the state of grantseeking and its implications for grant professionals

The State of Grantseeking and Its Implications for Grant Professionals

Mid-Atlantic Grants ConferenceMay 21, 2012Dahna Goldstein

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The State of the Nonprofit Sector

Nonprofit Research Collaborative Late Fall 2011 Nonprofit Fundraising Survey

Overall giving is increasing slightly

Blackbaud Index, May 2012

A majority of nonprofits reported increased donations

Nonprofit Research Collaborative April 2012 Nonprofit Fundraising Survey

Which is an improvement over last year

Nonprofit Research Collaborative Late Fall 2011 Nonprofit Fundraising Survey

Overall, changes in charitable receipts are trending in the right direction


Organizations’ overall fundraising success varied by size


…and by issue area


Nonprofits are feeling optimistic


But they have felt optimistic before


More nonprofits met their fundraising goals in 2011


And grants were an important factor


Grants are over 25% of funding for half of all nonprofits

State of Grantseeking Spring 2012, GrantStation and PhilanTech

Mid-sized organizations rely most heavily on grants as funding source

% of Budget All Organizations Small Organizations<$100,000

Medium Organizations

$100,000 - $999,999

Large Organizations >$1,000,000

Under 10% 35% 47% 23% 42%

11 - 25% 22% 18% 24% 23%

26 - 50% 16% 10% 20% 15%

51 - 75% 12% 7% 16% 10%

over 75% 15% 18% 17% 11%


State of Grantseeking for Nonprofits

•81% of respondents applied for more (46%) or the same number (35%) of grants▫Previous survey: more (45%), same (33%)

•69% of respondents received the same number (38%) or more (31%) grants▫Previous survey: same (37%), more (26%)

•64% of respondents received the same size (41%) or larger (23%) grants▫Previous survey: same (38%), larger (25%)

Government funding has decreased

Nonprofit Collaborative Late Fall 2011 Nonprofit Fundraising Survey

Total foundation giving is stabilizing

Foundation Center, Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates 2011

But funding priorities have changed

• “With government pulling out of ‘safety net’ funding, we are finding that foundations are moving away from support for the arts to fill the gap in needed social services.”

• “It seems that grant funding is becoming much harder to get, more specific to apply for and fewer and farther between. It also seems as if the things that we need most are things that are least likely to have a grant available to supply.”

While foundations may be giving more grants, multi-year support is decreasing

Private foundation grants remain the most frequent funding source


Organizations of all sizes rely heavily on private foundation grants

SourceAll

OrganizationsSmall

OrganizationsMedium

OrganizationsLarge

Organizations

Private Foundation Grants 72.0% 49.0% 77.0% 81.0%

Community Foundation Grants 58.0% 39.0% 58.0% 68.0%

Corporate Grants 54.0% 32.0% 53.0% 68.0%

Corporate Gifts 35.0% 18.0% 32.0% 47.0%

Federal Grants 43.0% 13.0% 36.0% 67.0%

State Grants 48.0% 26.0% 43.0% 66.0%

Local Government Grants 38.0% 22.0% 37.0% 48.0%

Other Grant Sources 13.0% 22.0% 13.0% 9.0%


Private foundation grants were also the largest single source of total grant funding


The largest source of total grant funding varies by organization size

Largest Funding SourceAll

OrganizationsSmall

OrganizationsMedium

OrganizationsLarge

Organizations

Private Foundation Grants 27.0% 25.0% 34.0% 21.0%

Community Foundation Grants 9.0% 14.0% 10.0% 5.0%

Corporate Grants 9.0% 15.0% 10.0% 3.0%

Federal Grants 24.0% 5.0% 16.0% 42.0%

State Grants 15.0% 14.0% 13.0% 19.0%

Local Government Grants 7.0% 7.0% 9.0% 5.0%

Other Grant Sources 10.0% 20.0% 9.0% 4.0%


Private foundations were also the source of the largest grant


Nonprofits continue to submit many requests to grantors


…and continue to get grant awards


Organizations rely on different people to engage in grantseeking activities


…to varying degrees of success

# of Proposals Submitted

# of Grants Awarded

0 1 2 3-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31+ Some

0 74 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2

1 24 19 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 18 35 25 2 1 0 0 0 3

