The Ten Most Common Reasons Grants are Declined

  1. "The organization does not meet our priorities."
       Research before applying.
  1. "The organization is not located in our geographic area of funding."
    Get the guidelines before applying/at least check the grants guide.
  1. "The proposal does not follow our prescribed format."
    Read the application information very carefully and follow it exactly.
  1. "The proposal is poorly written and difficult to understand."
    Have friends and experienced people critique the grant.
  1. "The proposed budget and grant request is not within our funding range."
    Look at average size of grants of the funder.
  1. "We don’t know these people—are they credible?"
    Set up an interview before submitting the proposal and have board members and other funded organizations give you credibility.
  1. "The proposal doesn’t seem urgent—and I’m not sure it will have an impact."
    Study the priorities and have a skilled writer do this section to make it "grab" the funder.
  1. "The objectives and plan of action of the project greatly exceed the budget and timelines for implementation."
    Be realistic about the programs and budgets—only promise what can realistically be delivered for the amount requested.
  1. "We’ve allocated all the money for this grant cycle."
    Don’t take this personally.  It is a fact of life.  Try the next available grant cycle.
  1. "There is insufficient evidence that the program will become self-sufficient and sustain itself after the grant is completed."
    Add a section to the proposal on plans for sufficiency and develop a long-term strategy.
Source: Grant Guides Plus, Inc.

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Comments and suggestions:
Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org