“Strategy” doesn’t have to equal boring corporate lingo. Strategy can be fun!
Developing an intentional, detailed strategy for acquiring grant funds to fulfill your nonprofit’s mission should be exciting. Instead of scrambling to find and submit applications on an as-needed basis, a strategy allows you to proactively seek opportunities and align them with your annual goals.
In this quick guide, we will show you how to leverage Instrumentl to build a strategic, year-long plan for grant funding.
What Is the Purpose of a 12-Month Grant Funding Strategy?
A grant funding strategy serves as a roadmap for nonprofits, outlining when, where, and how to seek grants throughout the year.
Essentially, a grant funding strategy lists the specific grant opportunities that will fill up your organization’s pipeline for the year to come. Most of the time, organizations align this strategy with their annual budget.
With a well-planned grant pipeline, nonprofits can:
- Allocate time and resources effectively, reducing last-minute rushes.
- Increase the likelihood of securing grants by focusing on well-researched, relevant opportunities.
- Integrate grants into the larger fundraising strategy, ensuring a balanced approach alongside other funding sources like donations and events.
Since goals and programs typically stay the same throughout the year, a 12-month timeframe should work well for most organizations. Many grants are also offered annually, allowing you to anticipate them a year ahead.
Overall, a 12-month grants strategy provides a big-picture view and allows for better organization and coordination, making it easier to prioritize efforts and achieve long-term financial goals.
Step-by-Step Guide to Create a 12-Month Grant Funding Strategy
Creating a grant funding strategy from scratch might seem intimidating at first.
Luckily, Instrumentl has the tools you need to find, prioritize, and organize potential grants all in one place. Keep reading and we’ll show you how.
Consider What You Want Funded
Step one is to define the programs, projects, or operational needs you plan to seek funding for and how much funding you are looking to acquire.
Clearly defining what the funding will be used for is a crucial step that should never be overlooked. Having a well-thought-out, fundable project in mind makes grant research far easier and more effective.
However, many organizations can fall into a cycle of simply chasing available funding, and applying for grants that don’t fully align with their needs or goals.
This “chasing funding” approach often leads to:
- Scattered efforts
- Missed opportunities
- And less impactful programs.
By creating a focused ‘wish list’ of projects or programs that genuinely require grant funding to launch or grow, your nonprofit can prioritize intentional funding that drives real impact.
Create Your Project in Instrumentl
Once you know how much funding you need and for what, your next step should be setting up a new project in Instrumentl.
Before Instrumentl can work its magic by finding relevant funding opportunities, users must create a “project” by filling out a few details, including their project's:
- Location
- Types of grants they’re looking for
- Area of focus
- Grant size
- And more
Instrumentl then uses this info to deliver the best-fit matches. It’s that easy.
Note: You can create multiple different projects for the various different funding needs of your organization. Learn more about setting up effective projects here.
Run a Search
After setting up your project, Instrumentl will scan its comprehensive database of over 390,000+ funders and 12,500+ active opportunities from foundation, corporate, and government funding sources.
In just seconds, you’ll receive a list of good-fit grants that match your project’s criteria.
Analyze and Organize a List of Top Opportunities
Once you’ve been matched with potential grants, it’s time to start developing your strategy by narrowing in on the most promising opportunities.
Thankfully, Instrumentl makes it easy to do this without having to leave the platform.
With each grant match, you can click into it to learn more about the specific opportunity, its eligibility requirements, deadline, funding use, and more.
If a grant seems like a good fit, you can go one step further by clicking on the “Funder 990 Report” tab to get an inside look into the grantmaker’s giving history, including their:
- Average grant size
- Geographic preferences
- Openness to new grantees
- Past awardees
All of these insights are incredibly valuable for gauging your nonprofit’s competitiveness and determining whether it would be worth your effort to apply.
Save Opportunities and View Them in Your Tracker
When you identify a grant that’s worth pursuing further, simply click “Save” on the opportunity and it will be automatically added to your Grants Tracker.
When saving a grant, you’ll have the opportunity to assign a status to it (e.g. “planned” vs. “researching”). Once saved, all of your grants will be organized in your Tracker by:
- Status
- Deadline
- Award amount
- And more
You can also click on the Calendar view to see all of your grants (and subtasks) laid out by date for your whole team to access.
And just like that—Voila! You have your annual grants strategy outlined and ready to tackle.
Here’s what Beth Noble, Senior Grant Administrator at Phoenix Children's Foundation, had to say about this process:
“What I really like about Instrumentl as an all-year round platform is that we can track on a year-on-year basis, we got history in there, we got documents in there. It just makes everything easier.”
Developing a robust 12-month grant funding strategy takes time and effort, but it pays off by providing a clear, organized plan for the year ahead. By identifying and analyzing funding opportunities in advance, your organization can focus on crafting compelling applications and building relationships with funders.
Instrumentl simplifies the process, helping you save time, stay organized, and maintain peace of mind that your nonprofit isn't missing out on critical funding. Sign up for a 14-day trial and start your journey today by creating a strategic, 12-month grant funding plan that drives your mission forward.
