What Should I Do With a Rejected Grant Proposal Notification?

Unfortunately rejections will happen – both in your personal life and your professional life.

Here are our top recommendations on what you should do with a rejection letter from a funder:

1. Don’t take it personally. They rejected your proposal - not you.

2. Call the funder to see if they can offer any insights on why the proposal was not funded.

3. Request a copy of the reviewer’s comments.

4. Ask if you can resubmit in the next funding cycle and how you can strengthen your proposal.

5. Extend an invitation for them to tour your facility and see your programs in action.

6. Research the Competition. Learn from the strengths of other proposals and try to apply that to your grant writing.

7. Take copious notes. Keep track of the feedback you have received so that you can reference this when your next proposal is due.

8. Move on – go back to your potential funding matrix and select another proposal to knock out of the park!

9. 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.

10. 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 the successful reward letter makes it all worthwhile. Take a deep breath and follow the steps above.

Contact us: www.therayvangroup.com