Guides → How to read a funder RFP before you waste a weekend on it

How to read a funder RFP before you waste a weekend on it

Written for organizations doing this without a development department.

The most expensive mistake in grant seeking is not writing a weak application. It is writing a good application to a funder who was never going to fund you. Twenty minutes of reading prevents it.

Check the hard filters first

Before anything else, confirm:

• Geography. Many funders restrict by county, not state.
• Budget size. "Organizations with budgets between $250,000 and $2 million" excludes you if you are at $80,000, no matter how good the fit.
• Tax status. Some require 501(c)(3) determination; fiscal sponsorship is sometimes accepted, sometimes not.
• Request type. If they do not fund general operating support, do not ask for it.
• Deadline and cycle. Check the year on the page you are reading.

Read the grant range, then read it again

If typical grants are $10,000 to $25,000 and you ask for $90,000, you are signaling you did not read. Ask inside the range, toward the middle unless you have reason to reach.

Find the funder's actual vocabulary

Underline the nouns that repeat: equity, sustainability, access, capacity, systems change, dignity. These are not filler. They are what the reviewer has been told to look for. Your narrative should use those words where they honestly apply to your work.

Look at who they funded last year

Most funders publish a grantee list, and every US foundation's 990-PF lists its grants. Five minutes there tells you more about real priorities than the guidelines page does. If every grantee has a budget ten times yours, believe the pattern.

Notice what they do not say

A guidelines page with no mention of evaluation is telling you something. So is one that spends three paragraphs on measurement. Match the emphasis you find.