A Snapshot of Grant Writing in the Sector
Apparently grants are just getting harder…
I read an article the other day based on data from the Canadian charitable landscape and apparently grants are a real strain and time suck for organizations. Can you relate?
Grant writing is a key fundraising pillar in most fundraising strategies but it’s not always done the most strategically and that creates a heavy burden.
Here are some quick stats on Grant Writing in the sector
Over the past year, only 28% of charities report a high success rate of 76-100% in their grant applications. Almost 40% had a success rate of 50% or less, and 14% didn’t apply for grants at all.
Only 27% of charities have a dedicated grant writer, while 64% rely on various staff to share the work alongside their other responsibilities.
Time remains a major investment: 27% of organizations spend on average 16-30 hours on each grant application, while 9% dedicate 30 hours or more.
Source: Insights on Grant Writing from the Front Lines of the Charitable Sector
I'm going to repeat that last one again... organizations spend on average 16-30 hours on each grant application! (if you don’t believe this stat, think about each staff person involved in an application… that’s where you start to eat up hours)
Time is a finite resource, one you can't create more of. And it should be spent on the work only you can do.
So why would you continue utilizing your precious (and limited time), on writing applications that you have no chance of getting?
Overlaying a strategic lens to this part of fundraising could save you up to 30 hours…per application.
Do you know what else you and your team could do with 30 hours?!
I know you’re wise enough to know that you could do massive things if you had that time back but that won’t happen by accident.
You can shift from the scramble of deadlines to a more focused proactive approach that helps move your mission forward.
If this sounds enticing check out our Strategic Grant Support options laid out with all the details here.
At Circles of Impact we help you grow your knowledge to write stronger applications and build the capacity you need for your mission to thrive.
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I’m Sara (she/her), the leader behind this mission, and I want you to believe in your power to make a difference. Just as a circle has no end and no beginning you too have the infinite potential to evolve, transform, and create change in your community and I want to help you achieve it.
