How to Build a Grant Pipeline for Your Nonprofit 

If you are actively pursuing grants for your nonprofit, you probably have opportunities sitting at very different stages. 

One foundation still needs research. 

Another looks promising but you have not contacted them yet. 

An LOI went out last week. 

A proposal is due next month. 

Another funder gave you money last year and may be worth approaching again. 

A grant pipeline is the system that keeps all of those opportunities organized and moving, so nothing gets missed. 

Instead of approaching every grant as a stand-alone submission, a grant pipeline gives your nonprofit a systematic framework for managing everything from which funders you are researching and which opportunities are worth pursuing, to which applications you have in progress, which need follow-up and which decisions are still pending.

In other words: 

A nonprofit grant pipeline is the process of systematically moving grant prospects from research to qualification, outreach, application, decision, award, reporting and renewal. 

And building one can change your nonprofit’s grant funding game. 

If your nonprofit is already managing several funding opportunities and needs help organizing them, read our guide on how to manage your grant pipeline. 

But if you are just starting out—or your current “pipeline” is really just a spreadsheet of foundations—here is how to build one. 

What Is a Grant Pipeline? 

A grant pipeline is a systematic organization of your grant prospects and funding opportunities throughout various stages of the grant-seeking process. 

Those stages could include: 

Prospect → Researching → Qualified → LOI → Application → Submitted → Pending → Awarded → Reporting → Renewal 

Not every grant prospect needs to move through every stage. 

The foundation may reject your LOI. You may research a grant and determine you do not want to apply. An application may be rejected. An effective grant may become a renewal opportunity eventually. 

That is normal. But the goal of a pipeline is not to make every grant prospect go through the application process. 

The goal is to ensure that: 

It is clear what prospects and grants are worth pursuing, where each opportunity stands and what needs to happen next. 

What Should a Nonprofit Grant Pipeline Include? 

The minimum information your pipeline should include is: 

Pipeline Information	What You Should Know
Funder	Who provides the funding?
Opportunity	Which grant or funding opportunity are you considering?
Alignment	Why is this a good match?
Funding Amount	How much does the funder typically give, and how much will you request?
Stage	Where is the opportunity in your grant pipeline?
Deadline	When is the LOI or grant application due?
Owner	Who is responsible for moving the opportunity forward?
Next Action	What specifically needs to be done next?
Follow-Up	When and how should you follow up?
Decision	When should you expect a response from the funder?
Award	How much funding was awarded?
Reporting	What reports are required, and when are they due?
Renewal	Is there an opportunity to pursue future funding from this funder?

A Grant Pipeline Is Much More Than an Application List 

This is an important distinction to make. 

An application list is not necessarily a grant pipeline. An effective pipeline includes opportunities before, during and after the application. 

Federal Grants.gov defines the federal grant lifecycle in three broad phases: 

Pre-Award → Award → Post-Award 

The pre-award phase covers finding opportunities and preparing an application. The award phase includes decision and award agreement. And the post-award phase involves implementation, reporting and close-out. Of course, private foundation grant lifecycle is not identical to the federal process. But the overall lesson is valid: Winning the grant is not the end of the grant management process. 

Your pipeline should take into account the whole relationship. 

How to Build a Grant Pipeline in 10 Steps 

You do not need hundreds of prospects to begin. You need a systematic process. 

Here is how to build one. 

Step 1: Define What You Actually Need Funding For 

Do not start your grant pipeline with: 

“Let’s find some grants.” 

Start with: 

“What does our organization need funding for?” 

Maybe your nonprofit needs: 

• $75,000 for program expansion 
• $30,000 for technology 
• $50,000 for general operating support 
• $15,000 for staff training 
• $200,000 for a capital project 
• $40,000 for additional program staff 
• $25,000 for equipment 

These needs should inform your prospect research. 

If you begin with a bunch of random grants, you will end up trying to bend your programs around whatever funds you can get. 

If you define your needs clearly, you will be able to research funding sources that match them. 

Before you prospect, define things like what you need the funding for, how much you need, who will benefit, and what kind of funding would work.

This will form the core of your pipeline. 

If you are still learning how different funding types work, read our guide on different types of grants for nonprofits. 

Step 2: Identify Potential Funders 

Now it is time to fill the top of your grant pipeline. 

