Transforming Grant Rejection Letter into Future Success

So it happened. The hours you put into your grant application, the agony of waiting for a decision, the hopes you had hinged on starting a new program all came down to the mailed letter or the short email explanation:

Your grant application has not been selected.

In the process of applying for grants, even the most seasoned nonprofits and grant writers must inevitably come to terms with rejection. But don’t hang your head or give up!

In this article, we’ll cover how to respond to grant rejection letters—from following up with a thank you (yes, a thank you) to identifying key takeaways and applying them to your future grant applications to staying dedicated to your grant pursuits.

Let’s get started!

‍

Receiving a grant rejection letter is unavoidable, but it can also be emotionally painful and discouraging. 

If you receive a grant rejection letter, it’s always helpful to honor your disappointment before moving on. Often, we hurry through the emotional part of our work and hastily pursue the next opportunity. However, writing grants takes time and effort, and it’s okay to feel let down when the outcome of the opportunity does not turn out as planned. 

These following steps can help you process through your disappointment: 

• Allow yourself to feel sad or frustrated. 
• Talk to your supervisor, coworker, or another grant writing colleague about it. 
• Try not to get stuck in the negative feelings of the outcome for too long. 
• Remember: one rejection is just one rejection, and professional resources reveal that only between 10-20 percent of all grant applications get approved (Check out our article for more grant writing stats) 

While a well-crafted and thoughtful proposal certainly yields a greater chance of acceptance, even polished applications are often denied for reasons that have nothing to do with the application itself. 

After processing these initial feelings and commiserating with coworkers, it’s important to follow-up with a response to the rejection letter. Keep reading for tips on how to craft a response that’s succinct, gracious, and ushers in the opportunity to gain more information about why you were rejected.

There are many reasons why you might receive a grant proposal rejection letter. However, no matter the reason, there are a few things you should do in response: 

Acknowledge Emotions

Rejection is a part of life, but that doesn’t make getting a funding grant rejection letter any less disappointing and frustrating. 

It is easy for someone to tell you to “not take it personally” after your grant is rejected, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. Just remember one thing: the grantmaker rejected your proposal, not you.

Like we mentioned earlier, grant rejection is inevitable at some point—so you’re not alone! 

Here are some tips to help keep your emotions in check after you receive a grant application rejection letter:

• Don’t take the rejection personally. 
• Focus on what you did well in the grant proposal.
• Remember that grantmakers simply cannot allocate funding to everyone.
• Talk to your colleagues, friends, and family about your frustrations.

By first acknowledging your emotions, you can be in a better mindset to move on. Then you can focus your energy on the next funding opportunity. 

Inform Key Stakeholders

Once you receive a grant rejection letter, it’s important to inform key stakeholders at your organization. This might include the head of the fundraising department, your team, and even the Executive Director. 

Don’t be afraid to be transparent with them about the rejection—they should be understanding. It can be especially helpful to come to them with explanations for why you were rejected and how you will apply that feedback moving forward (more on that below). 

Review Feedback From the Rejection

One of the most important steps in receiving a grant rejection is to review feedback from the grantmaker. 

If you did not receive detailed feedback, or any feedback at all, you should contact the funder and respectfully request feedback on why your grant proposal was rejected. 

Reach out to the grantmaker either via email or by phone, thank them for the opportunity to apply for the grant, and then ask if they would be willing to meet with you to review the feedback on your proposal.

Some questions you can ask them during the meeting include the following:

• How many proposals did you receive for the award?
• What specifically disqualified my proposal from the award?
• Is there specific feedback I can use to strengthen my proposal?
• Can I re-submit a proposal in the future? If yes, when?

Use the feedback shared to better identify the weaknesses of your grant proposal. That way, you can avoid the same missteps with funding opportunities in the future.

If the feedback you receive is incomplete, you can use the Freedom of Information Act to request copies of a complete list of the reviewer’s comments and even how they scored your proposal, if available.

Capture Learnings

Once you’ve reviewed all of the grantmaker’s feedback, you can use it as a learning tool for future grant proposals. 

You should make a detailed list of everything that you could have done better in the proposal based on the funder’s feedback. That way, you have a quick reference tool to use if you ever re-apply for this grant or with any future funding opportunity.

