10 Challenges In Grant Prospecting And How To Overcome Them

Discovering the perfect grant opportunity often feels like finding a needle in a haystack. But what if you had a magnet?

In this article, we will discuss the ten most common grant prospecting challenges and how to overcome them.

There is a common challenge nonprofits face when they begin grant prospecting - limited staff and limited time. 

Veronica Kulon, Grant Professional and Nonprofit Consultant, offers a practical solution:

“Prioritize efforts based on potential impact, use search filters aligned with your mission, and consider collaborating with team members or volunteers to distribute the workload efficiently.”

Maximizing existing resources and seeking additional support from potential connections is a great way to ensure you don’t apply for grants that you are not eligible for. Here is a list of potential resources with whom you already have possible connections:

• Suggestions from board members and volunteers
• Current donors
• The community
• Local government entities
• Other foundations that align with your mission

If you first consider the connections you already have, you can save time during the grant search process.

There are numerous grant databases available that have search options for finding grant funding opportunities. The difficulty with using these sites, however, is trying to identify the most suitable grant opportunities.

Conducting effective research and prospecting is the best way to solve grant prospecting difficulties to find the right funding opportunities. For example, Instrumentl offers a free trial to use its platform to search grant opportunities efficiently. 

Although there are more than 400,000 funders on the platform, Instrumentl simplifies the search process so that it matches you with the grants that are most relevant to your nonprofit. That way, both you and your staff are not wasting precious time sifting through grants that don’t align with your projects or initiatives.

As Nonprofit Strategist Teresa Huff explains,

“Finding good-fit funders for niche causes can be a challenge. I like to ask up front, ‘Is this a fundable project that will appeal to funders?’ First figure out if it's even realistic to find grants for the cause. Then mix and match different search terms until we find alignment.”

The best grant databases will give you this common scenario:

“Congratulations, we found more than 300 grants for you!” 

At first, this large number may be exciting, but how do you filter through hundreds of grants to find the right one? Dealing with information overload is all too real during grant researching.

Using a fundraising tool like Instrumentl will help you filter and organize grant information to make it less intimidating. For example, Instrumentl allows you to filter your grant search in the following ways:

• Geography
• Field of work
• Grant amount
• Type of funding and funding use

These are just a few ways Instrumentl helps you streamline the grant research stage so that you only focus on grant opportunities that match your nonprofit’s profile. 

Another one of the grant prospecting challenges nonprofits face is evaluating grant relevance and feasibility for your organization. Here are some steps you can take to assess grant opportunities effectively:

• Identify your nonprofit’s funding goals - are you funding a new project launch, requesting financial support for existing initiatives, or requesting funds for operating expenses? Knowing your funding needs will help you better evaluate whether or not a grant is relevant to your funding goals.
• Carefully review the funder’s announcement - All grant opportunities will detail the funder’s objectives in a funding opportunity announcement. By taking the time to review two things - the funder’s objectives and the eligibility requirements - you can determine right away whether the grant is relevant to your organization. ‍
• Ensure your interests match the funder’s interests - After you determine your goals and the goals of the funder, ensure they align. Making sure your project idea matches the grant funder’s interests will not only save you time, but also improve your chances of winning the funding.

On average, only one out of seven grant applications are actually approved for funding. This means you need to differentiate your organization and grant proposal from the competition through these strategies for successful grant prospecting:

• Have a clear focus to show the funder you are committed to the funder’s goals and the community you serve.
• Follow the numbers! Take the time to include data that illustrates your nonprofit’s successful activities, deliverables, and success stories. 
• Write a compelling narrative and unique value proposition that clearly discusses your purpose, impact, program description, and outcomes.

You can also review successful grant templates to see how other nonprofit organizations set themselves apart from the competition. That way, you can see first-hand the strategies for successful grant prospecting.

One of the most common grant prospecting challenges for nonprofits is staying updated with grant opportunities. Yet, a common mistake in grant research is using old, outdated data about grants. 

This is why using a grant searching tool like Instrumentl is so important; Instrumentl will continuously update your matches so that you have the most timely, updated grant information available. 

You can also create a shared grant tracking calendar so that your whole team is on board with tracking important updates, including:

• Grant application submission deadlines
• Specific reporting requirements
• Grant expenditures
• Other grant activities

Instrumentl will ensure you have the freshest, most up-to-date grant opportunities. That way, your entire team will have a system to regularly monitor and receive grant updates.

