Missing a grant deadline is every grant writer’s biggest fear.
To make sure you’re not caught flat-footed, we asked ourselves this question: “When is grant busy season?”
When should you be hustling and when should you take a step back?
We analyzed over 45,000 grants in the Instrumentl grant database between 2022 and 2023 and found six insights you need to know about for your year-round grant strategy.
This Instrumentl Insights Report will help you plan ahead by breaking down:
The busiest months for grant deadlines
The busiest parts of each quarter
The distribution of grant deadlines across states and regions
Expert advice on managing deadlines and maintaining quality
When to plan for the busy season
Crucial steps for post-busy season recovery
Let’s dive in!
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Grant Busy Season Is During These 3 Months
Instrumentl’s grant database has over 400,000 funders and 17,000+ active grant opportunities (if you’re actively prospecting, explore live grants in your state).
Because we track so many grants for our customers, we can see which months have the most grant deadlines.
We looked at all the grants with deadlines in 2022 and 2023. We uncovered that the busiest months are October, March, and then September for grant deadlines. Mark these months on your calendar to ensure your team is ready.
October, March, and September are the busiest three months of the year for grant deadlines.
Note that the remaining months still have deadlines. The peak average number of deadlines during peak months is ~20% higher than the average number of deadlines during slow months.
Digging deeper into each month, we found that most grant deadlines are on the 1st, 15th, or last day of the month. This makes sense as they’re natural deadline points in each month for foundations.
Most grant deadlines are on the 1st, 15th, or last day of the month.
The Golden Gate Bridge of Grant Seasonality
When building your yearly grant strategy, picture a bridge—specifically the Golden Gate Bridge—with its two peaks.
There will be a clear peak on each side of the year, with slumps in the summer months and New Year's holidays.
The distribution of deadlines throughout the year creates ‘The Golden Gate Bridge of Grant Seasonality.’
Pro Tip:
Hustle during January and February to get ahead of the first peak in March. Then, regroup during the summer before the second peak in the Fall. Learn how Eversight, the largest eye bank in the U.S., improved their grant success rate from 14% to 22% by only pursuing grants they had confidence they could win.
What Quarter Is the Busiest?
The busiest months for grants are in different quarters—October is in Q4, March is in Q1, and September is in Q3.
But when looking at each quarter, the busiest quarter is Q1.
Based on 2022 and 2023 grant deadline data, your busiest quarter will be in Q1 and Q3.
Based on the data, it’s surprising that 33% of grant professionals in a LinkedIn survey we launched (albeit a small sample of 67 as of this writing) see Q4 as their busiest quarter.
The discrepancy may be because grant professionals feelthe busiest while trying to hit their end-of-year goals.
Which Part Of The Quarter Is The Busiest?
Although the data shows the first quarter is the busiest, you should plan to maximize your efforts at the end of each quarter—it’s crunch time for funders too.
Drilling into each quarter, there’s a fairly even distribution of deadlines across the first, second, and third months. But there are more deadlines on average at the end of each quarter.
This makes sense. The end of the quarter is a natural timeline for many funders to lock in which nonprofits will receive their grant awards.
Many funders want to hand out grant awards at the beginning of each quarter, so your deadlines will be at the end of the previous quarter.
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Unfortunately, not all nonprofits have equal opportunities.
Knowing which states have the most grants awarded by funders will help you when searching for your next funding opportunity. For example, if you’re in a sleepy state, there may not be a lot of local funders. In that case, perhaps you should pursue larger funders that are national in scope.
The Top 3 States by Number of Grants
New York, California, and Pennsylvania are the busiest states. Based on the total number of grants from funders in these states with deadlines in 2022 and 2023, they award the most grants.
If you’re a grant professional in these states, you may feel the stress of deadline season more acutely than your colleagues in the prairie states like the Dakotas, Utah, Mississippi, or Wyoming.
If you’re in high-volume grant states like New York, California, or Pennsylvania, you need a robust grant tracker that includes alerts for upcoming deadlines and prevents last-minute scrambles. Tucker’s House saved 15 hours per week by keeping their grant deadlines organized in Instrumentl’s Grant Tracker. Learn how to double your grant output like Tucker’s House did.
Most Active Regions for Grants
Although New York and California are the most active states, the Midwest is the most active region in the U.S. Over a third of all grants between 2022 and 2023 were awarded by funders in the Midwest.
The South and Northeast are fairly even in the number of grants awarded in their regions. But the West is surprisingly low, accounting for only 19% of total grants awarded in 2022 and 2023.
California makes up 36% of all grants given out in the West, with a long tail of sleepy states with little grant activity.
