is zeroing in on a single need or project component to increase funding alignment. You can do this by highlighting needs and strategies that are most relevant to clients you serve who grantmakers also want to support.
If your organizational value is too complex for even more seasoned professionals to explain, let someone else — like a person you’ve supported — do the talking for you. You might need new materials, visuals, or other assets (i.e., testimonials) included with your grant application. But the extra time and effort will be worth it in the end.
Remember: Grant writing is both an art and a science, and one that must be tailored to your funder’s focus. This can and should be done without betraying personal or organizational values.
Grant strategy requires a careful balance of relationships, data, and strategic storytelling. It may seem like a simple concept, but it isn’t always taught to new grant professionals.
That’s what makes the two-step process so valuable: anyone can use it, and with any level of skill. Step One ensures you have the right internal alignment. Then, Step Two ensures you have the right external alignment.
If you prepare, communicate, and plan strategically, you increase your chances of winning a new grant.
Learn more about implementing the two-step strategic approach before your next application by contacting the team at Communication Mark.