3-5 34 43 78 77 5 0 0 0 7

6-10 6 13 19 63 21 1 0 0 6

11-20 1 1 2 28 44 19 0 0 5

21 - 30 0 0 0 4 6 23 5 1 1

31 + 0 1 0 1 5 13 7 9 3


Most organizations get grants under $100,000

Largest Award July – December 2011All

OrganizationsSmall

OrganizationsMedium

OrganizationsLarge

Organizations

$1 to $10,000 24% 59% 25% 10%

$10,001 to $50,000 28% 28% 36% 19%

$50,001 to $100,000 13% 4% 18% 11%

$100,001 to $500,000 22% 9% 18% 32%

$500,001 to $1,000,000 5% 0% 1% 11%

Over $1,000,000 8% 0% 3% 16%


Grant award sizes stayed the same or increased


…but that hasn’t been consistent

Largest Grants

Amount Fall 2011 Spring 2011 Fall 2010 Spring 2010

Highest $ $30,000,000 $26,000,000 $100,000,000 $57,000,000

Median $ $45,000 $39,000 $65,000 $50,000

Average $ $462,539 $312,000 $775,600 $611,500

Smallest Grants

Amount Fall 2011 Spring 2011 Fall 2010 Spring 2010

Lowest $ $25 $1 $100 $10

Highest $ $525,000 $500,000 $600,000 $500,000

Median $ $1,000 $1,500 $1,500 $2,000

Average $ $6,966 $8,200 $10,468 $7,310


Nonprofits submitted the same number or more grant requests


Which resulted in increased numbers of grants for 31%


Changes in numbers of grants varied by issue area

More grants Fewer grantsSame

number of grants

ARTS, CULTURE, HUMANITIES 33.33% 25.81% 40.86%

EDUCATION 31.93% 26.89% 41.18%

ENVIRONMENT 36.00% 36.00% 28.00%

HEALTH CARE 34.92% 25.40% 39.68%

HUMAN SERVICES 32.14% 26.79% 41.07%

INTERNATIONAL 25.00% 25.00% 50.00%

PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT 28.57% 21.43% 50.00%

RELIGION-RELATED 0.00% 33.33% 66.67%


Nonprofits face both internal and external grantseeking challenges


Smaller organizations struggle more with the mechanics; larger organizations struggle more with the macro issuesGrantseeking's Greatest Challenge in 2012

All Organizations

Small Organizations

Medium Organizations

Large Organizations

Competition 6.0% 4.0% 5.0% 8.0%

Reduced funding 12.0% 6.0% 11.0% 17.0%

Economic conditions 11.0% 5.0% 11.0% 14.0%

Funder practices and requirements 6.0% 5.0% 7.0% 6.0%

Internal organizational issues 4.0% 0.0% 3.0% 7.0%

Lack of time and/or staff 23.0% 26.0% 26.0% 19.0%

My organization needs a grantwriter 7.0% 14.0% 6.0% 3.0%

Relationship building with funders 7.0% 9.0% 7.0% 7.0%Research, finding grants for my organization’s mission 16.0% 21.0% 16.0% 13.0%

Writing grants 4.0% 8.0% 2.0% 2.0%

Other 4.0% 3.0% 4.0% 4.0%


Project Streamline, addressed to funders, identified challenges• Enormous variability• Requirements that aren’t “right sized”• Insufficient net grants• Outsourced burdens• Trust undermined• Reports on a shelf• Fundraising gymnastics• Due diligence redundancy• Double edged swords• Time drain for grantmakers, too

In the words of grantseekers…

• We have lost key staff, whose positions have been unfilled for months. We have never been able to devote a staff position to grant writing. We apply mainly for the same local grant opportunities on a regular basis instead of broadening our opportunities.

• With the funding reductions we have experienced a reduction in staffing. This means fewer hours to spend on grant writing, research, etc.

In the words of more grantseekers…

• Federal and state funds cut by amounts that would mean doubling all other sources just to remain even.

• We just don't have the staff that has the experience in writing grants nor the time to conduct the needed research.

In the words of yet more grantseekers…• It seems that grant funding is becoming much

harder to get, more specific to apply for and fewer and farther between. It also seems as if the things that we need most are things that are least likely to have a grant available to supply.

• Due to the downfall of the economy, my organization reduced staff positions by merging staff responsibilities into multiple tasks. We lost our development director/grant writer that is one of the most critical positions for a nonprofit.

Implications for grant professionals

•Recovery is still on the horizon, not yet present

•Don’t assume that this year’s funder will be next year’s funder

• Impact of government funding reductions isn’t over

•Diversify•Grant trends can inform strategy and

prospecting

Focus

•On net positive grants•On developing and cultivating

relationships•On high ROI prospects – and issues that

matter to them

There is an increased need for grant professionals• Challenges of time, not having grantwriter on

staff▫ “We just don't have the staff that has the experience in

writing grants nor the time to conduct the needed research.”

▫ “The organization does not have a professional grant-writing professional. Each individual program director must research and write their own grant proposals, taking valuable time away from direct program administration and development.”

• Opportunity for consultants▫ Expertise + time = ROI

…but corresponding stress on ability to pay•New hires are not in the cards for many

nonprofits•Many don’t have the cash flow to pay

consultants

Nonprofits remain optimistic about the next six months


A bit about PhilanTech

Questions?Dahna [email protected]

the state of grantseeking and its implications for grant professionals

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