Cynthia M. Adams is President and CEO of GrantStation. 

This past fall GrantStation and PhilanTech conducted the third semi-annual informal survey of nonprofits, The State of Grantseeking Fall 2011. 

Between mid-August and early October 2011, 928 nonprofits of various sizes, in different geographies, representing diverse issue areas completed the survey online. The survey provided a glimpse of some of the grantseeking challenges facing organizations in the fields of Arts and Humanities, Community Development, Education, Health Care, Social and Human Services, and Youth Development. 

Many of the findings were as expected:

• Nonprofits continue to struggle to find the funds to do their jobs.
• Government grants are increasingly more difficult to secure.
• More organizations are applying for grants than in previous years.
• The average grant size stayed relatively the same or decreased.
• Large grant awards come from the government.
• More grant awards are made by private foundations.

Some of the findings were unexpected, such as the need for assistance in researching and finding the right grantmaker to help fund a nonprofit’s programs and projects. Nearly one-third of the respondents said that identifying an appropriate grantmaker was their biggest challenge in securing funding.

GrantStation has, for many years, made it our goal to address this need by uncovering the most recent information regarding grantmakers’ priorities for funding, and by finding numerous ways to share that information with our members and non-members.

According to the survey results, finding the right grantmaker is just part of the battle. Other challenges include trying to make a project “fit” the grantmaker’s priorities, and developing “fundable” projects. Both of these issues, as well as many of the other challenges identified in the survey, will set the stage for webinar trainings as well as new tools and resources that GrantStation will provide in 2012. 

Looking to learn more about GrantStation? Register now to attend this webinar at 11 a.m. (Pacific time) on Tuesday, January 10, for a tour of GrantStation and to learn how a membership can connect your organization to thousands of funding opportunities.