By Ashley Schultz, Manager of Research and Consultation
When grant professionals describe their work, people often imagine a solitary writer hunched over a keyboard in an office filled with classical music, with awarded funds just a few keystrokes away.
In reality, grantseeking is a rigorous, multi-stage endurance event that demands far more than just writing prowess. From the moment a project sparks an idea to the final report submitted long after the funds arrive, grant professionals must juggle a massive number of tasks. They sort through thousands of funding opportunities across multiple databases, decode 100+ page application packets, facilitate collaboration among diverse teams, create workflows, enforce deadlines, and oversee every step of the submission process. It is an intricate dance of strategy, organization, and perseverance. Do your family and friends think you are just writing? Tell them to think again. The hidden marathon of the profession requires dedication, training, and a deep understanding of every mile.
If you have ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks involved in securing grant funding, you are not alone. This guide will run through the often-unseen stages of the grantseeking marathon, offering insights and strategies to help you navigate the course with greater efficiency and achieve your funding goals. So, lace up your shoes! We are diving deep into the true nature of the grantseeking journey.
STEP ONE: Planning and Preparation
A successful marathon, like a successful grant application, relies on careful preparation before the actual effort begins. Just as no runner impulsively tackles 26.2 miles, no seasoned grant professional randomly chases funding. Early groundwork ensures every subsequent action in the grantseeking process is deliberate and aligned with clear, purposeful objectives.
(a) Assess your fitness level and set goals. Runners, their family members, and their medical professionals start any running journey with a frank assessment of the current state. Why do they want to run a marathon? Can their body handle the strain? What is the goal of all that work?
Grant professionals run similar evaluations when their organization leadership tasks them with capturing funds. They ask important questions about the upcoming project, such as What problem will it solve? Who will benefit? What specific activities will take place? Can the organization absorb these new activities in its current structure without feeling overburdened? This groundwork is crucial for defining the project's core purpose and ensuring organizational readiness before seeking external funds.
Pro Tip: We all know those crazy runners who marathon “just for fun.” Avoid a similar pitfall in your own organization of grantseeking “just to increase revenue.” Successful teams approach each grant initiative with clearly stated objectives that start new or improve existing service delivery.
(b) Choose a race and make a commitment. Runners then face the task of researching marathon events – weighing factors like time of year, distance from home, and hilliness of the course. The optimal race gives them ample time to work through a full training regimen that avoids undue risk on important joints.
For a grant professional, this is the critical stage of researching prospective funding opportunities. They pour through various grant databases, government websites, foundation directories, and professional networks to identify potential funders whose missions align with their new project. The best funding candidates support their organization type, geographic area, and ideal outcomes, while also providing enough time to build a complete and competitive proposal before the due date.
STEP TWO: Training
With a clear end goal and timeline in mind, runners and grant professionals are off to the races (pun intended). For runners, training is the longest and most demanding stage of the process, lasting anywhere from 6 weeks to 4+ months, as they build endurance, speed, and mental toughness while minimizing risks on race day.
(a) Build an appropriate training plan. Runners preparing for a marathon build out extensive training plans with varied workouts (long runs, tempo runs, intervals), cross-training, proper nutrition, hydration, adequate rest, and lots of Spotify playlists. This work ensures they are not only physically capable of completing the marathon but also that they do so in the healthiest and most enjoyable way possible.
The process for grantseekers is equally active. They build teams of internal and external collaborators who will assist in getting the project across the finish line. Like how runners balance their short and long runs, grant professionals assign varied roles in the proposal development process. This ensures an effective mix of hands-on contributors and committed leadership (like board members, the executive director, and department heads) who are crucial for project execution and grant compliance.
With the project team established, grant professionals then create a detailed calendar that assigns responsibilities. This ensures everyone is aware of crucial dates—from meeting schedules and draft deadlines to final application submission timelines—and understands their specific roles in each task.
