By Elizabeth Smith, Business Manager & Research and Grant Writing Consultant
Foundation grants remain one of the most significant sources of nonprofit funding in the United States. According to Candid, foundation giving totaled $104 billion in 2023, representing 19 percent of all charitable giving. Yet recent research also revealed that nearly one in ten nonprofits did not apply for any foundation grants between 2021 and 2023.
Behind this statistic are real organizations and people navigating difficult decisions about where to focus limited time, energy, and resources. Nonprofit leaders frequently describe feeling stretched across many roles while trying to sustain programs, support communities, and secure funding. In that context, grant seeking can begin to feel less like an opportunity and more like another demanding responsibility layered onto an already full plate.
When Capacity and Uncertainty Hold Organizations Back
Candid’s findings point to familiar challenges: limited staff capacity, uncertainty about how to approach funders, questions about eligibility, and discouragement following unsuccessful proposals. Together, these experiences can quietly lead organizations to step back from foundation funding altogether, even when their work aligns deeply with philanthropic priorities.
Across Alloy’s partnerships with nonprofits, these themes surface again and again. Grant seeking, while promising, can feel resource-intensive and uncertain. After repeated grant applications without clear feedback, many organizations begin to question whether the effort is sustainable.
What we’ve learned is that the barrier rarely has to do with commitment or belief in the work. More often, it’s navigating a complex landscape without enough support.
This is where partnership can make a meaningful difference.
Seeing Grants as Part of a Larger Fundraising Strategy
At Alloy, we approach grant seeking as an integrated part of a nonprofit’s overall fundraising strategy rather than a stand-alone activity. Our role begins with listening and learning about an organization’s goals, capacity, programs, and growth trajectory. Through our strategic consulting, we work with nonprofits to clarify how grants fit within their development plan and prioritize the opportunities that align most strongly with their mission and readiness.
When nonprofits step back and consider grant seeking within the full picture of their fundraising efforts, the questions themselves begin to change. This strategic grounding shifts the conversation from “How many grants can we apply for?” to “Which opportunities truly advance our mission and sustainability, and what combination of funding approaches will support that work?”
By viewing grants within the context of a broader fundraising strategy, leaders often experience a sense of clarity and relief, enabling them to move forward with intention rather than urgency. From that place of clarity, the work of identifying and pursuing aligned funders becomes more focused and manageable.
Alloy Tip: If grant seeking has started to feel overwhelming, it may be time to step back and revisit strategy. Taking a moment to focus on the funders who are most closely aligned with your work can often lead to stronger results than submitting more applications.
Bringing Clarity to the Grant Landscape
Thoughtful research and prospect development can help nonprofit staff and board leaders approach funders with greater confidence and clarity. Yet for many nonprofits, the grant landscape still feels opaque and difficult to navigate. Questions about funder priorities, openness to new applicants, and geographic or programmatic fit can make it hard to know where to begin.
Alloy’s research services are designed to bring transparency to this process by identifying aligned funders and translating guidelines into clear next steps. When organizations can see where authentic alignment exists between their work and a funder’s priorities, the work becomes less about searching blindly and more about pursuing meaningful connections.
Alloy Tip: Finding the right funders can make the entire process feel more manageable. In addition to researching aligned foundations, consider tapping into your current network. Board members, donors, and community partners often have insights or relationships that can help connect you with highly aligned funders.
Strengthening the Story Behind the Work
Clear and compelling storytelling is another important way Alloy supports nonprofit partners. Nonprofit leaders often describe the challenge of telling their story in ways that resonate with funders while remaining true to their voice and community.
Through collaborative grant writing, Alloy works alongside organizations to develop narratives that are both compelling and authentic. These conversations frequently extend beyond individual proposals, strengthening messaging that can be carried into broader fundraising and communications efforts.
Alloy Tip: Your story is one of your strongest fundraising tools. When organizations can clearly articulate their mission, impact, and the community they serve, that message strengthens not only grant proposals but donor conversations across the entire fundraising program.
Navigating the Emotional Side of Grant Seeking
Partnership also means acknowledging the emotional dimensions of grant seeking. Candid’s research highlights how rejection without feedback can leave leaders feeling uncertain and discouraged.
At Alloy, we approach each submission as part of an ongoing learning process rather than a standalone outcome. Together, we reflect on decisions, identify patterns, and refine positioning so that insight accumulates over time. This shared reflection helps organizations stay engaged and confident even when results unfold gradually.
Building Capacity That Lasts
Perhaps most importantly, Alloy’s work is rooted in long-term capacity building. While successful proposals matter, our deeper goal is to help nonprofits develop the strategies, tools, and understanding that sustain grant seeking beyond any single cycle and highlight additional funding pathways beyond grants alone.
Funding roadmaps, prospect pipelines, messaging frameworks, and internal processes all contribute to a framework that grows alongside the organization. Over time, this work can transform grant applications from isolated efforts into an integrated and manageable part of a larger development strategy.
Alloy Tip: Grants work best as part of a broader fundraising approach. Developing systems for prospect tracking, messaging, and strategy can help organizations pursue grants more confidently while also opening the door to additional funding opportunities.
How Partnership Makes Sustainable Fundraising Possible
Candid’s findings remind us that stepping away from grants is often a response to structural realities rather than a reflection of organizational readiness or impact. For nonprofits considering how to re-engage, the path forward may not be about doing more alone but about approaching funding with thoughtful guidance, shared learning, and trusted partnership.
At Alloy, we believe fundraising works best when nonprofits are supported by partners who understand both the strategy and the human experience behind the work. Our role is not simply to produce proposals, but to stand alongside organizations as they build confidence, capacity, and momentum over time. Many of our client relationships span multiple years, allowing us to grow alongside the organizations we support and deepen our understanding of their missions, communities, and funding landscapes.
If your organization has paused grant seeking, is unsure where to begin, or is ready to revisit its fundraising approach, we’d love to start a conversation and learn about your work. With Alloy as a partner, fundraising can feel both sustainable and possible.
Statistics referenced in this article are drawn from Candid’s February 2026 insights report on nonprofit participation in foundation grant seeking. Read the original article HERE.
