May 20, 2025
The Impact Issue #62: Improve How You Narrow Down Best-fit Opportunities
Discover actionable strategies to focus on grants that align with your mission.
Hi there!
One of the worst things you can do is spend your limited time applying for grants you don’t have a chance of winning.
In this week’s edition, we’ll help you navigate this common challenge, sharing tips, resources, and templates so you can quickly narrow down grants to best-fit matches.
So grab your coffee and settle in.
Welcome to The Impact.
Don’t Miss Out!
On May 28th, join Allison Jones, M.Ed., for a masterclass in grant planning. She’ll share the exact 50-day process her team uses to move from identifying a funder to submitting a polished proposal - two weeks early.
You’ll walk away with:
- A step-by-step roadmap for organizing your grant workflow
- Tips for planning ahead and building in time for reviews
- A free copy of Allison’s new e-book, The 50-Day Turnaround: Discover to Deliver
This session is perfect for grant professionals, nonprofit leaders, and consultants ready for a smarter, more strategic approach to proposal development.
👉 Register now to claim your spot!
Pitfalls and Pointers
⚠️ Pitfall: Treating All Grants as Your Number One Priority
Whether you’re just starting your search or already have a short list of grants, every opportunity can’t be your number one priority.
It can be tempting to chase all the grants you’re interested in at the same time, but you’ll quickly spread yourself too thin. Your grant applications will suffer, and you probably won’t be successful. Remember, grant success is about quality, not quantity.
💡 Pointer: Develop a System to Prioritize Best-Fit Grants
Prioritizing grants by best fit will give you the highest chances of winning. If you have time left over, you can apply for stretch grants.
Consider the following criteria to help you prioritize opportunities.
- Mission Fit: Do your missions align? Will your organization help advance their mission in innovative ways?
- Project Alignment: Does the grant align with your project or program? You need to have a clear understanding of your funding needs to determine alignment.
- Eligibility: Do you meet all of the grant requirements? Be honest. You shouldn’t have to do backflips to meet the criteria.
- Deadlines: Do you have time to complete the application? The soonest deadlines should be prioritized over those that you have more advanced notice for.
👉 Read on to improve your prospect research game and identify best-fit grants!
Tech You Should Know
What:
The Corporate Giving Network (CGN) is a networking and knowledge-sharing group that helps connect businesses with nonprofits in mutually beneficial ways. Ultimately, CGN helps increase funding and support from the business community to make a difference in the areas they serve.
How Grant Writers Can Use It:
- Identify potential connections: If you’re looking to make a connection with a corporate funder, grant writers can leverage CGN to get a foot in the door.
- Knowledge share with professionals: Once a month, CGN meets to discuss the current funding landscape, including trends, challenges, and best practices.
Keep in Mind:
- Not every funder is involved with CGN, so you may need to look for other inroads for an introduction.
🤝 See what the Corporate Giving Network can offer your organization!
Expert Perspectives
🏆 Meredith Noble and Loretta Skiff on the Secrets to Finding Best-Fit Grants
Meredith Noble, Co-Founder and CEO of Learn Grant Writing, and Loretta Skiff, Founder and Grant Manager of Planet Grants, shared with us their secrets to finding best-fit grants.
Here’s their expert advice:
- Look at a funder’s giving history. Form 990s can tell you a lot about their past grantees and their overall funding history. Instrumentl’s handy 990 snapshots make it easy to understand how you stack up against past awardees, gauge a funder’s openness to new applicants, and more.
- Determine competitiveness. Divide the typical number of awards given by the total applicants. In general, you want to seek grants that have a 20 percent or greater likelihood of success.
- Make connections. Whether you’re contacting past grantees or the funders themselves, do what you can to get your foot in the door. This will help you be a more competitive applicant.
🤫 Check out the full workshop for even more secrets to finding your best-fit grants!
🎁 A Gift for You 🎁
Option paralysis is real, and it can be challenging to know which grant opportunities to pursue.
To help you, we put together The Ultimate Go vs. No-Go Grant RFP Evaluation Tool. This step-by-step guide will help you decide if a specific grant is worth pursuing. Best of all, we provide a template to streamline the decision-making process.
Opportunities Spotlight
🌟 Eide Bailly Resourcefullness Award
Who It’s For: Nonprofits focused on creatively making a difference
Next Deadline: August 9, 2025
Grant Amount: $50,000
The Details:
- The Eide Bailly Resourcefullness Award empowers nonprofits to creatively address challenges. They aim to work with nonprofits that develop outstanding initiatives to support their communities through general operating expenses, training, and programming support.
🌎 Mzuri Wildlife Foundation Grants
Who It’s For: Nonprofits focused on conservation efforts and outdoor education
Next Deadline: September 15, 2025
Grant Amount: $5,000-$15,000
The Details:
- The Mzuri Wildlife Foundation is investing in nonprofits that are focused on engaging youth in outdoor sports and conservation activities. They hope to empower the next generation to understand the value of wildlife resources and promote environmental stewardship.
🔍 Check out more grant opportunities now!
Networking Nook
💻 Webinar: AFP Deep Dive: Digital, Online, & Social Media for Fundraising Success
June 12 | 1 p.m. EDT
Join Ken Miller, President of Denali Fundraising & Grant Consultants, to learn more about how to increase online giving through effective digital and social media campaigns.
Hurry!
📅 Conference: Nonprofit Legal, Finance, & Grants Conference 2025
October 8-9 | Capital Hilton, Washington DC
The Nonprofit Legal, Finance & Grants Conference provides essential content to keep nonprofits up to date on the latest issues and changes impacting the nonprofit community. This session is in-person only and is intended for finance, legal professionals, and nonprofit leaders.
Don’t miss out!
To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.
In Case You Missed It
📑 Article: Signs You Shouldn’t Apply for That Grant: 12 Examples of Red Flags in a Funder
Explore red flags to look out for during the prospecting process and help your nonprofit avoid common grant-seeking hazards that waste time and resources.
📼 Video: How to Prioritize Grant Proposals
The Instrumentl team shares tips on how you can better prioritize your grant proposals, including how to review critical funder information. These tips will help you increase your odds of winning more grants by picking your best-fit opportunities.
🎙️ Podcast: How Back Office Systems Help Prevent Burnout and Fraud
Join Grant Writing Simplified’s Teresa Huff and her special guest, Sean Hale from the Nonprofit Mythbusters Roundtable, to learn more about how you can equip your team with the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively—and prevent burnout while doing it.
Focus Your Scope
Applying for more grants doesn’t necessarily mean getting more funding, especially if you’re not applying for the right opportunities.
Thankfully, Instrumentl can help!
Our robust grants database matches and delivers new grants straight to your inbox based on your exact funding needs. You can focus on grants that you have the highest odds of winning instead of throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks.
What are you waiting for?
100% Free Grant Writing Resources Straight to Your Inbox
