Mapping Grant Dollars: The Causes Attracting The Most Funding

Applying for grants can sometimes feel like a shot in the dark, even if you meet all the grant requirements.

Curious where most of the money is flowing?

In this Instrumentl Insights report, we’ve analyzed over 17,000 grants to uncover the focus areas that are attracting the most grant funding - and what it means for you as you create your nonprofit funding strategies.

This Instrumentl Insights report will break down the following.

1. The top focus areas and types of grants receiving the most grant funding
2. The average grant size for different causes
3. Which types of grants have the largest average grant sizes
4. Interestingly, causes that have few grants but provide large awards
5. How often new grantees win awards versus repeat grantees

In the end, you’ll understand how your field of work compares to others and have a benchmark to compare to.

Let’s jump  in!

Note - For more insights like this, subscribe to Instrumentl Insights Reports get an email when the upcoming report is released.

To win the grant, you need to align with the funder’s specific focus areas they are most passionate about.

Funding focus areas are broad categories, and it’s important to know which focus areas and types of grants receive the most funding. It can help you better tailor your projects to meet the current funding landscape and win more grants.

We were curious to uncover the most popular funding areas, so we analyzed all of our private funders listed within our grant database. We analyzed more than 500 focus areas and 16 different types of grants to come up with the top grant focus areas.

Note - kickstart your research process by finding grants that meet your specific focus area or location for free on Instrument’s grant database.
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We looked at more than 17,000 grants to identify the top focus areas and the types of grants with the most available funding.

Here are the results.
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Focus Areas with The Most Grants Available

The top three focus areas with the most grants available were:

• Education: 1,677 grants available
• Arts & Culture: 1,474 grants available
• Human & Social Services: 1,218 grants available

The results change if you are looking for the top focus areas with the most funding available.

• Health Care Access & Delivery: $340 million available
• Health & Medicine: $38 million available
• Education: $37 million available

It’s unsurprising that health care has the most funding available as it’s one  Healthcare is the fourth largest industry in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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Types of Grants With the Most Funding Available

There are different grant types available, with more than 50 percent in the following areas.

• Project/Program: 34.5%
• Education/Outreach: 24.8%

The vast majority of grants are earmarked for project-related work.

The next biggest concentration of grants are operational in nature, with:

• General Operating Expenses: 9.3%
• Training and Capacity Building: 8.3%
• Capital Project: 6.1%

This may be tough if you’re a nonprofit that really needs general operating support or capacity-building grants.

The vast majority of grants are earmarked for project-related work. Vu Lee, former Executive Director and mind behind Nonprofit AF, a publication, has argued that funders often prefer to fund equipment, supplies, or other non-salary expenses rather than staff salaries and wages.

The key reasons seem to be a distrust of nonprofits and a preference to fund tangible items. It’s disheartening for nonprofit organizations that need funds for capital projects and operating expenses.

Lastly, there is an emphasis on professional development and advances in the field.

• Research: 9.3%
• Scholarship: 3.6%
• Fellowship: 2.9%
• Conference: 2.3%

Now that we know what the biggest focus areas and types of grants are, let's get more specific. We’ll look at the average grant sizes by focus areas and types of grants now.
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Focus Areas with the Largest Average Grant Sizes

When you look at the focus areas with the largest average grant sizes, there are four clear winners.

• Carbon/Greenhouse Gas Reduction: $17.5 million
• Biomedical Informatics: $11.7 million
• Health Facilities & Clinics: $5.2 million
• Patient Care & Services: $4.7 million

However, the average can be skewed if there are focus areas with very large grants. To get a more accurate picture, we looked at the median grant amount.

All of the focus areas with the highest median grant amount are healthcare-related grants, including diseases, research, and technology.

If you are looking for the highest grant amount by focus area, healthcare-related grants are the clear winner.
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Grant Types with the Largest Average Grant Sizes

We know that medical-specific grants have the largest average grant sizes, but what about other types of grants?

The types of grants with the largest average grant size are:

1. Research: $368.8K
2. Training/Capacity Building: $282.8K
3. Project/Program: $161.3K

You’d think capital project grants would be larger on average. This further affirms that most funding flows to projects and programs.

Research and infrastructure investments are often costly, so it’s no wonder that these areas have the largest average grant sizes.

What’s surprising is that the average grant size for capital projects is $103k compared to project/program grants, which are $161k. You’d think capital project grants would be larger on average.