A grant funder will specify the grant requirements in their announcement, yet one of the main reasons grant proposals are rejected are due to simply not following directions. 

A rejection letter could even come down to missing the required page count, margin requirements, and font. You must ensure you are tailoring your proposal to match the funders expectations. Now, overcoming grant research obstacles such as these is easy. Here are some best practices to review in a grant application:

• Submission deadlines
• Eligibility requirements
• Application format and specifications
• Scope of the project
• Award policies
• Evaluation criteria
• Budget requirements

Most grant applications will have the funder’s contact information. You should always feel comfortable contacting the funder with any questions or if you need help solving grant prospecting difficulties while you are preparing your grant proposal.

There are numerous grant prospect challenges when dealing with various grant application platforms and online portals. Each site has its unique requirements and user interfaces, so understanding the top grant databases will help you ascertain which site is best to find funding for your nonprofit.

When researching grant databases, which offer the following guidance to efficiently navigate and use the platforms to submit successful grant applications and for overcoming grant research obstacles:

• Keyword searching and filtering tools to narrow your results to grants that align with your project goals.
• Accurate and timely grant information that is updated regularly.
• An easy-to-use interface that doesn’t waste your time trying to figure out how to search for grants.
• A comprehensive listing from diverse sources (i.e., government, corporate, and foundation grants).
• Detailed funder profiles and 990 reports.

These are important characteristics that will ensure you can efficiently find and apply for relevant grant opportunities. The 990 reports in particular are immeasurable when it comes to getting important funder information and overcoming grant prospecting challenges.

According to Amanda Acton, GPC, Founder and Chief Dot Connector, Grant Expert, and Fundraising Professional,

“[I spend the majority of my time] poring over 990s (to see who they actually gave to and the size of the gift vs theorganization type) and websites (to see what they say they give to and if there are any other little hints about how they see themselves as philanthropists). The benefit here is when you find a good match, you are better prepared to write to their vision.”

Nonprofits rely on all types of grants from public, private, and government sources, so you need to ensure the grant application platform you use has the most varied and up-to-date grant information.

For example, sites like Grants.gov and the National Institute of Health are two comprehensive grant search tools. However, they only focus on government grants, whereas Instrumentl will show you relevant grants from government, corporate, and foundation entities.

Another one of the many grant prospecting challenges is accessing “invite-only” funders and meeting those grant deadlines. These are funders who do not take unsolicited proposals and, instead, only accept applications from nonprofits that have already established a relationship with the funder.

Invite-only applications help funders limit the amount of applications they need to review and also ensure the nonprofit proposals already align with their mission. But, they can still be quite frustrating to nonprofits who are not in the loop. And, since only a fraction of independent, company-sponsored, and community foundations accept unsolicited proposals, there’s a lot of money left on the table. 

How can you build relationships with such funders and manage their proposal timelines? Here are some tips:

• Make a list of the invite-only funders and then set a priority on whose mission may align with yours. 
• Start with who you know - see if the connections you already have know the invite-only funders and can help you build a relationship with them.
• Make a plan of contact - if you can set up a call or meeting with the invite-only funder, make sure this first point of contact clearly explains how your nonprofit’s mission and goals align with theirs. That should be the main point of the initial contact.

If everything goes well, you can invite the funder to your facility or find out future ways to keep in contact. That way, you may be on their list for their next invite-only proposal. You can also use Instrumentl to search “invite-only” funders with whom you have built a relationship with to further your connections.

Prospect research is an ongoing process, and it is a challenge to maintain consistency in your prospect research efforts.

Using grant management software like Instrumentl will help you create a research schedule and track your progress. 

For example, when you save your grant prospects in our “Tracker” section, you can set up different tasks for you and your team to ensure your organization’s standard operating procedures are followed throughout the submission process.

You can also create your own schedule so that your team has enough time to properly develop your proposals and meet application deadlines.

Knowing where to find the right grant opportunities and determining whether you can create a competitive grant proposal in a timely manner is a superpower (in our opinion). 

To hone this skill, the importance of proactive problem-solving in grant prospecting cannot be understated, especially when it comes to small to medium-sized organizations. 

By following our tips, we hope we can help you alleviate any grant prospecting challenges that may arise during your grant search from beginning to end.

To continue learning, check out our A-Z guide on Grant Prospect Research.