Why Strong Grant Applications Start Before the Writing
Nonprofits that spend a year applying for grants without results often assume the problem is their writing. Holly Nickel, a nonprofit grant strategist at Grant Strategy Hub, says the issue usually begins earlier. In this interview, she explains what standard grant advice misses, which details in funder guidelines small organizations tend to read past, and the decision she would stop a nonprofit from making in its first month of grant seeking.
Relationships and Alignment Come First
Asked what she typically finds when a nonprofit arrives after a full year of rejections, Nickel pointed to what most grant tips leave out. She said "the biggest thing standard advice missed is building real relationships and checking true alignment before they ever start writing." Most guidance, she noted, focuses heavily on crafting a moving story, but "cold applications usually fail because the organization was never really in the running to begin with."
Open online portals can create the impression that any organization has a fair shot. Nickel's experience suggests otherwise. She said "a huge chunk of grant money goes to nonprofits that program officers already know and trust," and that a brief, thoughtful email to a program officer beforehand is often the only way to learn whether a foundation is bringing on new grantees that year.
Mission drift is another common problem. Rather than stretching a mission to chase available money, Nickel recommends examining a funder's actual track record. A foundation might state that it supports education, she explained, while its past tax filings show funding limited to early-childhood reading programs in three specific zip codes. Resources such as the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search let nonprofits review a funder's filed information directly.
The Fine Print Behind Many Rejections
Nickel said the reason for a rejection is often tucked into the application rules, and eager applicants skim past technical disqualifiers in their excitement over a foundation's broad mission.
Restrictions on how money can be spent rank among the biggest oversights. A guideline might mention youth arts while a footnote excludes staff salaries, rent, or general operating costs. Small nonprofits sometimes pitch a program only to learn later that the funder pays solely for tangible items like equipment or building upgrades.
Matching requirements also trip up strong teams. Many grants require a one-to-one match, meaning the organization must prove half the project's cash is already raised before funds are released. Applying without secured matching funds, or misreading whether volunteer hours count toward the match, can lead to quick disqualification.
Administrative structure and timing rules are frequently missed as well. Foundations routinely require two or three years of independent tax filings, which rules out newer nonprofits or groups operating under a fiscal sponsor. Others prohibit funding projects that have already begun or cap how many times an organization may apply in a calendar year. Nickel's point is practical: catching these policy details upfront saves small teams from pouring hours into an application that was ineligible from day one. The Foundation Directory and funders' own published guidelines are useful places to confirm eligibility before writing begins.
Slow Down in Month One
If she could stop a nonprofit from making one decision in its first month of grant seeking, Nickel would halt the rush to the nearest deadline. She described the pattern: teams find an upcoming due date and start typing, then scramble at the last minute to gather board lists, budgets, and program data while trying to write a compelling story from scratch. "That rushed energy almost always shows up on the page," she said.
Starting with the first deadline you stumble across also tends to mean applying to the wrong funders. Without taking a few weeks to research who actually funds your type of work and to vet those prospects, limited energy goes toward long-shot grants chosen only because the due date happens to be next Friday.
Her alternative is to spend that first month building a foundation: organizing core financials, clarifying program outcomes, and assembling a realistic calendar of twenty well-matched funders. In her words, "the actual writing becomes ten times easier." The shift, she said, moves an organization from reacting to random deadlines to running a sustainable, thoughtful grant program with a real shot at winning.
Practical Takeaways
- Contact program officers before writing to confirm whether a funder is accepting new grantees.
- Check a funder's past tax filings and giving history rather than relying on broad mission language.
- Read the fine print on allowable costs, matching requirements, tax-filing history, and application limits.
- Resist the first deadline you find; spend the first month on financials, outcomes, and a vetted list of well-matched funders.
For nonprofits weighing their next application, Nickel's guidance points in one direction: the strongest proposals are built on research and relationships long before the first sentence is written.