If you’re in a sleepy state, consider looking for national funders in more active grant regions. You can find out if a funder awards grants to nonprofits in your area and field of work by analyzing their 990 insights in Instrumentl. Our Instrumentl Best Practices video below explains how to analyze a funder’s 990 data.
What Are the Common Challenges During Busy Grant Seasons?
There’s a lot of advice out there on how to thrive during grant busy season. At Instrumentl, we’re fortunate to have a network of seasoned grant professionals.
We asked them how they overcome the challenges of their grant busy seasons.
Here’s what they had to say.
1. Managing Multiple Deadlines
Multi-tasking is a surefire way to get nothing done slowly, but during busy season, you’ll have multiple grants with competing deadlines. So how do you manage it all?
“Assess the importance and potential impact of each grant. Focus your thoroughness on high-priority grants and apply more streamlined processes to less critical ones."
Instrumentl's grant manager makes it easy to set priorities and deadlines for all the tasks related to each grant. Start by creating a field in your tracker, marking each opportunity’s priority. This will make it explicit which grants you or your team need to work on first. Then, focus on one grant application at a time. You can’t write two grants at once.
Anna Morozovsky, Director at Thread Strategies, a fundraising consultancy, recommends that the best way to stay organized is to have a CRM.
“The best system to keep your grant pipeline organized throughout the year is your organization's CRM! It doesn't matter which CRM platform you are using, you can add your foundation relationships and keep track of your engagement history with the funder, including their gifts. Use tasks to stay on top of deadlines like application or report due dates.”
“I try to block time to work on one grant at a time, get through one pass of it (either writing or editing), then switch to another grant at (key tip!) a different phase of completion. I find it really draining to try and write multiple grants at once, so I will stagger the writing and use editing another grant as a break from writing (while still moving grants forward).”
2. Maintaining Accurate and Up-to-date Documentation
Julie Starr, Owner of Write Epic Grants, has a simple system to move fast without sacrificing the quality of her grant applications:
"I review the proposal well in advance and email out requests for all the info I will need from the different nonprofit departments. This gives them plenty of time to get docs back to me and I am not scrambling at the last minute."
Julie also uses her Instrumentl Document Library to store templated responses to common questions, which saves her time and allows her to maintain consistency across applications.
“Grant funders ask the same questions over and over. Having customizable boilerplate responses saved for each grant saves me time and ensures quality."
To further optimize how quickly you can produce a strong first draft of your proposal, Instrumentl’s AI Grant Writer will automatically review the questions funders ask and then pull answers from your previous grant proposals that you’ve uploaded into Instrumentl.
3. Keeping Your Board in the Loop
Like Julie, Rebecca Baughman Kerns, a grant consultant, is also proactive and works closely with her board during the slow season.
“I work to remain proactive, and not reactive during grant season. Before my busiest season begins, I meet with C-suite and program managers to figure out what grants we are certain to pursue, what grants we would like to add to our list for the year and what grants we would like to discuss pursuing if there is time. All of these grants are calendared with plenty of lead-in, allowing time for life to happen.“
Managing your board is a real art. Here’s more advice on how to combat “shiny grant syndrome” among well-meaning board members. As Rebecca says,
“It never fails that a board member or volunteer will mention in passing a grant they would love to see us pursue, or a new opportunity in the community.”
4. Having Everything You Need From Your Clients and Stakeholders
Dr. Beverly Browning, owner of Bev Browning LLC, uses a shared work plan that clearly defines roles, necessary documents, and crucial deadlines:
“I use a large whiteboard to list the client, projects due, due dates, and the type of document required. I also use Google Calendar to plot due dates, project-related meetings, and submission dates to remind my client constantly.”
In this way, everyone involved knows their responsibilities.
When in Instrumentl, share key documents with your team members, assign roles, and track deadlines, ensuring everyone stays on the same page.
You can also rely on Instrumentl to keep you informed if any new opportunities arise. Rebecca highlights Instrumentl’s upcoming deadline emails:
“Instrumentl’s upcoming deadline emails are a great way to check that I am staying on target with my writing, and their new opportunities get filed in a special folder to research as soon as I have an extra hour.”
5. Delegating Effectively Among Team Members
Jacob Chase also emphasizes delegation as a key challenge during hectic application seasons:
“Delegate tasks to team members based on their strengths. For example, have one person handle data collection while another focuses on narrative development. Regular check-ins and collaborative reviews help maintain quality without sacrificing speed.”
In Instrumentl, organize all your to-dos for each grant proposal you’re working on by setting and assigning out all the responsibilities from the start. That way, it’s crystal clear who’s owning what part of the grant application.
Additionally, Jodi Riley, lead Grant Writing Consultant at Innovant Grants, uses her weekly team meetings to keep her team on track:
“We hold a weekly project review meeting to go through every active project and ensure the team has what they need to get the applications in on time.”
