Build a Grantseeking Team
It is not uncommon for nonprofit organizations to have a small grant office, or just one or two staff members responsible for grantseeking. If you lead the grants program, you may feel stretched thin and unable to pursue as many funding opportunities as your organization wants, needs, and deserves.
Yet effective grantseeking is rarely a solo effort. It requires a coordinated team. Before looking outside your organization for additional support, consider the talent already around you. Your staff, board members, volunteers, program participants, and community partners offer a wealth of expertise, lived experience, relationships, and creativity. Building a grants team is often less about recruiting new people and more about intentionally engaging those who are already connected to your mission.
The question shifts from: “Who can we recruit to help write proposals?” to “Whose existing strengths can we strategically activate?”
Identifying and Aligning Internal Talent
Start by mapping the skills, experience, and interests already present within your organization. You may discover hidden expertise:
