What do you think the “Grants Word of the Year” is for 2026?
You thought I was going to say “AI,” didn’t you? Well, technically that would have been two words, but regardless, nope. AI is *not* our team’s “Grants Word of the Year” for 2026.
Our word of the year for grants in 2026 is….
RELATIONSHIPS.
Let’s rewind—I quickly learned, when I was a grantmaker at the start of my career, how important relationships are for organizations to build credibility with the grantmakers, including our own organization, that they wanted to apply to for funding. So I’ve carried that thought with me for the past 20-plus years.
That lesson was front and center for me as the foundation of collaborations with our writing and training clients to navigate all the 2025 changes related to grant seeking. First, the many changes related to federal government grants influenced the number of organizations now applying to foundations, and then simultaneously, the increased use of AI also added to the higher volume of applications. These two changes spawned unexpected actions by grantmakers, such as shutting their portals early without notice because they had reached 900 applications for the quarter versus their usual 125, or being able to fund only 3% of applications because of receiving so darn many.
With these big statements, how do we as grant seekers adapt?
The answer has to be, “By doubling down on relationships.” Grants have always been about relationships—a mix of pre-award and post-award. Relationships that confirm your credibility and expertise about the work you do. Relationships that are focused on a funder partnership model. Grants are about relationships more than ever.
To be clear, I don’t mean that you must sit down over a cup of coffee face-to-face or always have a Zoom or a Microsoft Teams call with a grantmaker. Those are amazing if you can arrange them, but what I really mean is focusing on initial ways that you build connections and contacts with grantmakers. Interactions and touch points during a grant award period that help to show how your impact aligns with their mission and their goals. I mean focusing on relationship building that uses the power of your board, advisory councils, donors, and stakeholders to find connections to the grantmakers that you’re interested in, and spending more effort on building the relationships than putting more applications out the door.
By focusing more on relationships, the applications you do submit will be stronger, and your odds of receiving funding will increase. Because funders understand who you are. They know you on some level. They appreciate your work and believe in your work. You’ve started to build mutual trust. You have put forward something that is a base level of credibility versus a name that they wouldn’t otherwise know among the hundreds, potentially even thousands, of applications that they’re receiving that cycle.
Relationships, on any level, in any interaction, help to build credibility.
Don’t skip this best practice, whether you are thinking about pre-award or post-award relationships with grantmakers.
Our team agreed before 2025 was even over that, although we’ve always helped our clients focus on the importance of relationship building and connection before applying, doubling down on the way we support and coach their relationship-building efforts is mandatory this year if our clients are to be successful and have a sustainable grant-seeking strategy.
But you know us—we don’t want to keep that strategy and suggestion to ourselves. We want you, our grant-seeking community, to hear it as well. So we’re announcing that the 2026 word of the year is “Relationships.”
The second insight we offer is that you don’t have to navigate this high-volume landscape alone. Download our Grantmaker Relationship Guide to start building connections and awareness that will make your organization stand out.