The to do list after the award or denial email is just as important as the application itself. This resource provides my suggested approach for what to do in either case, and how Grantary can help.
The short version
Win or lose, update your grant tracker immediately. All important details should be added to ensure sustainability of your work.
Send a thank you to the funder immediately. For a win, follow up with a formal tax acknowledgement after the payment is received. For a loss, ask for feedback.
For award notifications, loop in your Finance/Accounting and Program teams and clearly communicate roles and responsibilities in meeting all grant outcomes and spending requirements.
Add future reporting and grant deadlines to your tracker, so you can be prepared.
For reports, start by gathering outcome data as that will inform what the narrative needs to support.
Decide on whether to apply for funding again.
After a win or loss, always go back to thoughtful and strategic cultivation.
What should you do after you win a grant?
Congratulations! You just won a grant. Take some time to celebrate the win with your team and pat yourself on the back for all the great work you put into responding to the grant solicitation. After a win, I recommend completing the following actions:
1. Update your grant tracker.
Upon notification, immediately update your grant tracker to reflect the win and the amount awarded.
Upload all relevant PDF files to the grant opportunity if they are not already uploaded. This should, at minimum, include the PDF versions of the final grant agreement and budget.
Add in all details about the grant contract/agreement including expected payments, revenue recognition, contract outcomes, grant term, and communication requirements.
Add in notes or details about why you feel you were awarded the opportunity. Any context helps when reapplying again in the future.
2. Send an informal thank you email.
The relationship owner should send a brief thank you to the funder for their generous gift supporting your mission.
Reply to the grant award email, and make sure to include any key contacts that might not be included.
I strongly advise that this thank you email be sent within 24 hours of the grant award notification. Someone just provided your organization with a lot of money. Therefore, it’s important to be eager with your gratitude.
3. Inform your Finance/Accounting team of the award.
Forward the award notification to the Finance/Accounting department so they can also be aware of the incoming revenue.
In this email, also include applicable info such as:
Final budget files
Grant term
Expected payment date
More than likely, your Accounting team will provide guidance on revenue recognition.
4. Promptly sign the grant agreement or contract.
If you have a legal or compliance team that needs to review the agreement before it gets signed, make sure to get it to them quickly.
Ideally, it should take no longer than a week to return the signed agreement. Delaying a signature may display a lack of need or lack of urgency to a funder that just awarded you a grant.
Confirm that the payment information you provided to the funder is accurate so they can send the check or ACH to the right place.
5. Send a post-win email to your team.
Send an email to all individuals that need to be looped in regarding the grant. This should include program leaders or others who are responsible for spend down or meeting grant outcomes.
This email should contain a full recap on your grant request, expected outcomes, total budget, spending requirements, and reporting requirements.
Clearly designate who is responsible for what to ensure that the grant gets spent properly and all the outcomes are met.
6. Check for and record the grant payment.
Check often to see if the grant payment has come through.
Once the payment comes through, mark the grant payment as received in your grant tracker.
7. Send formal tax acknowledgement & thank you letter.
Once a grant payment has been received, you should then send a formal letter to the funder thanking them for their support and acknowledging receipt of payment.
This letter should serve as a tax acknowledgement, which is often required for audit purposes.
8. Prepare now for future reporting and solicitations.
Read the grant agreement to identify all upcoming reporting deadlines and requirements.
Enter these deadlines to your grant tracker so you can plan for them as time progresses.
Similarly, have the next upcoming grant deadline added to your tracker so you can be prepared to submit a renewal application.
9. Back to engagement.
One grant award does not guarantee a renewal during the next grant cycle.
Therefore, it is vital to continue to schedule regular touch points with the funder.
Add in Stewardship/Engagement activities in your grant tracker. These can include a quarterly progress/update email or a hand written note containing a participant story (ideally someone impacted by the funding).
10. Complete the grant reports.
I consider grant reports as an opportunity for cultivation of the relationship. I recommend going above and beyond in the narrative or presentation of the narrative (formatting, etc.) to convey the impact and importance of this funding. Even for small awards, it is important to make the funder feel valued for their contribution.
Most reports ask for successes, challenges, progress of grant outcomes, breakdown of how grant was spent (expenditure report), and lessons learned.
It is often helpful to start with gathering the outcome data as that will inform successes and challenges to highlight in the narrative.
If outcomes are not achieved, a funder will want to know why. Generally, they are understanding of the many variables that impact nonprofit work, and it is our job to explain obstacles or barriers that led to lower outcomes.
