Welcome to Day 9 of the 30-Day Grant Readiness Challenge!
Doing the work of grant prospect research is only half the battle. If your research results are sitting in a spreadsheet that no one looks at, your organization isn’t truly ready to grow.
Today, we are auditing your research workflow. How often are you finding new opportunities, and how often are you communicating those results to your grant team?
Why Research Frequency Matters
Reporting your research results regularly is just as vital as finding the grants opportunities themselves. To reach your revenue goals, you need a proactive grant-seeking strategy that keeps your team informed and ready to act.
Best Practices for Your Research Workflow
Tip 1: Schedule Consistent Research Reviews
Don’t let research discussions be a once-a-year event. To keep new opportunities in front of your leadership, schedule a regular touch-base gathering. Whether it’s a 15-minute weekly stand-up or a monthly deep dive, consistent communication keeps the team engaged, stimulates ideas, and prevents missed deadlines.
Tip 2: Aim for a 3- to 6-Month Lead Time
If you are finding grants that are due in two weeks, you are in reactive mode. A grant-ready organization looks at opportunities with deadlines three to six months out. This approach gives your team enough time to:
- Review the funder’s guidelines in detail.
- Reach out to the funder with clarifying questions.
- Gather program data.
- Build a collaborative budget.
Build a More Proactive Team
Use these resources to turn your research into a repeatable system:
- Read: Don’t Chase the Money: Do Your Research – Learn the difference between being a reactive and proactive grant seeker.
- Download: Grant Research Guide – After you find those six-month leads, you can use the grant calendar that is included in this pdf to track them.
- Assess: Does your current research frequency help or hurt your competitiveness? Take the GRASP Tool assessment to find out.
Join the Discussion
We want to hear from you! How often does your team meet to discuss new grant opportunities? Are you a weekly “checker” or a monthly reviewer?
Leave a note in the comments below and share your research routine with us!