You put hours of time, effort, and resources into a grant application that was denied. It totally sucks, I know. But the reality is rejection is the norm, not the exception. So what should you do when it happens?

I challenge you to make an effort to put aside any negative feelings about the funder and continue with curiosity. Don’t squander an opportunity to learn because you’re disappointed.

Reach out to the funder to ask what your organization can do to improve its request and to better prioritize its limited resources for future applications. Don’t ask them to reconsider their decision. Don’t whine about the loss. You’re asking for feedback that can help you improve your proposal and get your good work funded elsewhere. (And, as an advocate for grantees everywhere, you’re also reminding them that grant applications represent a major investment in time and resources and we expect funders to be transparent about all their criteria.)

Be grateful for their time and feedback! Some funders are too busy to have a post-mortem, but others make a concerted effort to help organizations improve their proposals. A conversation is an opportunity to start building a relationship with the grants manager who could be your future advocate within the funding organization. 

Keep in mind that adjudicating funding applications is not a science. You could do all of your homework, put in a stellar application, and still get rejected. The reasons are many, but the ones I’ve encountered include:

  1. demand vs. supply: the funder didn’t have enough to award all worthy causes
  2. they changed their funding priorities  
  3. they’re supporting organizations they already have relationships with 
  4. their financial situation changed and they had less to give 
  5. they changed their geographic focus area without updating their criteria  

So long as a funder hasn’t changed its criteria, it can be worth submitting another application for the next intake (so long as you don’t submit the same application). There have been situations where I have tried a third time after two unsuccessful attempts, and other times I cut my losses after one rejection. The decision whether or not to keep applying to the same funder will depend on their given reason for rejecting your proposal, on your relationship (or lack thereof), and how open and communicative they are during the grant process.

Assuming that your proposal still fits with a funder’s criteria and priorities, your organization can usually improve its future chances of success in a few ways. You can (and should!) foster a relationship with that funder, increase your public profile so your work is more familiar to them, and improve your financial health and credibility.

As frustrating as it is to realize that your effort in such a time-consuming process didn’t pay off, try to stay curious and positive. Dust yourself off, improve where you can, and try again.

Get in touch if you’d like some help. 

Read more Grant Writing Tips.