Some nonprofits use Excel or Google Notes to keep track of funder-specific feedback, and we also offer grant tracking tools where you can easily store your funder notes for later use. 

Seek External Opinions

Not only should you seek feedback and opinions from the grantmakers, but also from external sources. This could include feedback from your peers, advisors, and any experts in grant writing. 

Having an expert who is outside of your nonprofit organization review the rejected grant proposal could give you an outside perspective and help you identify areas that need to be improved.

Refine Your Proposal

You should now be equipped with what you need to refine your grant proposal. Whether this means simply revising your narrative or completing an entire overhaul of the content, you should review the feedback and apply what you’ve learned. 

Among other things, we suggest you review the following:

• Any areas that were said to be unclear or vague.
• Specific feedback about making your proposal stronger or more aligned with the funder’s goals and objectives.
• Questions that either were not entirely answered or did not answer the specific needs of the grant.
• Any noted weaknesses in the proposal.
• Grammatical and writing errors!!

‍

You can check out this ultimate guide to grant proposals to help you refine and strengthen your proposal.

You can also review successful applications, either from the grant you missed out on or similar projects and programs. Request a copy of the winning proposal from the grant funder or visit federal sites that publish their winning grant proposals (private funders are not required to release this information).

Take note of what made them stand out and apply these learnings to your refined proposal. 

Plan for Reapplication

After receiving a grant rejection, make sure to mark your calendar for the next reapplication date! 

Don’t forget to check whether you are allowed to resubmit a grant proposal in the next funding cycle. Some grantmakers will even invite you to reapply at a later date in their rejection letter! 

Receiving a grant rejection letter is not the end of the grant funding process. Try reapplying once you are armed with the information needed to improve your grant proposal and make any changes necessary for success.

Explore Alternative Funding Opportunities

While receiving a grant rejection is always disappointing, it’s important to remember that there are thousands of funding opportunities out there for you to apply to next! 

Signing up for a grants database like Instrumentl is a great way to find new grants that align with your nonprofit’s mission and funding needs! 

Instrumentl organizes grants by focus area and location to help you find funding opportunities that best fit your organization to increase your chances of success.

Maintain a Relationship With the Funder

Receiving a grant rejection letter does not have to be the end of your relationship with the funder. 

You should make sure to send a thank you letter to show your appreciation for them considering your proposal. Then, you can maintain communication by putting them on an email list or even inviting them to upcoming events at your organization. 

That way, the funder can get a sense of the good your nonprofit does for the community, and you will be prepared to resubmit your grant application when the next funding cycle opens up.

After receiving a grant rejection, it’s important to respond to the funder with a letter of your own. 

Overall, a well-crafted response should accomplish two goals: thanking the organization and requesting information as to why the grant application was rejected. 

Some grantmaking organizations will even be available for a debrief meeting to discuss why the application was declined and offer suggestions to make a future application stronger.

Make sure to keep the response succinct and straightforward. It should be just a few sentences. The response is not a place to launch into a compelling rebuttal about why the funder should change their decision. Make sure the tone is respectful and appreciative. Be gracious and grateful for their consideration.

Below is an example of a sample email response to a grant rejection letter:

Learning how to respond to a grant rejection letter is a skill that successful grant writers will grudgingly develop. However, you can learn how to capture some takeaways from the process and apply them to future applications moving forward. Keep reading for more info on how to go about using this knowledge in your next steps.

For more reading on this specific topic, check out our article on Sample Grant Rejection Letters and What to Do.

Right from the get-go, there are a few tips you can apply to up your chances of creating a better application in the future. The following five tips cover some of the basic, yet easily overlooked, factors that will improve your outcomes.

1. Check grammar, punctuation, and formatting.

Simple, I know, right? But you would be surprised to see how many people in their rush to finish by the deadline forget to spell check or make copy and paste errors, leaving a great idea packaged in a sloppy application. As grant applications become more and more competitive, the details indeed matter.

2. Make sure you have answered the application questions.

Another seemingly basic point. Almost too basic! But many proposals fail to answer the basic questions on the application in the space allotted, even with expert writers. Consider the questions thoughtfully and make sure your narrative fully answers all of their parts.

For example, a section may state:

Describe your project and its impact on the community in the space below. (Maximum 500 words).