Potential funding sources may include: 

• Private foundations 
• Family foundations 
• Community foundations 
• Corporate foundations 
• Corporate giving programs 
• Government agencies 
• Other charitable funders 

This stage should be broad enough to give you options—but not so broad that you will throw every organization with some money into your pipeline. 

For private foundation funding, Grant Advance’s grant search engines for nonprofits allow nonprofits to research foundations based on their grant histories, previous recipients, geography, funding interests and typical grant amounts. 

If you are building your foundation list from scratch, start with our guide on how to find foundations for grants. 

Do not confuse discovery with qualification 

Finding a foundation is just a beginning. Just because you found a foundation online, does not automatically make it a prospect. And just because you found a prospect, does not automatically make it an application opportunity. 

Which brings us to this next stage, and it is crucial! 

Step 3: Qualify Every Grant Prospect 

This is where a successful grant pipeline is made. 

Before adding a funder to your active pipeline, ask: 

Does it fund your cause? 

Not just a mission statement. 

Look at the actual grants it makes. 

Does it fund your geographic area? 

A foundation may support youth programs, but only in one specific state, province or city. 

Does it fund organizations like yours? 

Look at the past grantees. 

Are they: 

• Similar in mission? 
• Similar in size? 
• Same population served? 
• Similar communities? 

Does it make grants in a realistic range? 

If the foundation usually makes $10,000 grants, a $250,000 request probably does not belong in your pipeline. 

Does it fund what you need? 

A funder may support your cause, but it only gives: 

• Program funding 
• Capital funding 
• Scholarships 
• Research grants 

but you need general operating support. 

Is it currently active? 

Active grant-making is important. 

Can you actually approach it? 

Does it: 

• Accept LOIs? 
• Accept unsolicited applications? 
• Have an open application process? 
• Operate by invitation? 
• Have an open application deadline? 

Your pipeline should include qualified opportunities, not every foundation you find. 

Our guide on how to qualify foundations for grants explains this process in more depth. 

Step 4: Use Foundation Giving History to Enhance Your Pipeline 

A funder’s website tells you what the funder says it supports. But giving history tells you where the money actually went. For private U.S. foundations, Form 990-PF is especially helpful. IRS requires private foundations to report grants made in the year, with detailed information on recipient names, grant amounts and purposes. 

Read the IRS Instructions for Form 990-PF. 

You can use it to research: 

• Who does the foundation fund? 
• What do they fund? 
• How much do recipients receive? 
• Do they fund your region? 
• Do they re-grant the same organizations? 
• Are there new recipients? 
• Do they fund grants of the kind you need? 
• Has their giving changed over time? 

Giving history does not guarantee funding.  But it will help you determine if the prospect should go into your pipeline. Grant Advance’s Foundation Profile Pages bring together information helpful in assessing funder giving history, grant amounts, contacts, directors and potential alignment. 

Step 5: Prioritize Your Grant Prospects 

Now you may have 30 qualified opportunities. Not all of them should receive equal attention. Prioritize them. 

One approach to prioritizing is: 

Tier 1: Strong prospects 

Several areas of alignment: 

• Mission 
• Geography 
• Grant funding type 
• Typical grant amount 
• Similar previous grantees 
• Appropriate application process 

These funders should get most of your attention. 

Tier 2: Promising prospects 

Some areas of alignment. 

But something requires further research: 

• Application process is not clear 
• Grant amount is not known 
• Geographic giving is not consistent 
• The opportunity is several months down the road 

Research further. 

Tier 3: Future or low priority prospects 

There is some potential. But not yet strong enough to pursue actively. Keep them in a list of future prospects rather than forcing into this month’s application calendar. 

Why prioritize? To be able to allocate your best time to your best prospects. 

Step 6: Assign Every Opportunity a Pipeline Status 

Once prospects are qualified and prioritized, assign a status. 

The practical nonprofit grant pipeline may have these stages: 

Pipeline Status	What It Means
Prospect	Potential funder identified
Researching	Team is evaluating the fit
Qualified	Funder meets your criteria
LOI Planning	Initial outreach is being prepared
LOI Submitted	LOI sent; awaiting response
Invited to Apply	Funder requested a full proposal
Application in Progress	Proposal is being prepared
Submitted	Full application submitted
Pending Decision	Awaiting funder decision
Awarded	Funding approved
Declined	Grant request was not funded
Active Grant	Funded work is underway
Reporting	Interim or final report is due
Renewal	Future funding opportunity is being considered
Closed	Grant obligations are completed

Your organization does not need to use these names for stages. 

