6 Winning Tactics for Your Corporate Grants

You offer or decided to offer a grant program as part of your corporate philanthropy. Here are some “to-dos” to effectively communicate your goals to potential applicants.     

 1. Publish a list of your expectations. Lists help applicants to screen themselves out (i.e., groups you would never fund) and identify fatal flaws (i.e., asking for the wrong project) before preparing a proposal. 

2. State a range of gifts, such as, “Most funded projects range from $500 to $5,000.” (Expect most applications to be at the upper range.)  

3. Establish a firm deadline. Reviewing multiple proposals allows you to compare requests to determine your best value.

4. To increase the quality of requests, designate someone to field emails to pre-judge request concepts. This person responds by indicating which ideas, if any, strike your interest.   

5. To avoid slogging through stacks of information, limit the number of pages that applicants submit. Request just enough information to understand who, what, why, where, and when.

6. Encourage applicants to use links to provide back-up information such as board lists and annual budgets.

Two-Sentence Summary

Good grant tactics save time, grow your social capital, and obtain the great return on your investment.  When it comes to corporate philanthropy, what tactics do you use that create wins?