This further affirms that the vast majority of funding flows to projects and programs.
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Bonus: Focus Areas With Few Grants, But Large Average Awards

Across the 500+ grant categories, the average number of grants available by focus area is 83.

But what about the other areas? There are some fields that receive fewer grants, but they make up for it in the size of the grant. These are very competitive categories.

We thought it would be interesting to uncover what these home run grants are. We’ve filtered by grants with fewer than 80 grants and sorted by average grant size.

These are the results.

If your projects are in any of these niche areas, you can land a sizable grant.

Speaking about the competition, across all the grants in Instrumentl, how open are funders to new grantees versus funding the same grantees from previous years?

Across all private funders, it’s estimated that they are 24 percent open to new grantees. If you want to know a specific funder’s openness, Instrumentl can help you see openness to new grantees.

When researching funders in Instrumentl, we analyze a funder's previous Form 990s to identify patterns, not just in openness to new grantees, but funding focus areas, average grant amount, and so much more.

Instrumentl makes it easier for you to learn about potential funders and start winning grants.

Regardless of the volume of grants in the field, there’s going to be stiff competition. We reached out to grant professionals to share their secrets to success.
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Personalize Your Grant Application

One of the biggest mistakes that Kimberly Lavon, a Freelance Grant Professional at Mint Maven, sees is that nonprofits don’t tailor their application to the funder.

“To make a grant application stand out, it's crucial to tell a compelling story that aligns with the funder's values and mission. It's not enough to have a great project. You need to clearly show how it fits within the funder's vision.”

To do this, Kimberly recommends you go back to the basics.

1. Research: Look up their priorities and make specific lists on how you align.
2. Tailor the Application: Emphasize how your project or organization uniquely addresses their focus areas. Include clear, measurable outcomes to show how their grant will make an impact.
3. Provide Detailed and Realistic Budgets: Funders want to see exactly how their money will be used.
4. Review the Requirements Before Submission: Follow the funder’s instructions to the letter, whether it’s formatting requirements or submission guidelines. Even small oversights can lead to disqualification.

These tips may be simple, but they are too often overlooked.
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Infuse Passion Into Your Submission

Julie Starr, BA, MPS, Owner, Write Epic Grants, encourages grant writers to infuse their passion into every sentence to help them stand out.

As she drafts the grant application, she offers actionable tips in three key areas:

1. Statement of Need: Use data and census information to craft an irrefutable and urgent statement of need that tugs at the funder’s heartstrings.
2. Storytelling: Numbers are important, but don’t forget that you serve real people. It’s important to tell their stories and share how your organization changes lives.
3. Visuals: You don’t always have to tell. You can also show the story. Use visuals for every change you get. It helps funders visualize and connect to your nonprofit.

How has Julie put these into practice? Recently, she helped a grief support services nonprofit land an NFL Healthy Relationships grant.

“Only 50 $50,000 grants were awarded each year, but I decided to take a chance and apply. I focused my narrative on how one of the program's goals was for children to learn to develop healthy, trusting relationships again, even after their tremendous loss. We were thrilled to win the grant, and it was a huge milestone for the small nonprofit.”

Julie encourages grant writers to remember that there is a person on the other side of the application, so make sure you take the time to speak to them through your application in meaningful ways.
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Highlight What’s Uniquely You - and Why It Works

Lauren Wiskerson, CFRE, Fundraising Executive with Kindred Spirits Collaborative, stresses the importance of offering innovative solutions to existing problems.

“Funders are on the lookout for projects that propose novel solutions to existing problems or tackle social issues in innovative ways. Detailing what makes your work exceptional involves showcasing specific aspects of your program that are not only different but also more effective or efficient than conventional methods.”

What does that look like in practice?

• Exclusive Domain Expertise: What do you know about the field that no one else does? And, more importantly, how can you highlight that?
• Pioneering Technology: What innovative tech solutions can you put in place?
• Unique Partnership Models: How can you join forces creatively to solve the issue?
• Novel Community Engagement: How do you plan to get the community you are serving involved in new ways to help ensure successful outcomes?

Lauren shares that by following these tips, she’s been able to win more grants and establish her organization as a leader and innovator in the field.

We asked several seasoned grant writers, managers, and consultants how they make their applications stand out to private funders. Here are the takeaways from their advice.
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Align with the Funder's Priorities

Several grant professionals emphasized the importance of aligning your application with the funder’s priorities. Loretta Skiff, Owner at Planet Grants LLC, shared,

“You should mirror the language and priorities of the funder throughout your narrative to enhance how the application fits within their guidelines.”

