What to Do If a Grant Maker Won’t Call You Back

We have all been there: a grant maker is not emailing or calling you back after repeated attempts to connect. You’ve had good conversations and talked a little about a potential proposal. The program officer shows interest.

Then it stops. All messages seem to fall into a black hole. Perhaps you even bump into foundation staffers at an event, but still get no response. They’ve totally “ghosted.”

A lot of questions run through your mind: What did I do to deserve the silent treatment? What do I do now?

When I was a fundraiser, I found myself in similar situations. Even when I knew the funder well, there were instances in which my proposal generated no communication at all.

It can leave one wondering what’s up.

Now, as a grant maker, I can honestly tell you that the situation likely is more complex than it appears. I always encourage my grant-making colleagues to be prompt and transparent in their communications. However, that doesn’t, or can’t, always happen. Here are a few possible reasons.

Even the best-intentioned program officers receive an abundance of communications from grantees and applicants, so it can be difficult for them to respond to everyone. Sometimes foundation leaders change strategies seemingly on a whim, and your proposal may get stuck in a weird in-between space. The program officer may need to clarify foundation priorities before responding. Whatever the reason, it’s far more likely about them than it is about you. Nonetheless, it can be frustrating.

If you find yourself in this situation, here are five tactics that could open up streams of communication.

1. Don’t give up. Keep reaching out and making a plug for your work. It is your job to keep pounding the pavement, and most program officers understand that when you contact them. Even as you wait for a specific proposal, keep them on your e-newsletter list; say hello if you see them at a community event. Stay on their radar because even if this proposal doesn’t come through, one may in the future.

2. Don’t be a pest. Staying on their radar is one thing, but don’t overplay your hand or appear desperate. Reach out a few times and be clear about your interest. However, if they don’t respond, it’s time to move on for now. An average program officer spends at least 50 percent of her job focused on internal strategy development and the many negotiations that come along with it. Only the remaining time can be spent on the field. You’re doing your best job, and you can’t control them. Time to let it go.

3. Make them come to you. It is most likely that you have, or will find, other grants. Use those resources to outperform and overdeliver, setting your nonprofit apart from the rest. Grant makers will notice strong leadership and good work. Make them wonder why they aren’t funding you or don’t have you as a star in their portfolio. You’d be amazed how time and good results can turn the tables.

4. Be gracious and acknowledge our humanity. In the end, we are humans doing the best we can with good intentions. Sometimes we drop the ball. Yes, those with privilege have a responsibility to be good partners, but a little grace is needed from everyone involved. Program officers have influence, but not always power. Just as your job requires you to balance many complexities and make tough choices at times, the same is true for those in philanthropy. No doubt, the power imbalance of philanthropy can be damaging even to healthy organizations, and the bad behavior of some foundation staffers can go unchecked, but don’t shoot the messenger. You’re stronger than that.

5. Collaborate with other nonprofits to unlock funding. At times, a single organization can’t make a clear-enough case to get a proposal over the finish line. This is when working with other organizations may help unlock resources. Building alliances and collaboration can provide a more compelling case to a funder than one organization going it alone. This strategy allows the funder’s resources to support several organizations striving for the same goal versus picking one and hoping for the best. A lot of work needs to happen among the nonprofit organizations to build trust and alignment, but when that happens well, it can be powerful. Funders will look at decision-making structures, resource-sharing strategies, and the integrity of relationships. Nonprofit groups can also model the type of democratic distribution of resources and competition diffusion from which philanthropy can learn. There can be real wins across the board with this approach.

Tyler Nickerson is the former director of investments and state strategy at the Solutions Project. You can find him on Twitter at @tylerwnickerson.