You may have written a very eloquent description of the project for 450 words and then only used 50 words to describe its impact. Or even worse, you didn’t describe its impact at all! Be sure that your narrative matches the application’s request for information and that you don’t short your descriptions or explanations by including unnecessary information.

3. Make sure you have provided a detailed Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

The grant application should at some point include each of these elements. These are basic concepts of a project description or, in a general operations proposal, elements of day-to-day operations.

Even if the grantmaking foundation is local, do not assume that the reviewer knows anything about your organization’s mission, history, or programs. Write each application as if the reviewer knows nothing about your nonprofit.

When answering questions, include the titles of and numbers of staff, the mission statement, service area, population served, reason for existence, rationale for programs, and vision for the future. Be succinct, yet cover all these basics so that the grant reviewer is not left with any hanging questions about the structure and purpose of your nonprofit or its proposed project.

For example, if your project description started off by stating that your organization intends to provide food to homebound individuals (the what), make sure that you include the necessary supporting information. In the description or subsequent sections, reflect on if you have included the why (demonstrated need), the how (the mode of delivery), the when (days/times per week), and the who (staff or volunteers).

4. Describe partnerships and/or supporters.

Grant reviewers love to hear about existing or proposed partnerships. Be sure to include information about other funders who are invested in your project or organization. Include community partners with whom you are working on a shared goal. This gives reviewers increased assurance and demonstrates your organization’s collaborative capacity.

5. Include community input and outreach efforts.

It is always best to have community-led projects and to include peer advice within programs. Nonprofits are designed to serve community needs, and thus, should always include input from the population the program or organization hopes to serve.

Consider these questions:

• Do you adequately tell the story of why your organization began or how you got an idea for a proposed project?
• Does your narrative explain the community's need and response?
• Does your organization have any data from public outreach events or forums where residents provided input?
• Does your organization have a youth, elder, or resident advisory board?
• If so, describe this data and/ or your nonprofit’s processes for engagement.

Right from the get-go, there are a few tips you can apply to up your chances of creating a better application in the future. The following five tips cover some of the basic, yet easily overlooked, factors that will improve your outcomes. 

1. Check grammar, punctuation, and formatting.

Simple, I know, right? 

But you would be surprised to see how many people in their rush to finish by the deadline forget to spell check or make copy and paste errors, leaving a great idea packaged in a sloppy application. As grant applications become more and more competitive, the details indeed matter. 

2. Make sure you have answered the application questions.

Another seemingly basic point. Almost too basic! But many proposals fail to answer the basic questions on the application in the space allotted, even with expert writers. Consider the questions thoughtfully and make sure your narrative fully answers all of their parts. 

For example, a section may state: 

Describe your project and its impact on the community in the space below. (Maximum 500 words). 

You may have written a very eloquent description of the project for 450 words and then only used 50 words to describe its impact. Or even worse, you didn’t describe its impact at all! Be sure that your narrative matches the application’s request for information and that you don’t short your descriptions or explanations by including unnecessary information. 

3. Make sure you have provided a detailed Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

The grant application should at some point include each of these elements. These are basic concepts of a project description or, in a general operations proposal, elements of day-to-day operations. 

Even if the grantmaking foundation is local, do not assume that the reviewer knows anything about your organization’s mission, history, or programs. Write each application as if the reviewer knows nothing about your nonprofit. 

When answering questions, include:

• The titles of and numbers of your staff
• Your mission statement
• Your service area
• Your population served
• Your reason for existence
• Your rationale for programs
• Your vision for the future 

Be succinct, yet cover all these basics so that the grant reviewer is not left with any hanging questions about the structure and purpose of your nonprofit or its proposed project. 

For example, if your project description started off by stating that your organization intends to provide food to homebound individuals (the what), make sure that you include the necessary supporting information. 

In the description or subsequent sections, reflect on if you have included the why (demonstrated need), the how (the mode of delivery), the when (days/times per week), and the who (staff or volunteers). 

4. Describe partnerships and/or supporters.

Grant reviewers love to hear about existing or proposed partnerships. 

Be sure to include information about other funders who are invested in your project or organization. Include community partners with whom you are working on a shared goal. This gives reviewers increased assurance and demonstrates your organization’s collaborative capacity. 

