by Lauren Steiner
What Does the Latest State of Grantseeking Report Really Tell Us?
As someone who lives and breathes grants, I always look forward to the annual release of GrantStation.com’s State of Grantseeking Report – and this year’s data confirms what many of us are feeling on the ground: the landscape is shifting, and not always predictably.
- Federal grant activity is down (no surprise)
- State and donor-advised fund activity is up (interesting…)
- More applications still lead to more awards – but only if you have the capacity to pursue them (yep.)
Federal Grants Are Great – But They’re Just One Piece of the Puzzle.
This year’s report makes clear: if you’re only pursuing federal grants, you’re missing out on a breadth of other opportunities. In today’s environment, diversifying your grant revenue across state government, DAFS, corporate, private, and community foundations is essential.
The report surfaced some important trends.
- Private foundations continue to be the most frequently cited source for grant awards (89%)
- When it comes to government funding, state government grants were a more frequently cited source (51%) as opposed to local (43%) or federal (40%)
- Twenty-five percent of respondents applied to Donor Advised Funds and reported an 84.6% award rate
The Secret to Successful Grantseeking? It’s Not Just the Proposal.
It all underscores a truth we’ve long championed at Grants Plus: successful grantseeking isn’t just about writing proposals. It’s about:
- Building Relationships
- Strategically allocating staff time
- Aligning with funders who already support similar organizations- not just similar missions
Earlier this year we found based on our own firm data that you are 60% more likely to receive a grant if you’ve cultivated a relationship ahead of your ask.
This Year’s Report Tells the Full Story.
These insights- and many more- are reflected in this year’s report. I’m grateful to our colleagues at GrantStation for continuing to shine a light on the real-world challenges and opportunities in our field. If you’re curious to dig into the data, you can read the full report from GrantStation here: Full Report
Not Sure How This Applies to Your Work?
If you’re trying to make sense of what this means for your grant strategy TODAY– let’s talk.
This blog has been re-purposed from Lauren Steiner’s LinkedIn. For more insights from Lauren, subscribe to her newsletter, Grant Seeker’s Edge.
