Highlights of The 2021 State of Grantseeking Report

You might have heard that the 2021 State of Grantseeking™ Report, produced by GrantStation is out. The report is based on an informal survey of organizations to help illustrate the current state of grantseeking, offering benchmarks for nonprofits to measure their success and shed light on current trends. This year, GrantStation added a section on grantseeking during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist grant seekers during this unprecedented time. Altogether, nearly 3,500 nonprofits contributed to this survey. 

We summarized the highlights of the report for you because we know you’re busy focusing on your mission. But if you want a deep dive, you can find the full report here. 

Multiple Grant Submissions Increasing Chances of Receiving Awards

Ninety percent of respondents submitted at least one grant application in 2020, and of those, 89% received at least one grant award. The report finds that those who submitted a higher number of applications increased the likelihood of winning awards. Among organizations that submitted just one grant application, 78% won an award. However, 91% of respondents who submitted three to five grant applications received at least one award, and 97% of those who submitted six to ten grant applications received at least one award. So, one way to increase the chance of winning grant awards is to submit at least three applications. 

Private Foundations Are the Largest Funding Source

Private foundations continue to be a funding source for most respondents; 82% received awards from this source. Private foundations were most frequently reported as the largest source of total funding (34%) and the source of the largest award (31%). Although government awards are still “big money,” private foundations are more frequent funders

Grant Funding Sources

Private foundations (82%), community foundations (71%), and corporations (57%) were the most frequently cited sources of grant awards. Corporate gifts of products or services were reported by 28% of respondents. Among government funders, state funding sources (48%) were reported more frequently than local (42%) and Federal (37%) funding sources. Other funding sources (including religious organizations, the United Way, donor-advised funds, civic organizations, and tribal funds) were reported by 9% of respondents.

Largest Source of Total Funding

Private foundations (34%) were the most frequently reported largest source of total grant funding, followed by the federal government (21%) and state government (14%). Community foundations were the largest source of total funding for 10% of respondents, and local government was the largest total funding source for 8% of respondents. Corporate grants and “other” grant sources (including religious organizations, the United Way, donor-advised funds, civic organizations, and tribal funds) were each reported as the largest source of total funding by 7% of respondents. 

Government Funding

Among those respondents that reported government funding sources, state government (74%) was most frequently reported as a government funding source, followed by local government (62%) and the Federal government (61%). Among government award recipients, the Federal government (44%) was most frequently reported as the largest source of total funding, followed by state government (29%), and local government (17%). Ten percent of government award recipients reported non-government funders as their largest source of total funding.

Challenges of Grantseeking 

GrantStation asked respondents what their greatest challenge to successful grantseeking was reported as follows: lack of time and staff for grantseeking activities (22%); difficulty in finding grant opportunities that matched with specific missions, locations, or programs (13%); and increased competition for finite monies (13%).

Organizations by Budget Size

Annual budget impacts grantseeking because it speaks to organizational age and experience and to the size of staff and programs. The following are typical organizations that received their largest award from each funder type. If you are new to grantseeking, you may choose to apply to funders who have provided awards to organizations that are demographically similar to your organization.

Most respondents received relief specific to the COVID-19 pandemic

Most respondents applied for coronavirus-specific grant awards or coronavirus relief funding administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Of those organizations that received coronavirus-specific awards, the median of the largest individual grant was $25,000. The median total amount of the coronavirus relief funding administered by the SBA was $77,750. Grant funding is available for those organizations that engage in active grantseeking.