Successful Grant Writing for Nonprofits: Proven Tactics to Secure Funds
I still remember sitting across from the executive director of a small literacy nonprofit in Queens. She pushed a stack of rejected grant applications toward me with a sigh. "We're doing good work," she said. "Why can't we get funded?"
That question kicks off most of my client relationships. The truth? Writing grants that win funding is about language that convinces funders your work belongs on their priority list.
Having witnessed both spectacular successes and painful near-misses in the funding world, I've noticed certain patterns emerge. Let’s discuss what makes the difference between proposals that get passed over and those that get funded.
What is Grant Writing for Nonprofits?
Grant writing is storytelling with stakes. You're not just describing your work, you're making a case for why someone else should invest in it.
At its core, grant writing connects three critical elements: a compelling community need, your organization's unique approach, and the specific outcomes funding will make possible.
Different funding sources bring distinct expectations:
Government grants often bury you in compliance requirements
Family foundations seek personal connection to their mission
Corporate funders want a visible community impact they can showcase
Who Writes the Grant Proposal?
In small nonprofits, grant writing often falls to whoever has a moment free, usually the executive director wearing their fifteenth hat of the day. Mid-sized organizations might have a development person who coordinates input from program staff and financial teams.
Some organizations bring in a grant writing specialist like me, when:
Facing highly competitive funding sources
Pursuing grants large enough to justify expert help
Dealing with limited team bandwidth
Needing a fresh perspective on their work
The best proposals pull insights from across your organization. Your program staff know what happens on the ground. Your finance people understand the true costs. Your leadership holds the vision. All these perspectives need to shape your proposal.
Key Elements of a Grant Proposal
While every funder has its preferred format, most expect these core elements:
Executive Summary: Your written elevator pitch. Foundation officers have told me they make initial cuts based on this section. It should capture your credibility, the need addressed, your approach, and what you're requesting. Though it appears first, write it last.
Statement of Need: This establishes why your work matters. A common mistake is focusing on depressing statistics. Yes, show the problem's scope with data, but help funders feel it through brief stories. A nonprofit organization I worked with transformed its proposals by including only two sentences from a senior describing their isolation before joining the program.
Project Goals: What changes if you receive funding? Avoid vague aspirations like "improve community health." Instead, offer concrete targets: "Provide health screenings to 500 low-income residents and connect at least 80% of those with identified issues to affordable treatment options."
Implementation Plan: Detail how you'll achieve those goals. Include timelines, staffing approaches, key partnerships, and methodologies. This section reassures funders that you've thought through practical aspects.
Evaluation Plan: How will you know if you've succeeded? What will you measure? How will you collect that information? How will you use evaluation data to improve your program? This demonstrates your commitment to accountability.
Budget Justification: Your budget should tell the same story as your narrative, just with numbers. Every expense should connect to program activities. Explain unusual line items, and if including matching funds, identify their sources.
How to Write Grants for Nonprofits? Tips from an Expert
Effective grant development extends beyond writing. Here's my approach:
Find the right funders
Stop wasting time on mismatched opportunities. Research potential funders thoroughly, review their giving history, stated priorities, and typical grant sizes. I helped a youth arts program create a simple spreadsheet ranking potential funders by alignment. They focused on five strong matches instead of twenty random opportunities and secured two major grants within six months.
Be specific about needs
Instead of asking for "support for our youth program," request "$75,000 to expand our after-school tutoring to serve 50 additional students and add a parent engagement component." Connect every dollar to concrete outcomes.
Speak their language
Study how your target funder discusses issues. Do they emphasize "innovation" or "proven approaches"? Are they focused on "systemic change" or "direct service"? Align with their framework without compromising your mission.
Involve your team
When I worked with a community health initiative in Singapore, we discovered their most compelling outcome data was sitting unused in a program manager's files, data that helped secure a six-figure grant.
Stay organized
Create a timeline working backward from the deadline. Allow time for internal reviews, gathering supporting documents, and addressing unexpected questions. Set your personal deadline at least three days before submission.
Dos and Don'ts of Grant Writing
After reviewing hundreds of proposals, both winners and losers, I've spotted patterns separating funded projects from rejected ones:
| What Works | What Doesn’t Work |
|---|---|
| Compelling Stories | Lack of Distinctiveness |
| Use of Images | Confusing Language |
| Clear Outcomes | No Sustainability Plan |
| Evidence and Research | Ignored Challenges |
| Program Alignment | Missing Personal Stories |
What Works:
Stories that statistics can't tell
Numbers show scale, but stories create connection. A Singapore client included a brief narrative about a senior who learned to video-call his grandchildren through their digital literacy program. That single paragraph brought their impact statistics to life and was specifically mentioned when they received funding.
Visual breathing room
Dense text walls terrify reviewers reading their fifteenth proposal of the day. A community garden project I worked with used simple before/after photos that communicated their impact better than paragraphs of text ever could.
Answering the "so what?" question
For every achievement you describe, ask: "Why should funders care?" A youth mentoring program was proud of their 24-week curriculum but failed to explain how that length created better outcomes than shorter programs. Adding that context made all the difference.
Showing your homework
Demonstrate you've researched alternatives to your approach. When a homeless services organization acknowledged other models and explained why their housing-first approach was most appropriate for their specific community, it neutralized potential objections before reviewers could raise them.
Connecting to larger systems
A literacy nonprofit I helped in New York strengthened its proposal by explaining how its family reading program complemented the public school curriculum rather than duplicating it. This positioning helped them secure over $260,000.
What Doesn't Work:
Burying your uniqueness
Many organizations save what makes them special for page seven. A migrant worker support group kept their peer-educator model, which increased their reach as an afterthought. When we highlighted this as their core innovation, funding followed.
Assuming knowledge
A healthcare nonprofit kept referring to their "CBCT approach" without explanation. When we replaced this with "community-based care teams" and briefly explained the model, their proposal became more accessible.
Ignoring sustainability
Funders worry about creating dependency. A youth arts program strengthened their proposal by outlining a three-year plan to gradually replace grant funding with earned income from performances and workshops.
Hiding challenges
When an environmental education organization openly discussed their previous struggle with participant retention and explained their new approach to addressing it, funders appreciated their honesty and learning orientation.
Forgetting the human element
A technology access program focused on hardware distribution until we added content about volunteer tech mentors who helped seniors use the devices. This human component resonated with funders.
Practical Ways to Improve Your Grant Writing
Instead of suggesting courses and books, here are practical approaches that have helped my clients improve:
Learn directly from funders
Request post-rejection calls with foundations (most don't ask, but these provide invaluable insights)
Contact program officers before applying (these conversations often reveal unwritten priorities)
Join foundation-hosted webinars (the Q&A portions often provide crucial clarification)
Study successful examples
Visit community foundation libraries that maintain collections of funded proposals
Volunteer on community grant review panels to see the process from the other side
Sharpen your writing
Join writing workshops for journalists to develop more engaging narrative skills
Have someone completely outside your field review your proposal to spot jargon
Grant writing blends technical skill with storytelling art. Strong proposals build bridges between your organization's work and funders' priorities. With practice and the right guidance, your proposals can transform from funding requests into compelling investment opportunities.
Need help with an important funding opportunity? Let's talk about how we might strengthen your next proposal.
