July 29, 2025
The Impact Issue #72: Win Grants By Leaning On And Learning From Your Peers
Explore new funders through nonprofits like yours.
Hi everybody!
Do you ever feel like you’ve exhausted your grant search?
Well, this week’s edition is all about finding unexpected funders through your peers. (And no, it doesn’t require combing through pages of 990s.) Plus we’ve got a free gift, networking opportunities, new grants, and more.
So grab your coffee and settle in.
Welcome to The Impact.
Pitfalls and Pointers
⚠️ Pitfall: Ignoring Who Funds Your Peers
Focusing on your organization’s fundraising strategy is important—but you shouldn’t focus too much that you miss what’s happening around you.
There’s a lot to learn from looking at peer nonprofits, including potential grants to pursue. Don’t make the mistake of putting on blinders and missing good-fit funders that have a proven record of investing in organizations like yours.
💡 Pointer: Utilize a Grant Reverse Search Strategy to Find Funders
Looking up who funds similar organizations is a great prospecting strategy. However, many grant writers avoid this approach because it can require digging through pages of 990 tax documents.
Thankfully, there’s an easier way. Enter Instrumentl’s Reverse Search feature.
With Instrumentl, finding funders who give to nonprofits like yours takes no time:
- Use the quick find search bar to look up a nonprofit similar to yours
- Select the organization’s recipient profile
- Scroll down to the list of past awards received to see a list of previous funders, their grant amounts, location, and purpose
- Select any funder to see if they have active grants available
It’s really that easy!
🧐 See Instrumentl’s Reverse Search feature in action!
🎁 A Gift for You 🎁
Finding good-fit funders isn’t always easy. If it were, we wouldn’t be here!
We’ve learned a lot over the years from grant professionals just like you about what it takes to win more funding, and we’ve put together The Ultimate Find New Funders in Your Backyard Playbook to help.
This resource features six prospecting tactics that will transform how you find new funders and includes tips and tricks on how you can leverage Instrumentl to up your grant game.
Expert Perspectives
🏆 Rachel Werner on the Importance of Funder and Peer Communications
Rachel Werner, owner and CEO of RBW Strategy LLC, understands that communication can be scary. In this webinar, she breaks down the importance of communicating with funders and your peers.
Here’s her expert advice:
- Build relationships grounded in mutual connections. Leverage mutual connections when starting relationships with funders. Ask a board member, volunteer, or peer organization if they have any connections and can make an introduction. This will help start off your relationship with a shared interest.
- Assess your alignment. As you explore prospective funders, it’s important to understand your shared interests and goals. If there isn’t an alignment between your missions, then you’re unlikely to receive funding.
- Don’t be afraid to reach out to your peers. Cold emails, especially for advice, can be intimidating. But don’t let the fear hold you back. Email organizations who have previously been funded by the grantmaker you’re pursuing. See if they have any best practices or insights to share that helped them land an award.
☕ Get the whole scoop on taking the fear out of funder and peer communications!
Opportunities Spotlight
🌎 Justice40 Accelerator Program
Who It’s For: Nonprofits advancing community-driven climate solutions in underserved communities
Next Deadline: August 31, 2025
Grant Amount: $25,000
The Details:
The Justice40 Accelerator is helping to address climate, environmental, and social injustices, funding a 12-month learning program to help communities deliver climate-related solutions. Preference is given to nonprofits that impact underserved communities and have BIPOC leadership.
💧 Grassroots Leadership Fund - General Support Funding
Who It’s For: Urban nonprofits dedicated to climate-related activities
Next Deadline: December 13, 2025
Grant Amount: $7,500/year (two-year grant)
The Details:
The Grassroots Leadership Fund is partnering with the Kresge Foundation to help provide resources to low-income, historically marginalized communities who are facing flooding. This grant is intended to build organizational capacity to help a nonprofit grow its impact.
⌨️ Start your own grant search on Instrumentl today!
Networking Nook
💻 Webinar: How to Save 15 Hours per Week With Smarter Grant Tracking
July 31 | 1:00 PM CT
Managing multiple funders, deadlines, and documents is no easy feat — especially when you're juggling it all in an endless loop of spreadsheets. In this workshop, we’ll dig into practical strategies for organizing your grants portfolio — from application to award.
By the end of this one-hour workshop with Instrumentl, you’ll learn:
- 3 signs of organized grants management
- 7 actionable solutions for common grant management problems
- Key elements of “smarter” grant tracking to save up to 15 hours per week in research & management of your grants pipeline
Professional Credits: This session covers GPCI Competency 2. Full participation in this event is applicable for 1.0 points in Category 1.B - Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
Don’t miss it!
📅 Conference: The Nonprofit Alliance Leadership Summit
September 8-10 | St. Petersburg, FL
Join nonprofit leaders to address critical challenges facing the sector, including budget cuts, changes in donor trends, and more. Over the course of this two-day conference, you’ll work alongside peers to develop practical solutions to protect and advance your priorities—and have fun while doing it.
Don’t Miss Out!
To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.
In Case You Missed It
📑 Article: Demystifying IRS Form 990-N: What Nonprofits Should Know
An organization’s Form 990 is so much more than just a federal requirement. You can glean a lot of information from this document if you know where to look. We walk you through the form in this step-by-step guide to help demystify the process.
📼 Video: How to Find Relevant Grants for Your Nonprofit
Instrumentl can help you find relevant grants for your nonprofit in no time, focusing on the best-fit opportunities to save you time and resources. This short video shows just how quick and easy it can be.
🎙️ Podcast: Nonprofit ROI: 5 Tips to Stay Relevant to Funders and Win More Grants
Join grant professional Teresa Huff to learn more about how to stay relevant to funders, maximizing your return on impact to increase their engagement. You’ll learn tips on how to stay relevant, optimized, and interacting in meaningful ways.
Your Peers Are Your Friends
The best friendships are mutually beneficial, allowing you to learn and grow from each other. Instrumentl can help decode some of those peer relationships so you don’t have to.
- Share the latest Form 990s. Instrumentl pulls together the latest tax filings so you don’t have to spend time manually searching.
- Synthesize the data into easy-to-understand reports. You can quickly see giving areas, average grant size, and more.
- Provide contact details to help you reach out if you want to connect directly. Bonus points if you can identify connections who can make a personal introduction.
🎉 Sign up today to see just why Instrumentl is worth the hype!
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