Scheduling and meeting deadlines is one of the most stressful parts of grant writing. Finding a grant opportunity with no deadline can feel like a relief.
Years ago, when I created my grant schedule, I would add all the grants with deadlines and then fill in the gaps with grants without deadlines. It didn’t take me long to realize this wasn’t the best strategy.
Grant Writing Tip of the Day
What is your non-profit’s differentiator? What sets you apart from other organizations with similar missions? Talk about that.
I began receiving denial emails from the grants without deadlines telling me that, while they would like to fund the project, they had already exhausted their funding for their fiscal year.
That got me thinking. Maybe I would have a better chance of winning these grants without deadlines at the beginning of their fiscal year.
A funder’s fiscal year is at the top of their 990. I have already talked about how 990s are pure gold, and this is another reason why.
A 990 is filed for either a calendar year or a tax year. In the foundation above, they are one and the same. But, oftentimes, a foundation’s fiscal year begins on the first day of a quarter. So, the fiscal year could start on April 1, July 1, or October 1.
Before I add the grant to my schedule, I check the fiscal year and make sure that I apply shortly after the beginning of the funder’s fiscal year.
Since funders with no grant deadline approve grants on a rolling basis, I have a better chance of being funded if I apply early in their fiscal year, when they still have funds available.
Think of it as first come, first serve.
Once I adopted this strategy, I quickly began noticing that I was approved for more of these kinds of grants.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants