Failure is part of grant writing -- not every proposal gets funded. But rejection can really sting when you're first starting out, or when your project seemed like a perfect fit for the funding agency. So how can you turn it around?

Ask the Source 

Thoughtful feedback from the funding agency is golden. After a decent interval (the mourning period!), go back to the funder and ask: 

• Is this project/my agency a good fit for your grant program? You probably did your homework on this, but it's worth finding out if the funder's focus has changed or if your timing is off -- maybe you'll be a better fit in another funding year, or for a different grant program.
• Is my budget on target? Find out if you're requesting too much or too little, or if you're budgeting the right amounts in the right categories.
• How can I improve my application next time? Asking this open-ended question may also tell you whether you'll get a "next time."

Make Changes

Look for ways to improve your narrative and budget. Can you get more data from your organization for the need section and outcomes? Have you invested the effort necessary to think through and write up a comprehensive proposal? Is your project design carefully reasoned? Is your management plan adequate? Have you specified clear goals and objectives? Is your budget aligned with your narrative? Does your proposal look and read as if written by a professional?

Try seeking more input from stakeholders (e.g., teachers, administrators) to make the narrative more dynamic and "real." Quotes are very effective. You can also gather more organizational information from annual reports and website content.

Can you break your proposal into two or more smaller proposals, and seek less money? This may be more work, but it might be appropriate depending on your project and scope.

Tweak Your Funding Search

If you've thoroughly tapped local and regional sources, consider state and national funding sources. Or if you've been trying to break into highly competitive national funding, consider looking closer to home. Hoover's Business Database -- available free through some libraries -- provides information on U.S. businesses (company location, size, annual sales, etc.) that you can use to create a list of corporate funding possibilities.

Cooperating libraries offer free access to the Foundation Directory Online, a huge database of 120,000 foundations and corporate donors. Low-cost search products include the Foundation Center's digital listing of grants for elementary and secondary education.

Persevere

Your proposal may suffer from too much competition for too few grant dollars. Grant making is a subjective process, and different reviewers have different reactions at different times to the exact same proposal.

You never know when you might be a winner. Should you lose, don't quit. Improve your work and try again. Network with other grant writers and learn more about your craft. Leverage your work; keep tweaking it and strengthening your narrative. Keep your ear to the ground about new funding possibilities, and seek out potential collaborative partnerships that might strengthen your proposal.

In other words, keep going! In the world of grants, the "turtle" who moves steadily forward will be the winner in the long run.  

The State of Grantseeking

GrantStation and PhilanTech have conducted their sixth semi-annual survey of nonprofits on the state of grantseeking in the U.S. More than 1,000 nonprofits completed surveys in early 2013 on mission, budget, staff size, and service area; reliance on grants and challenges to grantseeking were examined in relation to these variables. Among the findings: nonprofits focused on youth development and social services were more reliant on grants, all respondents said private foundations were their biggest source of grant funding, and state grants as a funding source represented the largest decrease. Download complete results in the PDF from GrantStation.