In Grantseeking Your Budget Does Matter

GrantStation is currently in the midst of its Spring 2018 State of Grantseeking Survey, and as you can imagine with an expected 3,500 to 4,000 nonprofit respondents, I receive feedback early and often.

One gentleman from a small nonprofit organization told me, “We were not eligible for the award because the funder required a paid executive director of $125,000 for two years, and a budget of $500,000 or more. Of course, if we had that kind of money there would be no need for a grant.”

And I understand his point, as I am sure that you do, too—grantmakers generally like to see capacity, as defined by organizational budget size, organizational age, and scope of services. But there are grantmakers who will fund organizations with smaller budgets, or all-volunteer organizations, or newer organizations, and those three things often go hand in hand.