Compete for philanthropy's largest investments
The organizations that consistently win six- and seven-figure awards don’t write more or stronger proposals. They think differently about how to attract those investments.
Major grants are a distinct discipline, one that spans foundations, donor advised funds, pooled funds, and philanthropic LLCs.
Whether you're preparing for your first $100,000 award or pursuing a seven-figure grant, I’m on a mission to help teams build the strategy, positioning, and workflows that make major grants repeatable.
Let’s discuss your major grants strategy.
Strengthen your long-term major grants capacity, not simply the next proposal. The method revolves around three ideas:
Modern philanthropy has changed.
Many of today's largest private funders don't publish guidelines or accept unsolicited proposals.
They seek out qualified grantees themselves, an approach traditional grant seeking ignores.
2. Major grants compound.
Philanthropic assets have exploded. Awards are growing in size.
Each big investment builds the credibility and leverage that attract the next one. There’s an inherent value in major grants that goes beyond the award itself.
3. Major grants deserve disproportionate energy.
The application-first approach that wins $25,000 doesn’t land $1 million investments.
Writing still matters in major grants, but not where you might expect. Proposals matter at the end of a cultivation process, not at the outset.
Portals and deadlines consume enormous energy—and they’re not where the largest funders spend time.
Clients tell us that the major grants they continue to secure are based in methods we developed together years earlier.
We hired Susan to seed and grow our private grants income. She guided us right to the opportunities that best fit NAMI’s priorities. Our staff now has a sixth sense for the best ways to connect with program officers and position our work. Not only is Susan an invaluable asset to the team, she is a joy to work with, a true extension of our bench. We simply would not be where we are, especially with foundation and corporate giving—seven-figure gifts, triple-digit increases by category—if not for Susan.
— Katrina Gay, Chief Development Officer, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