11. Submit your next grant.
Confirm that this is a grant opportunity you would like (or are able) to reapply for:
Let’s be honest: some grant award reporting requirements are too burdensome to justify reapplying. Hopefully that’s not the case for your grant award. If the reporting was manageable, plan to reapply.
If you’ve maintained contact with the funder and have a solid relationship, plan to reapply.
Some funders require a break between funding (1-3 years, usually). If that is not the case, plan to reapply.
Submit your next grant and mark it as submitted in your grant tracker.
If and when awarded, start again from the top.
What should you do after a grant is denied?
Sorry for your grant loss – it happens to the best of us. After a denial, I recommend completing the following actions:
1. Update your grant tracker.
Immediately upon notification, update your grant tracker to reflect the loss.
Upload all relevant PDF files to the opportunity if they are not already uploaded. This can include the PDF versions of the denial letter or email.
Add in notes or details about why you feel you were not awarded the opportunity. Any context helps when reapplying again in the future.
2. Thank you & feedback request email.
If possible, request some feedback from the funder and use this feedback as a way to learn and improve.
This is usually done via email. I typically reply to the denial email and include the following:
Thank the funder for the consideration and opportunity to apply
Kindly and simply request for feedback (some funders don’t do this, but many see this as an effort to improve and learn and will offer what guidance they can).
Express interest in trying again.
Thank them again for all the great work they are doing to support our community.
There is always next time, so do your best to come back stronger!
3. Decide if you’d like to reapply for funding in the future.
It may be best to not reapply for funding if:
You’ve applied 2-3 times and been denied each time.
Your outreach efforts are ignored.
The funder tells you that you are not a fit for their portfolio or they are prioritizing existing grantees.
Your programming or mission is not quite aligned with the funder.
It may be best to reapply for funding if:
You’ve received some encouragement from the funder.
Your programming or mission is well aligned with the funder.
Your outreach efforts have received a reply or you were able to connect with the funder in some way (site visit, meeting, etc.)
4. Continue to prioritize cultivation and outreach.
If you decide to reapply for funding, it is vital to continue to schedule regular touch points with the funder.
They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, just don’t be too squeaky. Quarterly outreach will suffice in keeping the funder aware of your work and your interest in receiving funding.
If they’ve never heard of your program or the impact of your work, start there.
I try to frame outreach as: “This is how my organization can help you (the funder) achieve your mission” or “I’d love to learn more about how we can support your (the funder’s) mission.”
5. Prepare for future solicitations.
Have the next upcoming grant cycle noted within your grant tracker so you can be prepared to submit a new application.
Where Grantary fits
Grantary was designed to include all the key compliance components required for thorough post-award grant tracking. As a result, it helps guide you through storing and tracking all this information for each of your grants. In addition, pre-built reports help you easily pull all active grants to view grant period, grant outcomes, and agreements/contracts.
Here’s a list of what Grantary helps you track:
Expected and received payments.
Notes that house the context, reasons, or feedback for grant wins and losses.
Files for grant agreements, budgets, and final narratives.
Revenue recognition per program and per fiscal year.
Grant start date, end date, and revenue restrictions (restricted, unrestricted)
Since you’re able to invite as many users as you’d like, your Finance, Accounting, Legal, Compliance, and Program leaders can all have access to view this information. Control their permissions – set them as admins, editors, or read-only. Instead of sending a post-award email, you can link directly to the Grantary opportunity instead.
How soon should you thank a funder after an award?
Immediately. The relationship holder should send an informal thank you within 24 hours of receiving the award notification.
Should you ask a funder why your application was denied?
This is optional. It can be helpful to request feedback regarding why your application was denied. Most likely, you will receive a generic response to this question. Sometimes, based on the funder, you will receive detailed feedback, which can be tremendously helpful with future grant applications. In other words, you could, you maybe should, but don’t anticipate receiving substantial feedback.
How do you explain missed outcomes in a grant report?
It’s important to be honest in explaining why outcomes were not met. Do not falsify outcomes, and do not try to make unreasonable excuses for not meeting these outcomes. In my experience, if outcomes were not met, this is typically due to staffing shortages, staffing turnover, or some circumstance related to program enrollments. A reduction in enrollments will have cascading effects on other key program outcomes. Overall, be honest and lead with how you are improving your programming or staffing to avoid not meeting outcomes in the future.
When can you reapply to a funder who turned you down?
As soon as the next grant application period. However, before you do so, it’s important to consider whether this funder is worthwhile to reapply for.
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