The important thing is everyone should use the same stages consistently. 

“In progress,” “working on it,” “active” and “started” should not mean four different things for four people. 

Step 7: Add Deadlines and Next Actions to All Active Opportunities 

A status tells where your opportunity is. Your next action tells you how to advance it. Every active opportunity should have one. 

For example: 

Pipeline Status	Next Action
Researching	Review past three years of grants
Qualified	Confirm application process
LOI Planning	Draft personalized LOI
LOI Submitted	Follow up October 12 if permitted
Invited	Build full application checklist
Drafting	Finance to complete project budget
Submitted	Record expected decision date
Awarded	Review grant agreement
Active	Prepare interim report
Renewal	Contact funder about next cycle

Avoid vague notes like: 

Follow up later. 

Use: 

Email program officer October 12 regarding application status, if permitted by guidelines. 

Specific actions will help you move your pipeline forward. 

Step 8: Build a Grant Calendar Around Your Pipeline 

Your pipeline and your calendar should go hand-in-hand. 

Track: 

• Prospect review dates 
• LOI deadlines 
• Application deadlines 
• Internal draft deadlines 
• Budget deadlines 
• Approval dates 
• Submission dates 
• Follow-up dates 
• Expected decision dates 
• Board meeting dates 
• Grant start dates 
• Grant end dates 
• Reporting deadlines 
• Renewal deadlines 

One of the easiest mistakes to make is treating the funder’s deadline as your deadline. 

If an application is due: 

November 30 

then do not plan to finish it on November 30. 

Work backwards instead. 

For example: 

November 2: Final go/no-go decision 

November 7: Program information complete 

November 12: First draft 

November 16: Budget complete 

November 20: Internal review 

November 24: Final edits 

November 27: Submission 

Step 9: Develop Reusable Grant Materials 

Building a sustainable pipeline becomes much easier if you do not start every grant application from scratch. 

Keep current versions of information you frequently use: 

• Mission statement 
• Organizational history 
• Program description 
• Need statement 
• Population served 
• Impact 
• Outcomes 
• Evaluation method 
• Leadership information 
• Board list 
• Budget of organization 
• Financials 
• Project budgets 
• IRS determination letter, if necessary 
• Charity registration information 
• Annual report 
• Standard attachments 

Each LOI and application should reflect funder’s: 

• Priorities 
• Giving history 
• Requirements 
• Language 
• Typical grant amount 
• Relation to your organization 

Grant Advance’s Document Generator helps nonprofits build and maintain reusable foundation funding documents more efficiently. 

Step 10: Create a Consistent LOI and Application Schedule 

Once you have your pipeline filled with qualified prospects, you can begin planning your outreach. 

That is where your pipeline comes into play with questions like: How many LOIs should we send every month? and how many grants should we apply for? 

There is no need to set a monthly quota if there aren’t any worthy opportunities. On the other hand, it is dangerous to send one application and wait for a response in three months. A pipeline helps move several opportunities at once. 

For example: 

This month: 

• 8 new prospects analyzed 
• 5 funders qualified 
• 7 LOIs sent 
• 3 LOIs followed up 
• 2 proposal invitations received 
• 3 full applications submitted 
• 2 funding decisions received 

Next month, the numbers will be different. It’s important to be consistent. If you are busy with foundation outreach volume, check our article on how many LOIs a nonprofit should send every month. You can also see How Many Grants Should a Nonprofit Apply for Each Month? To find a way to balance the volume and capacity of your team. 

What Should You Track in Your Grant Pipeline? 

Track enough information about each opportunity to make proper decisions. 

