ARTICLE
10 Things You Should Do if Your Grant Proposal is Rejected
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Updated - 03/29/2024
Unfortunately rejections will happen – both in your personal life and your professional life.
When it comes to applying for grants, rejections can be particularly dejecting.
But a “no” from a potential funder doesn’t have to be the end of the process.
Here are our top 10 recommendations on what you should do with a rejection letter from a funder:
- Don’t take it personally. They rejected your proposal, not you.
- Call the funder to see if they can offer any insights on why the proposal was not funded.
- Request a copy of the reviewer’s comments.
- Ask if you can resubmit in the next funding cycle and how you can strengthen your proposal.
- Extend an invitation for them to tour your facility and see your programs in action.
- Research the Competition. Learn from the strengths of other proposals and try to apply that to your grant writing.
- Take copious notes. Keep track of the feedback you have received so that you can reference this when your next proposal is due.
- Move on – go back to your potential funding matrix and select another proposal to knock out of the park!
- Ask for another set of eyes. Make sure you have someone else read your proposal to ask questions and strengthen the language from an outside perspective.
- Hire a professional to review your proposal before you press submit.
We wish we could tell you that you will receive a successful award letter for every grant that you submit. Sadly, that isn’t reality. However, how you handle the rejection will make a big difference.
We have had our fair share of rejection letters, but getting that one successful reward letter makes it all worthwhile. Take a deep breath and follow the steps above.
As part of Bloomerang’s Content Donation Program, $100 was donated to Impact One Breast Cancer Foundation.
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