Likewise, Dr. Bev Browning, Author and Grant Trainer said,

“The best way to stand out is to align the language in the application narrative responses with key terms and words from the funder's website.”

Key lesson:

• Incorporate key terms from the funder’s mission statement and guidelines into your application to demonstrate alignment.
• Highlight how your organization’s mission and project objectives resonate with the funder’s core values and priorities.
• Clearly show how your project will advance the funder’s goals.

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Do Your Research and Build Relationships

Before applying for a grant, thorough research and relationship-building can significantly increase your chances of success. Teresa Huff, ACNP, Nonprofit Grant Strategist and Podcast Host shared,

“Nonprofits often don't do enough due diligence before applying. A bit of time upfront can really pay off later. Look into past awards, study their giving trends, and take time to build relationships.”

Also, Shannon McDonnell, Associate Director, Development at Safer Together

“The best way to make your application stand out is to do your homework. Research the foundation. What other organizations have they funded? How are you like them? Can you reference that? Are you stating that you align with their mission and showing how you align?”

Zoe Harrold, Ph.D., Owner at Clear Horizons Consulting had more to add,

“Build a connection with private funders to learn about the types of programs and projects they are most interested in funding. Find the aspects of your project that align with the funders' priorities.”

To learn more about building relationships with funders, 9 tips for schmoozing funders.
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Tell a Compelling Story

A well-crafted story that combines both emotional appeal and factual data can make your application more memorable and impactful.

Staci Mathias, Grants and Huntington Manager at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne shares,

“Facts, data, and research are essential in any application, but I have found stories and testimonials pack a bigger punch. Anytime you can include photos and/or videos of those you serve, it can be the icing on the cake!”

Katelyn M. Irwin, Development Grants Associate at Age Well adds,

“Highlight a unique story that pulls on their hearts but also aligns with their mission.”

Tips for Effective Storytelling:

• Use both statistics and personal stories to appeal to both logical and emotional aspects of reviewers.
• Enhance your application with photos, videos, or infographics to bring your story to life.
• Incorporate quotes or testimonials from those impacted by your work to add authenticity and emotional depth.

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Clearly Articulate Your Mission and Impact

Effectively communicating your organization’s mission and the tangible impact of your work is vital in persuading funders to support your cause. Larisa Gelman, Executive Director at Midori & Friends:

“It is imperative to clearly articulate your mission and impact, and ensure the application communicates the organization's tangible impact that the work has on the intended community.”

Kristine (Kristie) Smith, Executive Director at SCV Habitat for Humanity adds,

“Identify your shared visions and use statistics to support how the grant would extend and grow the work you’re doing.”

How to Communicate Mission and Impact:

• Define Your Mission Clearly: State your organization’s mission in a concise and compelling way.
• Showcase Tangible Outcomes: Highlight specific examples of how your work has positively impacted your community.
• Use Data to Support Claims: Provide statistics and data to back up your claims about your organization’s impact.

In this Instrumentl Insights Report, we’ve uncovered that:

• “Education” as a grant category has the most grants available, but health care access and delivery has the most funding available.
• Project and Program funding has the most funding available, but research grants have the largest average grant size.
• Approximately 24 percent of funders are open to new grantees.

It is so critical that you align your grant-seeking efforts with data to ensure you’re only investing your time in best-fit grants. It’s the best way to make the most of your nonprofit funding strategies, and this is just the start of what Instrumentl can offer you.

Take the next step in refining your grant strategy—explore Instrumentl to discover more opportunities tailored to your field.

Sample size: ~17k live grants from private funders within Instrumentl grants during the month of August 2024.

Sample description:

• We focused on reviewing grants from private funders as they’re often more opaque than government funding.
• Many grants have several focus areas attached to them. This may lead to double or triple counting the number of grants and grant amounts. So adding up all the amounts and numbers of grants will not provide an accurate idea of the size of Instrumentl’s database. On Instrumentl, you can explore 400,000+ funders and 17,000+ active opportunities with rich profiles & unique insights to make prospecting a breeze.

Regarding openness to new grantees:

When calculating openness to new grantees, we looked at private-type funders with a currently-live grant in Instrumentl and a known EIN. This gave us a sample size of 4,441 funders. They have 287,395 awards to new grantees of 1,196,808 awards (each computed for their most recent three filing years). It is a rough estimate, and actual openness can be anywhere between 24% and 57%.