“How many grants should we be applying for?”
It’s a question many nonprofit Executive Directors ask, especially when they’re trying to grow revenue or build a more consistent grant strategy.
Should you apply for five grants a year? Ten? Twenty? Should someone on your team be submitting an application every month?
The answer is probably not as simple as you’d like.
There is no magic number of grant applications that every nonprofit should submit each year.
The right number depends on your organization’s size, funding needs, capacity, programs, existing funder relationships, and the number of genuinely aligned opportunities available.
A successful grant strategy isn’t about submitting the most applications. It’s about building a strong pipeline and consistently pursuing the right opportunities.
Here’s how to determine what makes sense for your nonprofit.
Before deciding how many grants to pursue, determine how much grant revenue your organization actually needs.
If your annual budget is $500,000, what portion should realistically come from grants?
Maybe your organization already receives $150,000 from government contracts, $100,000 from individual donors, $50,000 from events, and $50,000 from earned revenue. That leaves a different grant funding need than an organization relying on grants for 70% of its budget.
Start with your revenue strategy—not the number of applications.
Ask:
How much grant funding do we need to support our programs and organizational goals this year?
From there, you can begin identifying the types and sizes of grants that could help you reach that goal.
Not every application will result in an award.
That needs to be built into your planning.
If your organization historically receives funding from one out of every four applications, submitting four proposals isn't a reliable strategy for securing four grants.
Review your previous grant activity.
How many applications did you submit last year?
How many were funded?
How much did you request?
How much did you actually receive?
Were successful applications from existing funders, new funders, or both?
Your historical data can help you develop more realistic expectations.
Also remember that renewal applications to long-term funding partners may have a very different likelihood of success than applications submitted to funders who have never supported your organization.
Don't treat every opportunity equally.
Imagine two nonprofits.
One submits 30 grant applications in a year with minimal research, generic proposals, and limited alignment.
Another submits 12 highly targeted applications after carefully researching each funder, reviewing past giving, developing relationships, and tailoring every proposal.
More applications don't automatically mean more funding.
Grant writing requires significant time. Your team may need to research the funder, collect data, develop a program narrative, create a budget, gather organizational documents, obtain letters of support, and coordinate with program staff.
Every hour spent pursuing a low-probability opportunity is an hour that could have been spent strengthening a better one.
The goal should never be:
“Let's apply for as many grants as possible.”
Instead, ask:
“Which opportunities give us the strongest combination of alignment, need, capacity, and funding potential?”
One of the biggest mistakes nonprofits make is searching for grants only when they need money.
A staff member finds an opportunity.
The deadline is next Friday.
Everyone scrambles.
Documents are gathered. Budgets are created. Program staff are interrupted. The application gets submitted—and then the organization starts searching for the next opportunity.
That's not a grant strategy.
A stronger approach is to maintain an ongoing grant pipeline.
Your pipeline might include current funders, renewal opportunities, high-priority prospects, new funders to research, upcoming deadlines, and longer-term relationship-building opportunities.
Some prospects may not even have an application due this year. They may require months of research or relationship building before your organization is ready to approach them.
That's okay.
Grant seeking is a long-term process.
When organizations set application goals, they often focus heavily on finding new funders.
But retaining existing funders can be just as important.
If you have a foundation that has supported your program for three years, maintaining that relationship should be part of your grant strategy.
Track reporting deadlines. Share impact updates. Thank funders. Communicate meaningful organizational developments. Understand when they're likely to accept another proposal.
Your annual grant plan should include both renewal opportunities and new prospects.
Growth doesn't always mean constantly adding new funders. Sometimes it means deepening relationships with the ones who already believe in your work.
Before setting a goal of submitting 20 applications this year, ask who is going to do the work.
Does your organization have a dedicated grant writer?
Is the Executive Director writing every proposal?
Who develops budgets?
Who gathers program data?
Who manages reporting after the grant is awarded?
Remember: winning more grants also creates more work.
Every successful application can bring reporting requirements, financial tracking, program deliverables, evaluation responsibilities, and funder communication.
Your grant strategy should reflect your organization's capacity to both pursue and manage funding successfully.
Instead of starting with an arbitrary number, create a qualified list of opportunities.
For each prospect, evaluate:
Then prioritize your strongest opportunities.
One nonprofit may identify eight high-quality opportunities for the year. Another may have 20. Both could have strong grant strategies.
The number isn't the strategy.
The quality of your pipeline is.
Grant funding works best when it's proactive rather than reactive.
Set a realistic funding goal. Research prospects throughout the year. Track renewals. Build relationships. Maintain a grant calendar. Evaluate your success rate. And regularly refine your pipeline based on what you're learning.
Instead of asking, “How many grants should we apply for?”
Start asking:
“Are we applying for the right grants?”
At Magic Lamp Consulting, we help nonprofits strengthen their grant research, prospecting, and funding strategies so they can move away from chasing deadlines and toward building a sustainable grant pipeline.
Because a successful grant strategy isn't measured by how many applications you submit.
It's measured by how intentionally you pursue the funding that's right for your organization.