Unlocking Grant Potential: Why Strategic Funding is Key to Your Organization’s Success
A Strategy for Community-Based Organizations: Maximizing Mission Impact Through Strategic Grant Planning
According to Indiana University, foundations gave a combined $103 billion in 2024. The figure does not include individual charitable giving or state, municipal, or federal funding sources. Grant funding for organizations doing high-quality work is plentiful, and strong community-based organizations have many opportunities.
So, how does your organization access some of this money? The answer: Strategy. A strategic plan is a roadmap to where you want to go. Nearly every organization understands the importance of building a strategic plan. Without an outline of what you want to accomplish, it is hard to achieve more than the status quo.
Your annual planning process might include a board room with an executive leader or an outside consultant facilitating conversations. The conversation probably includes big goals, budgeting, and contingency planning. It might be a verbal process or involve a complex, detailed written document. There is no ONE right way to do strategic planning. Strategic planning can and should be flexible to match your organization’s culture.
A good strategic plan will ask the hard questions that start with “why?”
However, non-profits and mission-based organizations often miss one big “WHY” question during strategic conversations. The question is, ” Why are we pursuing this funding opportunity?”
The answer sounds like it should be obvious. Organizations that rely on grant funding for all or part of their work simply need grant funding to do their work. A common response is likely to be, “We are applying for this funding to continue doing the important work we are already doing to meet critical needs or to expand on the work.”
If your organization is not seriously considering the “why” question around funding requests, you may miss an important chance to improve your processes or programs. While I would not encourage organizations to stay scrappy and underfunded intentionally (unless there is a legitimate strategic reason—and sometimes there is), money can also create inefficiencies. More money can be spent on solving symptoms rather than taking a hard look at root causes.
More money can mean adding programs and overhead, but more grant money can also mean more time spent on compliance and reporting. Some funding sources do not make sense at all. If your organization cannot develop a crystal clear, solid budget that aligns with existing plans, the funding may be more of a derailment than you realize. An unexpected funding opportunity can mean the organization scrambles to develop a ‘rough draft’ of a new program that aligns with the funder’s goals rather than their own.
When your organization goes through its annual strategic planning process, take the time to build a funding strategy. A typical strategy might consider diversified funding and revenue sources.
Go one step further. Ask your team which existing funding sources align with your strategic goals, and pause to reflect on where new potential funding fits in the existing strategic timeline. For example, if you care about a new project, take the time to sketch out a sample pilot with tactical steps in your strategic plan. When unexpected funding opportunities arise, your organization will be ready to go with a plan. If the relevant grant opportunity does not appear, your organization knows where it is headed and can explore partnerships and collaborations to accomplish the same goals. At the same time, your team will know when to choose not to apply for a new grant.
A good strategic plan for your grant-funded projects is worth your time. It offers your organization a clear sense of direction to help avoid distraction. Your organization will be positioned to talk clearly about its goals and have alternate plans to accomplish objectives through multiple tactics. Focus will also pull your programmatic results from the average and help you stand out when opportunities arise. Most importantly, your organization will avoid wasted time scrambling to meet application deadlines because you know what you are doing and what you are not. When you decide to move forward, all you need to do is articulate an existing, well-thought-out project plan to make your application stand out.
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