5. Include community input and outreach efforts.

It is always best to have community-led projects and to include peer advice within programs. Nonprofits are designed to serve community needs, and thus, should always include input from the population the program or organization hopes to serve.

Consider these questions: 

• Do you adequately tell the story of why your organization began or how you got an idea for a proposed project?
• Does your narrative explain the community's need and response?
• Does your organization have any data from public outreach events or forums where residents provided input?
• Does your organization have a youth, elder, or resident advisory board?
• If so, describe this data and/ or your nonprofit’s processes for engagement.

Now that we’ve explained how to respond to grant rejection letters, we will conclude with a step-by-step guide for prioritizing potential funders quickly and strategically.

Understand Your Organization's Needs

If you don’t understand your own organization’s needs, you won’t be able to determine if they align with the overall mission of the funding organization. The more aligned your mission is with the mission of the funder, the better chance you’ll have at winning a grant. 

If you do not understand your own organization’s needs and priorities, you’ll end up wasting your time applying for grants you probably will not get, as well as wasting the time of the funder.

Research Funders' Mission and Values

As noted above, it is essential that you also research the funders’ mission and values to ensure there is a fit. 

Most funding announcements will clearly state the mission and values of the funding organization right away. So, the first thing you will want to review is the overall mission of the organization to make sure your proposal meets that funding criteria.

Instrumentl also provides comprehensive funder profiles that you can look through to learn more about a specific grantmaker. 

Evaluate Past Funding Patterns

You should also research what types of nonprofit organizations a funder has worked with in the past. This should help you determine whether you have a good chance of winning a particular grant. 

Some websites congratulate their grant winners, while others give links to the actual winning proposals. By evaluating the wording and patterns of these winning proposals, you can better evaluate your own chances of winning a grant bid.

You can also use Instrumentl’s Advanced Funder Insights to evaluate funder profiles so you don’t have to comb through the information yourself. Instead, our data will show you where funders have awarded grants in the past, how much they’ve given, and their overall giving trends.

Determine the Size and Scope of Grants

Determining the actual size and scope of grants can also help you save time from applying for grants you simply don’t have the resources to achieve.

Grant announcements almost always include the size and scope of the funding being offered, as well as eligibility information.

By taking the time to review the size and scope of the grant itself, you can better decide if this funding opportunity is even worth pursuing for your nonprofit.

Assess Application Complexity

Do you even have the time to complete the application correctly? 

Grant proposals are not written overnight, so you will need to assess whether the application itself is too complex to be completed correctly in your given period of time.

Consider the Relationship Potential

When a funder announces a grant opportunity, they are looking to begin a partnership with the winning nonprofit organization. Don’t just look at this funding opportunity as dollar signs; you will want to consider the long-term relationship between your organization and theirs.

You can also check to see if anyone at your organization—employees, board members, volunteers—has a connection to that funder. 

Seek Feedback from Peer Organizations

Another reason you should make sure you have enough time to complete your grant proposal is so that you can seek feedback from other peer organizations. 

This could include other nonprofits that have successfully received grants, agencies similar to the funding organization, or even recommendations from members of your board.

Utilize Grant Management Tools

Instrumentl’s robust grant management tools can help you stay on top of different grant opportunities all in one centralized location that your whole team can access. 

For example, you can use our Grant Tracker to store notes on specific funders, keep track of deadlines, and plan out your proposal-writing process.

We will even send you automatic reminders if any of your saved grants have a change in deadline. 

Continuously Review and Adjust

Continuously review and adjust your grant proposals. 

In the end, your proposal needs to flow logically and maintain a consistent structure. This can only be done by continuously making sure your proposal meets every requirement in the grant announcement and adjusting is as needed. 

As a grant writer, you’ll win some and lose some (and if statistics are correct, over time, even the best will likely lose more than win). Even after writing a strong proposal, it’s never a bad idea to prepare yourself for the possibility of a rejection letter.

When faced with the rejection of a grant application, acknowledge the rejection, express thanks for the opportunity, and welcome any additional information you can use to create more compelling applications in the future. 

The best way to rally from a grant rejection response is to seek out a new funding opportunity and apply what you have learned in the process. For more info on how to locate your next grant opportunity, check out our best grant research tools post here.

‍