Grant writing tips
Practical guidance for using foundation research in your prospect workflow — written for development staff building qualified funder lists.
Lead with alignment, not need
Foundation program officers review dozens of proposals weekly. Open your letter of inquiry with one sentence connecting your program to their stated funding priorities — drawn from their Grantify profile or website. Generic appeals about organizational sustainability rarely advance to a full proposal.
Use average grant size as a ceiling, not a target
A foundation's average grant reflects their typical award, not their maximum. If the average is $15,000 and your project requires $75,000, consider whether a planning grant or phased request is more realistic. Overshooting by 3–5× is one of the most common reasons LOIs get declined without review.
Verify application policy every cycle
Profile data may reflect the most recent reporting period, which can be 12–18 months old. A foundation marked as accepting unsolicited applications may have since closed their open LOI window. Always confirm current guidelines on their website or with a brief phone call before submitting.
Study giving patterns before you write
A single year's grants can reflect one-off capital gifts or disaster response. Look for recurring recipient types, geographic concentration, and award size consistency over time. Foundations that fund the same category year after year are stronger prospects than those with scattered one-time gifts.
Export early, qualify in your spreadsheet
Grantify's CSV export is designed for team workflows. Export a broad search, then add your own columns for board connections, geographic fit scores, and deadline tracking. Not every foundation in your results deserves a custom proposal — use the export to triage before you draft.
Put these tips into practice with live foundation profiles.
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