Major Grants Aren’t Just Bigger Grants

I hear it every week.

Another organization announces a multi-million-dollar award. I barely get through the press release before someone asks—or vents—about why they didn’t secure the grant.

“This funder has been on our prospect list for years,” they say.

The caller isn’t questioning the recipient’s merit. Their own programs are strong. Their mission aligns with that of the funder. Their staff is top notch. Yet they were not selected.

When years of hope dissolve into disappointment, the burn is tangible.

If you believe your organization belongs in the grants stratosphere, quality isn’t the likely barrier.

It’s strategy.

That strategy shows up in multiple places for grant seekers. It takes shape in the language you use, the portfolios you manage, and the way you engage funders.

It begins by naming this body of work.

Words Matter

My work screamed novice when I began pastel classes. As my skills improved, others began calling me an artist. That label felt uncomfortable, but as I embraced it, I took my work more seriously. Others did, too.

The same holds with major grants. When you call a subset of your grants major, it’s a declaration that this is specialized work, and that different rules apply.

Our individual giving peers understand this distinction. Research shows that donors giving over $50,000 annually make up just 0.3 percent of individual philanthropy but account for 45 percent of that pie. That’s a stunning statistic that has spun dedicated training and career paths to support it.

Institutional philanthropy shows the same pattern. Foundations awarding over $100 million annually represent 0.1 percent of funders but control more than a third of all grant dollars.

Remarkable.

And yet, we resist applying parallel infrastructure to major grants.

Sure, foundations’ total share of philanthropy is less than that of individuals. But many organizations are over-indexed on foundation funding. In other cases, nonprofits’ budgets are so large that foundations represent a significant part of a diverse revenue stream.

Add major grants to your organization’s vocabulary, and you set an office-wide expectation that you’re competing at a new level. Next, it’s time to frame the work.

Portfolios Matter

Many nonprofits organize their work in ways that distract from their most promising investors. When a grant seeker manages an entire portfolio, the $10,000 applications with firm deadlines win the attention game. They’re concrete, manageable, and satisfying to complete.

Meanwhile, the transformational opportunities—those that require CEO involvement and strategic positioning—get pushed to next week, repeatedly. Without a hard deadline, this work slides until a precipitating event, like a sudden RFP or funder introduction. Then, the scramble begins.

When you segment your top-tier foundation prospects into a major grants portfolio, you regularly set aside time for the strategies that attract significant funders. Like our major gifts colleagues, you can create collateral that appeals to that top 5-10% of investors and tailor each engagement from there.

This collective approach saves time. When you view your top prospects jointly, you can craft messages that resonate with multiple funders, then communicate where and how you expect those audiences will be receptive.

There are other perks. Risk-averse funders don’t want to invest alone. A portfolio approach builds confidence creating an ecosystem of investors. One energized foundation can start a domino effect within its peer network. Momentum starts with buzz and leads to funding.

That social proof increasingly determines how big foundation decisions come about.

Trends Matter

Private grants have changed in ways few acknowledge. The shifts disadvantage organizations that treat major grants like writing exercises.

Communication is critical, but it goes far beyond funding applications.

The most successful clients I work with inject the messages and positioning we create into a comprehensive frame that advances the entire major grants portfolio.

Years ago, when I realized the benefits of this discovery, my consultancy stopped drafting client proposals. I still help clients shape their words, sharpen them, and deploy them. But the largest grants rely more on relationships and reputation than proposal writing.

I expect this trend to come into full bloom as AI takes on funding applications: Major grant contenders will increasingly engage foundations through multiple channels.

The biggest investments I’ve been part of closed with the fewest words on paper. They codified a series of conversations. It’s the work that comes beforehand that matters more.

Repurpose that work, and you can attract the stealth funders that make up a growing proportion of philanthropy. It’s easy to assume there’s nothing you can do to attract the prospects lurking in your cyber and in-person circles. This is the biggest myth about modern grant seeking.

Preparation for your open invite grant makers doubles as assets for the invisible investors circling in the wings. With strategy and intention, you really can attract sizable grants from unknown sources.

Strategy Over Scrambling

Most organizations treat each major opportunity as unique. Of course, all funders are different. You could say the same about individuals. Big investors of all stripes have a core interest: Is your organization a sound investment?

Consolidate all grant activity around that premise.

It will stop you from chasing monthly application quotas. It will help you decide whether to drop everything for a long-shot opportunity. It will help you attract the right investors to join your organization’s journey.

A major grants mindset doesn’t eliminate bursts of activity, but it rewards attempts to do the opposite. It demands actions that serve all top-tier funders. It helps stealth foundations find you and, when you submit applications, makes you familiar to the grant maker.

It requires slowing down and thinking big.

Major grants are more than bigger versions of modest awards. They require investible opportunities worthy of your organization’s next-stage ambitions. As a group, they demand their own language, portfolios, and positioning.

When you prepare for major grants holistically, they trigger other large awards. The benefits trickle down to your modest and mid-sized funders. They can even strengthen your major gifts portfolio.

When organizations lean into major grants, big awards stop feeling like lightning strikes. They become deliberate, strategic wins.