(b) Gather your essential gear. Runners enhance their training with specialized gear, including performance clothing, shoes, water bottles, and fitness tracking apps. This equipment offers practical training benefits while also making the experience more enjoyable and colorful.
For a grant professional, this stage involves compiling vital application components. Physical gear is replaced with virtual copies of IRS determination letters, financial audits, board lists, resumes of key personnel, organizational budget, letters of support, and evaluation data. Data to support the project’s problem statement and preliminary outlines of the anticipated budget are added as well.
Pro Tip: Runners keep their gear in a noticeable place as a visual cue and a psychological nudge for days with low motivation. Keep your grantseeking team similarly engaged by storing important application documents in an obvious, centralized, and easily accessible location.
STEP THREE: Race Day
Weeks of planning and preparation culminate in this moment. It is time for the shoes to hit the pavement and for the pens to meet the paper! "Race Day" is when all a grant professional’s strategically built plans and carefully gathered content transform into a compelling and powerful grant narrative.
(a) Go! After a flurry of parking, packet pickup, and pre-race nutrition, runners gather at the starting line to begin their 26.2-mile journey.
Grant professionals experience a similar flutter in their stomach as they stare at an empty page that is ready to be filled with content. They follow the course set by the funder, crafting a compelling story that addresses all sections requested in the funding guidance. They tailor their language to resonate directly with the funder’s unique priorities and guidelines.
(b) Pace yourself. A disciplined, consistent speed is vital for successful marathon completion. Paced runners have better management over their energy, while reducing the risk of injury, fatigue, and late-race discouragement.
Grant writing requires a similar degree of controlled pacing to ensure the very last question of the proposal is answered with the same level of detail and care as the first. Writers must also build in time for proofreading - inspecting for grammar, spelling, clarity, consistency, and adherence to funder guidelines. Reviews often occur over multiple rounds, involving project team members, leadership, and potentially an external reviewer, to gather comprehensive feedback.
Pro Tip: Writers and runners should both stop for snacks and proper hydration. While at your desk, stretch every 30-60 minutes in areas commonly affected by prolonged sitting. Try out neck rolls, shoulder shrugs, arm circles, wrist flexes and extensions, and gentle back twists.
STEP FOUR: Post-Race Cooldown and Recovery
This final stage begins immediately after crossing the finish line and continues for several weeks. Just as a runner embarks on a period of post-race recovery, grant professionals shift their attention to consolidating application information, following up with funders, and managing post-award requirements for successful proposals.
(a) Celebrate. Runners are met at the marathon finish line by an enthusiastic crowd, receiving snacks, water, and mementos like medals or T-shirts to commemorate a job well done.
Grant professionals straddle the fence of being both the person celebrated and the person leading the celebration for others. They take an internal moment to savor the accomplishment of clicking submit on an application and then turn to share that joy with their project team. They send messages confirming submission and recognizing each member for their contribution to the effort. Some even incorporate a tradition of ice cream, donuts, or other treats after a successful proposal is wrapped.
(b) Recuperate. As the runner’s high subsides and the sore muscles wake up, marathoners move through an active recovery plan that allows their body to repair and relax post-race.
Grant professionals experience a similar recuperation after clicking submit. They "clean up shop" by saving final application documents, including submission confirmations, for easy reference. They also establish systems to monitor their application's progress with reviewers, ready for any follow-up questions or requests from the funder.
This recovery period is vital, as successful applications initiate a new set of responsibilities for grant professionals. Post-award tasks—reviewing grant agreements, executing projects, and meticulously maintaining records of expenditures, activities, and progress—continue for the entire grant award duration, which can sometimes span more than two years.
So, the next time someone pictures you hunched over a keyboard, it is my hope that you can more accurately explain the full scope of your "race." The grantseeking profession is not just about the words on the page; it is about an entire, well-run marathon of research, organization, collaboration, composition, and management. I also encourage you to consider each completed application (whether it is successful or denied) as an effective way to strengthen your organization’s grantseeking muscles - preparing you and your team to tackle even greater distances in the future.