Nobody likes getting rejected. But the reality is, especially in changing economic times, you may be hearing “no” more than you’re hearing “yes” on grant applications.
The most important thing is to not take it personally. Your proposal could have been rejected for a number of reasons, none of which reflects on you as a person. Brush yourself off, sit up straight, and see the rejection as an opportunity to learn—about the funder and the way you presented your need for funding. Here are some steps you can take to begin the learning process.
Talk to the funder.
Not all funders have the time or willingness to discuss applications, but many welcome conversations with grant applicants. While it may seem awkward at first, you can get invaluable insights by reaching out to schedule a phone or Zoom call. Debrief calls are also a key step in building trust and mutual understanding, further setting you up for success with future requests.
Ask the funder if you should plan to apply again.
It may be that your organization is generally a good fit, but they simply ran out of funds. You also might get information about future grant cycles that might be a better fit due to a different focus or additional funds available.
Ask if they can give you any insights about why your proposal was rejected.
Was there anything wrong with your proposal? Perhaps you didn’t read the guidelines and requirements closely enough and missed key details. Be sure to make note of anything that you should keep in mind for next time.
Invite them on a site visit.
Ask if they’d like to schedule a time to come down to your building so that you can show them what your organization is about. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a site visit is worth far more than the limited character count in an application text box!
Ask for recommendations for other funders.
Foundations network with one another, and they should be able to point you in the direction of other funders doing similar work. Use this opportunity to help expand your view of foundations who might be a good fit.
Do your digging.
Find out who did win.
Keep an eye out for the foundation’s press release or other announcement about the grant awards that were given. Scan the list of names. Are there any common threads (e.g. organization size, focus area, BIPOC-led) that might give you insights about who they were looking for? If you find a listing with award amounts, where did your request amount fall within the range (bigger? smaller?)
Compare to history.
Examine the funder’s past giving, if you haven’t already. Take another look at whatever data you can access—whether it be from grants databases or readily available 990’s for the foundation. Are there trends from year-to-year that you missed? How do they fit with the priorities listed in their grant guidelines and on their website?
Get a fresh perspective.
With all of this information, read your proposal with fresh eyes—and consider having a teammate give you constructive feedback as well. What could you have done differently to more concisely communicate your mission and your organization’s potential to further the funder’s goals? Thinking critically about how you presented the information will help you strengthen your case for this funder as well as others coming up in your grants pipeline.
Consider hiring a grants consultant who can bring a fresh perspective about how you talk about your work and where you choose to pursue funding. With experience across organizations, focus areas, and funders, consultants bring a “birds-eye” view that can help you get out of the weeds and out of the rut of submitting one grant application after the other.
Sometimes even the most well-written grant proposals are met with rejection. While organizations do not receive all the money they ask for (now wouldn’t that be nice?), you can greatly increase your chances by taking a moment to learn from each “no” you receive.
Photos by Steve Johnson and Oleksandr Horbach on Unsplash
Three Notch’d Nonprofit Solutions, LLC 
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