One of the most common questions in grant work:
“How much should we request?”
But the better question is:
“What amount makes sense for us?”
Because funders are often quietly evaluating your request against your organizational size and capacity.
Here’s a general way to think about it…
For private foundations:
Requests often fall in the range of 5–15% of your annual budget
For corporate funders:
Typically smaller — often 1–10% of your budget
For federal or large government grants:
Awards can exceed your annual budget — but only if you have:
- Strong infrastructure
- Compliance systems
- Experience managing restricted funds
And increasingly, funders are making this explicit.
Related: What size grant award should you ask for?
I recently worked on a Bank of America grant that clearly stated:
Organizations could request up to 10% of their previous year’s revenue for a two-year grant.
That’s not just a guideline.
It’s a signal.
Funders want to ensure:
You can absorb the funding
You can manage it responsibly
The request aligns with your scale
Consider the following:
✅ Before setting your request amount, look at your total budget
✅ Stay within a range that reflects your operational capacity
✅ Watch for funder-specific guidance — it’s often more direct than you think
The strongest requests don’t just sound compelling.
They make sense on paper.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants