Grant Writing for Nonprofits: The Complete Playbook

Grant funding is the financial backbone of thousands of nonprofits in the United States. In fiscal year 2025, the federal government alone awarded over $750 billion in grants, and private foundations distributed approximately $105 billion. Yet the majority of nonprofit leaders I speak with describe grant writing as their single greatest operational challenge -- not because the work is impossibly difficult, but because nobody ever taught them a systematic approach.

This playbook covers the full grant lifecycle for nonprofit organizations, from identifying the right funding opportunities through post-award management. It addresses both federal grants (EPA, USDA, HUD, HHS, and others) and private foundation funding. If your organization has a clear mission, serves a defined community, and can articulate measurable outcomes, you have what it takes to compete for grant funding.

Phase 1: Finding the Right Grants

The most common mistake in nonprofit grant writing is applying to the wrong opportunity. A perfectly written proposal submitted to the wrong funder is still a rejection. Before you write anything, invest serious time in prospect research.

Federal Grant Sources

Federal grants are posted on Grants.gov, but navigating the site requires knowing what to look for. Start by identifying the agencies whose missions align with your work:

• EPA -- Environmental justice, community health, pollution reduction, water quality, brownfield cleanup. The EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) program awards $150,000 to $300,000 for community-based organizations addressing environmental and public health issues.
• USDA Rural Development -- Community facilities, water and waste disposal, rural housing, broadband. The Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program covers 15-75% of project costs for essential community facilities in areas with populations under 20,000.
• HUD -- Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Continuum of Care homelessness funding, Fair Housing initiatives, Section 202 supportive housing for the elderly.
• HHS (Administration for Children and Families) -- Head Start, Community Services Block Grant, Runaway and Homeless Youth, Family Violence Prevention. HHS is the single largest source of grant funding for human services nonprofits.
• Department of Education -- Title programs, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants.
• FEMA -- Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Flood Mitigation Assistance, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC).

Each agency publishes a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for every competitive grant. The NOFO is your blueprint -- it tells you who is eligible, what activities are funded, how much money is available, and exactly how your proposal will be scored.

Foundation and Corporate Grants

Private foundations operate differently from federal agencies. There is no single portal equivalent to Grants.gov. Instead, you need to research foundations individually.

Start with these resources:

• Foundation Directory Online (Candid) -- The most comprehensive database of U.S. foundations, with giving histories, 990 data, and contact information.
• State-level foundation directories -- Many state associations of nonprofits maintain regional directories.
• 990 filings -- Every foundation must file an annual 990-PF with the IRS, which lists every grant they made. Search these on Candid or ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer.

When evaluating a foundation prospect, look for three things: mission alignment, geographic focus, and giving range. A foundation that gives $10,000 grants to environmental organizations in the Pacific Northwest is not going to fund your $500,000 youth program in Georgia, no matter how compelling your proposal.

Building a Grant Calendar

Professional grant writers maintain a 12-month calendar of opportunities. For each prospect, track:

• Funder name and program
• Application deadline
• Award range
• Eligibility requirements
• Required attachments
• Internal writing timeline (start date, draft due, review date, submission date)

Most federal grants operate on annual cycles. USDA Rural Development accepts applications on a rolling basis for some programs and has annual deadlines for others. EPA competitive grants typically open in late fall and close in early spring. HHS program deadlines are scattered throughout the fiscal year.

For foundations, many accept Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) year-round and invite full proposals on a quarterly or biannual basis. Some operate by invitation only and do not accept unsolicited proposals at all.

Phase 2: Pre-Writing Preparation

Assembling Your Documentation Package

Before you draft a single sentence, gather the documents that virtually every funder requires:

1. IRS determination letter -- Proof of your 501(c)(3) status. Every funder will ask for this.
2. Board of directors list -- Names, titles, professional affiliations. Some funders want demographic information.
3. Organizational budget -- Your current fiscal year operating budget, showing revenue by source and expenses by category.
4. Financial statements -- Most recent audited financials, or compiled statements if you are below the audit threshold. Federal grants exceeding $750,000 in annual expenditures trigger the Single Audit requirement.
5. SAM.gov registration -- Required for all federal grants. Includes your Unique Entity ID (UEI). Allow up to four weeks for initial registration.
6. Indirect cost rate -- For federal grants, you either need a federally negotiated rate or you can elect the de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs under the updated Uniform Guidance.

Understanding the Scoring Criteria

Every competitive grant uses a scoring rubric. Federal NOFOs publish the exact criteria and point allocations. If a rubric assigns 30 points to "Community Need," 25 points to "Project Design," 20 points to "Organizational Capacity," 15 points to "Budget," and 10 points to "Sustainability," then your proposal should dedicate proportional attention to each area.

Foundation grants are less transparent about scoring, but most evaluate proposals on need, approach, organizational capacity, measurable outcomes, and sustainability. When in doubt, call the program officer and ask what they prioritize.

Phase 3: Writing the Proposal

The Need Statement

The need statement answers one question: why does this project matter? It establishes the problem your organization will address and provides evidence that the problem is real, significant, and urgent.

A strong need statement includes:

• Local data. Census statistics, county health rankings, school district data, environmental monitoring reports, crime statistics -- whatever quantifies the problem in your specific service area. National statistics provide context, but local data proves that the problem exists where you will be working.
• Affected population. Who is impacted, how many people, and what are the consequences of inaction? Be specific about demographics, geography, and scale.
• Root causes. Demonstrate that you understand why the problem exists, not just that it exists. This shows reviewers that your proposed solution is addressing causes rather than symptoms.
• Gap analysis. What services or resources currently exist, and why are they insufficient? Funders want to know that your project fills a gap rather than duplicating existing efforts.

Avoid the temptation to paint an overwhelming picture of despair. Reviewers respond to clarity and specificity, not dramatic language. A sentence like "The childhood asthma hospitalization rate in our county is 2.3 times the state average, with 67% of cases concentrated in three census tracts adjacent to the industrial corridor" is far more compelling than "Our community is devastated by environmental health crises."

The Project Narrative

The project narrative describes what you will do, how you will do it, who will be responsible, and what timeline you will follow.

Structure your narrative around these components:

Goals and objectives. Goals are broad (reduce childhood asthma hospitalizations), while objectives are specific and measurable (decrease emergency department visits for pediatric asthma by 20% among residents of census tracts 4012, 4013, and 4015 within 24 months). Use SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Activities and methods. For each objective, describe the specific activities your organization will undertake. What will staff do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis? What evidence supports these methods? If you are implementing evidence-based practices, cite the research.

Target population and recruitment. How will you identify and engage the people you intend to serve? What barriers to participation exist, and how will you address them?

Staffing plan. Who will manage the project? What qualifications do they bring? If you are hiring new staff, describe the positions and the recruitment timeline. Reviewers need to believe your team can execute the plan.

Timeline. Present a month-by-month or quarter-by-quarter work plan. Gantt charts work well for complex projects. For simpler grants, a table with milestones and dates is sufficient.

The Budget

The budget is where proposals either gain or lose credibility. A well-constructed budget demonstrates that you have thought through every aspect of implementation. A sloppy budget suggests you have not.

Personnel costs. List each position by title, the percentage of time dedicated to the project (expressed as FTE or percent effort), the annual salary, and the amount charged to the grant. Include fringe benefits as a separate line item or as a percentage applied to each salary line.

Contractual and consultant costs. If you are hiring evaluators, trainers, or other consultants, provide their daily or hourly rate, the number of days or hours, and the total cost. Federal grants cap consultant rates at $750 per day unless you can justify a higher rate in writing.

Travel. Break travel into local (mileage reimbursement at the current GSA rate of $0.70 per mile) and out-of-area travel (airfare, per diem, lodging at GSA rates for the destination city).

Equipment and supplies. Equipment is generally defined as items costing $5,000 or more per unit with a useful life exceeding one year. Everything below that threshold is a supply. List specific items, quantities, and unit costs.

Other direct costs. This catches everything else: printing, postage, meeting space rental, participant incentives, technology subscriptions, background checks, training materials.

Indirect costs. Apply your negotiated rate or the 15% de minimis rate to the appropriate base (usually modified total direct costs, which excludes equipment, subawards above $25,000, and participant support costs).

The Budget Justification

Every line item in your budget needs a narrative justification explaining what the cost is, why it is necessary, and how the amount was calculated. This is not optional for federal grants, and most foundations expect it as well. For a detailed template and examples, see our budget justification guide.

The Logic Model

A logic model is a visual representation of how your project will create change. It maps the causal chain from resources to results:

Inputs (what you invest) --> Activities (what you do) --> Outputs (what you produce) --> Short-term Outcomes (immediate changes) --> Long-term Outcomes (sustained impact)

Many federal grants require a logic model, and even when not required, including one demonstrates sophisticated program design. HHS, EPA, and USDA all explicitly ask for logic models in many of their NOFOs.

A common mistake is confusing outputs with outcomes. Training 200 community health workers is an output. A 15% reduction in preventable hospitalizations among the served population is an outcome. Reviewers know the difference.

Letters of Support

Letters of support demonstrate community buy-in and organizational partnerships. A strong proposal includes letters from:

• Community partners who will refer clients, share resources, or collaborate on implementation
• Local government officials who can speak to the community need and your organization's reputation
• Subject matter experts who can validate your approach
• Beneficiaries or community members who can attest to the need from lived experience

Each letter should be on the signer's letterhead, addressed to the funding agency, and specific to your project. Generic letters that could apply to any organization are not helpful. The letter should state the relationship between the signer and your organization, describe what role (if any) the signer will play in the project, and express support for the specific activities you are proposing.

Request letters at least four weeks before the deadline. Provide each signer with a one-page summary of your project, including the specific goals, activities, and timeline, so they can write an informed letter. Some grant writers draft the letters for their partners, which is common practice -- just make sure the signer reviews and personalizes it.

The Evaluation Plan

The evaluation plan describes how you will measure whether your project achieved its intended outcomes. Federal grants increasingly require both process evaluation (did you implement activities as planned?) and outcome evaluation (did the intended changes occur?).

Process evaluation tracks fidelity of implementation: number of participants served, activities completed, milestones achieved, and any deviations from the original plan.

Outcome evaluation measures the changes resulting from your project. Use pre-post comparisons, standardized instruments, surveys, administrative data, or other methods appropriate to your outcomes.

For grants above $500,000, consider hiring an external evaluator. Many NOFOs require or strongly encourage independent evaluation. Budget 5-10% of total project costs for evaluation -- this signals that you take accountability seriously.

Define your key performance indicators (KPIs) early and build data collection into your implementation plan from day one. Retroactive data collection is unreliable and unconvincing.

Phase 4: Review and Submission

Internal Review Process

Never submit a proposal that only one person has read. At minimum, your review process should include:

1. Technical review -- Does the proposal accurately describe the methods, staffing, and timeline?
2. Budget review -- Do the numbers add up? Is the budget consistent with the narrative? Are calculations correct?
3. Compliance review -- Does the proposal address every requirement in the NOFO? Are all required attachments included? Does the formatting meet specifications (font size, margins, page limits)?
4. External review -- If possible, have someone outside your organization read the proposal. A board member, a colleague at another nonprofit, or a retired program officer can catch issues that internal reviewers miss.

Submission Mechanics

For federal grants submitted through Grants.gov, submit at least 72 hours before the deadline. The system regularly experiences slowdowns near deadlines, and technical failures are not accepted as excuses for late submissions. Your Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must be registered and authorized before they can submit on your behalf.

For foundation grants submitted through online portals, test the portal early. Character limits, file size restrictions, and required fields can create last-minute problems if you discover them an hour before the deadline.

Phase 5: Post-Submission and Beyond

If You Are Funded

Congratulations. Now the real work begins. Federal grants come with extensive reporting requirements under the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200). You will need to:

• Submit progress reports (typically quarterly or semi-annually)
• Track expenditures by budget category
• Maintain time-and-effort documentation for personnel
• Comply with procurement standards for purchases above $10,000
• Submit a final financial and narrative report at the end of the grant period

Designate a staff member as the grants manager and invest in their training on federal compliance. The National Council of Nonprofits and your state association of nonprofits offer trainings and resources.

If You Are Not Funded

Request reviewer feedback. Most federal agencies will provide summary reviewer comments, and these are invaluable for strengthening your next application. Common themes in feedback include:

• Need statement was not sufficiently data-driven
• Proposed methods lacked evidence basis
• Budget was inconsistent with the narrative
• Organizational capacity was not adequately demonstrated
• Evaluation plan was vague or missing key metrics

Use this feedback to revise and resubmit. Many funded proposals were rejected on their first attempt. The organizations that succeed are the ones that treat each rejection as specific, actionable guidance for improvement.

Building Long-Term Grant Capacity

Grant writing is a skill that improves with practice, but it also benefits from infrastructure. The nonprofits that consistently win funding have a few things in common:

They maintain a proposal library. Boilerplate descriptions of the organization, staff bios, financial data, and community need documentation that can be adapted for each new application. This reduces the per-proposal workload dramatically.

They invest in data systems. Outcome tracking, client management, and financial reporting systems that produce the data funders want to see. Organizations with strong data practices write stronger proposals because they can cite their own track record with precision.

They build relationships with funders. Attending webinars, asking questions during the application period, meeting with program officers at conferences, and submitting high-quality reports on current grants. Grant funding is a relationship business, particularly with foundations.

They diversify funding sources. No single grant should represent more than 25-30% of your operating budget. A diversified funding base that includes federal grants, foundation grants, individual donations, earned revenue, and corporate support makes your organization more resilient and more attractive to funders.

Grant writing is demanding, but it is also one of the most direct paths to funding the work that matters. Every dollar of grant funding represents a reviewer who read your proposal and decided that your organization, your plan, and your community deserved investment. The more systematically you approach the process, the more often that investment comes through.

Tools like Granted AI can accelerate the process by analyzing your NOFO, identifying requirements, and coaching you through each section of the proposal. When you are managing multiple deadlines across multiple funders, having a structured workflow makes the difference between submitting a competitive proposal and missing the mark.

Keep Reading

• First-Time Federal Grant Tips for Small Nonprofits
• EPA Environmental Justice Grants in 2026: What Nonprofits Need to Know
• How to Apply for USDA Community Facilities Grants
• See how Granted AI works for nonprofits

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