The minimum includes: 

Prospect Information 

• Funder 
• Opportunity 
• Funder type 
• Cause area 
• Geographic focus 
• Website 
• Contact 

Qualification Information 

• Eligibility 
• Mission fit 
• Past grantees 
• Typical grant amount 
• Type of funding 
• Giving history 
• Application process 
• Priority level 

Application Information 

• LOI deadline 
• Application deadline 
• Amount requested 
• Assigned owner 
• Status 
• Documents required 
• Submission date 

Follow-Up Information 

• Follow-up date 
• Contact history 
• Questions from funder 
• Proposal invitation 
• Expected decision date 

Award Information 

• Decision 
• Amount awarded 
• Grant period 
• Funding restrictions 
• Report deadlines 
• Renewal opportunity 

How Many Prospects Should Be in Your Grant Pipeline? 

There is no magic number. A better question would be: Does my pipeline have enough qualified prospects to achieve my funding goals and outreach capacity? 

Having 100 prospects which don’t match is not better than having 20 highly aligned prospects. Think of your pipeline in layers. 

Active opportunities 

Those who are currently in the process: 

• LOIs 
• Applications 
• Follow-ups 
• Pending decisions 

Qualified future prospects 

They have been researched by you and considered suitable, but it’s too early for now. 

Research prospects 

Prospects which need to be qualified. 

Existing funders 

Funders which can provide: 

• Renewals 
• Continuation grants 
• Program funding 
• Opportunities for building relationships 

You want to have enough prospects to make sure that your entire grant strategy does not depend on one application. 

But you do not need to pump up the pipeline with poor prospects to make it look bigger. 

How Often Should You Review Your Grant Pipeline? 

For an active grant program, the weekly review is a good operation cadence. 

During your weekly review, you should ask: 

What is due next? 

Which prospects need research? 

Which applications need to be prepared? 

Which LOIs need follow-up? 

Which decisions are expected? 

Which reports are due? 

Is something stuck? 

And then perform a monthly pipeline review. 

Monthly pipeline review can include: 

• Number of prospects added 
• Number of qualified prospects 
• LOIs sent 
• Applications submitted 
• Dollars requested 
• Decisions received 
• Dollars awarded 
• Opportunities declined 
• Pipeline gaps 
• Upcoming deadlines 
• Renewal opportunities 

Weekly review ensures your work progress. 

Monthly review checks whether your strategy works. 

What Metrics Should You Measure in a Grant Pipeline? 

You should not evaluate your success based on just the number of applications. 

You need to measure how the prospects move through your pipeline. 

Here are some helpful grant pipeline metrics: 

Prospects identified 

How many funders join your pipeline at the very top? 

Qualified prospects 

How many survive the research phase? 

LOIs sent 

How active are you at reaching out to foundations? 

LOI response rate 

What share of LOIs are responded to? 

Proposal invitations 

How many invitations do you receive after LOI submissions? 

Applications submitted 

How many complete applications reach the submission stage? 

Awards 

How many of them result in funding? 

Dollars requested 

How much funding are you trying to obtain? 

Dollars awarded 

How much funding did you receive? 

Average award amount 

What is the typical size of your funded grants? 

Time in pipeline 

How long does it take for an opportunity to get to a particular stage? 

Renewal rate 

How many of your current funders support your organization again? 

These metrics allow you to identify the issues in your pipeline. 

For instance: 

Too many prospects but too few qualified? Your criteria are probably too broad. 

Lots of LOIs but almost no responses? Alignment, contact plan and LOI quality should be your first suspects. 

LOIs generate invitations but proposals rarely win? Something is wrong in the lower part of your pipeline. 

Great proposals but too few of them are submitted? Perhaps you need more prospects entering the pipeline. 

As you see, the pipeline allows for better evaluation than the mere number of applications. 

What Is Grant Pipeline Value? 

Some organizations even measure the pipeline value. 

In the most straightforward interpretation, it is the sum of all funding being pursued in your open opportunities. 

For example: 

• Foundation A: $25,000 request 
• Foundation B: $40,000 request 
• Foundation C: $75,000 request 
• Government opportunity: $100,000 request 

Active requested funding: 

$240,000. This number can be quite useful. 

However, be careful: Having $240,000 in your pipeline does not mean you expect $240,000 in revenue. 

Not all of your applications are going to be funded. Some of them will receive partial awards. Some will be rejected completely. 

The pipeline value is intended to reflect the scale of the funding you are trying to raise and should not be considered as guaranteed revenue. 