If you don’t have team members to delegate tasks to, practice time-boxing 90-minute chunks to push through key tasks uninterrupted.
Jodi Riley also highlights the importance of having a checks and balances system:
"A colleague reviews every draft before it is sent to our clients for final review, even the small applications."
Adopting these practices will optimize your grant application processes, improving both the quality of your submissions and your overall success rate.
Likewise, Rebecca has a simple yet crucial close-out process to make sure she’s ready for next year’s grant renewal proposal:
“Finishing a grant is a great time to start it again for next year. As I put my giant binder clip on my final grant report, I make certain that all my resources are in order to begin again next year: I document suggested changes or new ideas in the front of my folder, I choose several testimonials that will remind our funders of the effect their impact, and I make note of any ambiguous or odd language to clear up for our next submission.”
It typically takes around three days to identify five well-matched funders and between 10-20 hours to write a single grant, depending on whether it's a federal or foundation grant. Federal grants can take an entire month to complete in some cases.
Based on the survey, you should begin preparing at least a month before the busy season starts.
Our Instrumentl Expert Council echoes this. They all emphasize that getting your ducks in a row is the most important thing you can do.
Jacob B Chase recommends “reviewing and updating organizational documents, statistics, and program descriptions” so they’re organized “for easy access during busy times.”
Daphne Keys, Founder of Frontier Partners, emphasizes building your grant calendar on Instrumentl, saying, “Invest in a tool like Instrumentl and meet with your program leaders and ED/CEO to determine priorities for the remainder of the year.”
Liz Myers, Nonprofit Success Manager at Instant Nonprofit, focuses on inter-departmental collaboration, saying, “Meet with various departments to see their capacity for data collection. Nobody wants last-minute work thrown at them, so if your grant(s) are dependent on input from program staff or accounting, etc. then you need to come to them early and from a place of kindness.“
Jodi Riley encourages us to “implement a project management system or fine-tune your current system” along with ensuring “you have a basic grant calendar for the year with some room for new or last-minute opportunities.”
What Should You Be Doing After Busy Season?
With all this work going into the grant busy season, you’re probably wondering what to do after it’s all over. The Instrumentl Expert Council has advice for that, too.
1. Rest and Recover
Jacob Chase emphasizes taking a complete break from work-related communications to mentally recharge. He finds engaging in physical activities like running, hiking, and tennis essential for relieving stress.
Similarly, Daphne Keys designates July as her slow-down month, taking vacations and days off to rejuvenate.
Liz Myers reconnects with the mission of her work, engaging directly with program staff and clients, alongside enjoying personal time activities like reading and vacations.
2. Get Feedback on Your Proposals
While taking time to recharge, gathering feedback on the proposals you’ve submitted is also beneficial. This provides insight into what worked and what could be improved.
Rachel Grusin, Project Coordinator for the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, recommends that you “show your funders that you value their input. Ask for their feedback on your programs or strategic direction.”
“Funders might have valuable insights you still need to consider. This can show them that you see them as partners, not just funding sources.”
3. Lay the Groundwork for the Next Busy Season
Once recharged, it’s time to prepare for the future. Julie Starr plans her grant schedule well in advance to avoid heavy workload months and maintain a better work-life balance. Likewise, Rebecca jumps back into Instrumentl to find new grants:
“Slow seasons are for research and getting ahead of the next rush of grants by finding a few minutes to discuss what is working with program managers and our executive director. I dive into my folder of Instrumentl funder suggestions, rework keywords, and see what else pops up. Then, begin researching new grants and any articles or papers that could strengthen my grant request next year.”
These steps not only aid in recovery after the demanding grant season but also ensure that you are well-prepared and revitalized for tackling future grant opportunities.
How Instrumentl Helps You Hit All Your Grant Deadlines
We've explored the peaks and troughs of grant seasonality. To stay organized and ahead of grant deadlines, start using Instrumentl.
Our Grant Tracker and Grant Calendar will keep your team sane when multiple application deadlines overlap. You can integrate with your Google and Microsoft calendars so nothing falls through the cracks and no funding opportunities are missed.
Likewise, our email updates will notify you whenever a new relevant grant opportunity is posted or an upcoming deadline is approaching.
With Instrumentl, you’re not just keeping up; you’re staying ahead. Ensure your organization is fully prepared for every grant season by starting your 14-day free trial to find your next funder.
Appendix: Methodology for Report
Sample Size: 40,838 grant deadlines
Sample Description:
Two years from January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023
Only grants with definitive deadlines, not rolling deadlines were included in this analysis.
We included all deadline types (LOI, full proposal, etc.). It's very common for grants to have an LOI and a rolling full proposal (or vice versa). This was the most accurate way to count all deadlines.
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