Discover a strategic approach to grant seeking for the year ahead. This article guides you in creating a funding plan using Instrumentl for effective prospecting and tracking, helping you secure the grants your nonprofit needs.
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“Strategy” doesn’t have to equal boring corporate lingo. Strategy can be fun!
Developing an intentional, detailed strategy for acquiring grant funds to fulfill your nonprofit’s mission should be exciting. Instead of scrambling to find and submit applications on an as-needed basis, a strategy allows you to proactively seek opportunities and align them with your annual goals.
In this quick guide, we will show you how to leverage Instrumentl to build a strategic, year-long plan for grant funding.
A grant funding strategy serves as a roadmap for nonprofits, outlining when, where, and how to seek grants throughout the year.
Essentially, a grant funding strategy lists the specific grant opportunities that will fill up your organization’s pipeline for the year to come. Most of the time, organizations align this strategy with their annual budget.
With a well-planned grant pipeline, nonprofits can:
Since goals and programs typically stay the same throughout the year, a 12-month timeframe should work well for most organizations. Many grants are also offered annually, allowing you to anticipate them a year ahead.
Overall, a 12-month grants strategy provides a big-picture view and allows for better organization and coordination, making it easier to prioritize efforts and achieve long-term financial goals.
Creating a grant funding strategy from scratch might seem intimidating at first.
Luckily, Instrumentl has the tools you need to find, prioritize, and organize potential grants all in one place. Keep reading and we’ll show you how.
Step one is to define the programs, projects, or operational needs you plan to seek funding for and how much funding you are looking to acquire.
Clearly defining what the funding will be used for is a crucial step that should never be overlooked. Having a well-thought-out, fundable project in mind makes grant research far easier and more effective.
However, many organizations can fall into a cycle of simply chasing available funding, and applying for grants that don’t fully align with their needs or goals.
This “chasing funding” approach often leads to:
By creating a focused ‘wish list’ of projects or programs that genuinely require grant funding to launch or grow, your nonprofit can prioritize intentional funding that drives real impact.
Once you know how much funding you need and for what, your next step should be setting up a new project in Instrumentl.
Before Instrumentl can work its magic by finding relevant funding opportunities, users must create a “project” by filling out a few details, including their project's:
Instrumentl then uses this info to deliver the best-fit matches. It’s that easy.
Note: You can create multiple different projects for the various different funding needs of your organization. Learn more about setting up effective projects here.
After setting up your project, Instrumentl will scan its comprehensive database of over 390,000+ funders and 12,500+ active opportunities from foundation, corporate, and government funding sources.
In just seconds, you’ll receive a list of good-fit grants that match your project’s criteria.
Once you’ve been matched with potential grants, it’s time to start developing your strategy by narrowing in on the most promising opportunities.
Thankfully, Instrumentl makes it easy to do this without having to leave the platform.
With each grant match, you can click into it to learn more about the specific opportunity, its eligibility requirements, deadline, funding use, and more.
If a grant seems like a good fit, you can go one step further by clicking on the “Funder 990 Report” tab to get an inside look into the grantmaker’s giving history, including their:
All of these insights are incredibly valuable for gauging your nonprofit’s competitiveness and determining whether it would be worth your effort to apply.
When you identify a grant that’s worth pursuing further, simply click “Save” on the opportunity and it will be automatically added to your Grants Tracker.
When saving a grant, you’ll have the opportunity to assign a status to it (e.g. “planned” vs. “researching”). Once saved, all of your grants will be organized in your Tracker by:
You can also click on the Calendar view to see all of your grants (and subtasks) laid out by date for your whole team to access.
And just like that—Voila! You have your annual grants strategy outlined and ready to tackle.
Here’s what Beth Noble, Senior Grant Administrator at Phoenix Children's Foundation, had to say about this process:
“What I really like about Instrumentl as an all-year round platform is that we can track on a year-on-year basis, we got history in there, we got documents in there. It just makes everything easier.”
Developing a robust 12-month grant funding strategy takes time and effort, but it pays off by providing a clear, organized plan for the year ahead. By identifying and analyzing funding opportunities in advance, your organization can focus on crafting compelling applications and building relationships with funders.
Instrumentl simplifies the process, helping you save time, stay organized, and maintain peace of mind that your nonprofit isn't missing out on critical funding. Sign up for a 14-day trial and start your journey today by creating a strategic, 12-month grant funding plan that drives your mission forward.
A 12-month grant funding strategy is a structured plan that helps organizations identify, apply for, and secure funding through grants over the course of a year. It includes activities like researching opportunities, drafting proposals, and building relationships with funders.
To identify the right grants, align your organization’s mission and goals with the grantmaker’s priorities. Use grant databases, attend funding workshops, and network within your industry to uncover relevant opportunities.
Creating a grant calendar involves listing deadlines, organizing tasks like research and writing, and setting realistic timelines for submission. This ensures you stay on track and can apply to multiple grants without missing important dates.
Grantmakers often prefer to fund organizations they know and trust. Building relationships through meetings, emails, and presentations can increase your chances of being awarded funding. It’s a way to show your organization’s value and align with their goals.
To improve your success rate, write clear and concise proposals tailored to each grant’s requirements. Highlight measurable outcomes, provide strong supporting data, and ensure your budget aligns with the project’s goals. Reviewing successful applications can also provide valuable insights.
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