Common Grant Pipeline Mistakes 

Mistake #1: Stuffing Your Pipeline With Every Available Opportunity 

More is not always better. When you clearly see that the funder does not qualify for your organization, you better remove it. 

Mistake #2: Confusing the Eligibility with the Qualification 

Just because you are allowed to submit an application does not mean that you should. 

Mistake #3: Looking at Deadlines Only 

Deadline management is important. 

However, you also need: 

• Research 
• Alignment 
• Contacts 
• Next actions 
• Decisions 
• Reporting 

Mistake #4: Ignoring the Submitted Grants 

Do not ignore your application after pressing the submit button. 

You should track the following aspects of your submitted grant: 

• The date of decision 
• Any follow-ups 
• Communications with the funder 
• The result 

Mistake #5: Removing the Funded Grants From the Pipeline 

The award is only the start of the next stage. According to Grants.gov, successful federal applicants move into the implementation and administrative, financial and programmatic reporting obligations after the award. See details on post-award grants process. Of course, each funder has slightly different requirements, but the funded grants still should be included in your management system. 

Mistake #6: Forgetting the Renewals 

The existing funders should not disappear after the final report. 

You should track the following aspects of them: 

• Stewardship 
• Renewal eligibility 
• Future application cycles 
• Relationship history 

Mistake #7: Having No Next Actions 

“Pending” is the status. It is not the plan. All active opportunities require the information on next actions. 

Grant Pipeline Example 

Here is how a nonprofit grant pipeline might look like: 

It gives you way more information than the table with: 

Foundation | Amount | Deadline 

because you can instantly see what is moving in your pipeline. 

Spreadsheet vs. Grant Management System 

A spreadsheet may serve you perfectly well in case: 

• It is managed by a single person 
• You have a relatively small number of opportunities 
• Deadlines are easily manageable 
• Everyone knows where the documents are stored 

But sooner or later you may realize the following problems: 

• Various versions of spreadsheets 
• Missed updates 
• Missed follow-ups 
• Dispersed documents 
• Lack of clear ownership 
• Missed deadlines 
• Reporting kept somewhere else 
• Staff asking for status update constantly 

This is when grant management software might be useful. 

The Role of Grant Advance in Creating a Grant Pipeline for Nonprofits 

The grant pipeline is only as good as the prospects that go into it. 

That’s why the first thing is to do research. 

Grant Advance Solutions can help nonprofits research private and family foundations by means of such data as: 

• Historical grants 
• Previous grantees 
• Grant sizes 
• Geography 
• Foundation interests 
• Foundation directors/trustees 
• Contacts 
• Giving trends 

Once the prospects have been found, nonprofits can use Grant Advance to manage their funders, create foundation funding documents and track grant activity. 

The process becomes: 

Find → Research → Qualify → Prioritize → LOI → Apply → Follow Up → Award → Report → Renew 

instead of: 

Find grant → rush application → submit → forget about it → repeat. 

If private foundation funding is part of your strategy, use our guides on how to find foundations for grants and how to qualify foundations for grants to choose prospects that belong in your pipeline. 

If you want to see how Grant Advance can help your nonprofit research funders and create a better foundation funding process, book a free consultation. 

Common Questions on Creating a Grant Pipeline 

What is a grant pipeline? 

The grant pipeline is a process through which funding opportunities go through certain stages such as research, qualification, LOI, application, submission, decision, award, reporting and renewal. 

How do you create a grant pipeline? 

First, define your funding needs, find potential funders, qualify prospects for alignment, prioritize opportunities, assign stages to pipeline, track deadlines and next steps, apply for funding consistently, and monitor results through award and renewal. 

What should be included in a grant pipeline? 

A nonprofit grant pipeline includes: the funder, opportunity, alignment, funding amount, stage, deadline, pipeline stage owner, contact information, next step, submission date, follow-up date, expected decision, award and reporting. 

How many grants should be in a nonprofit pipeline? 

It depends on each nonprofit’s situation. Ideally, there should be enough qualified opportunities to meet funding goals but not fill it with poor fit funders the organization is not going to chase. 

What are the stages of a grant pipeline? 

Some common stages are Prospect, Researching, Qualified, LOI Planning, LOI Submitted, Invitation to Apply, Application in Progress, Submitted, Pending, Awarded, Declined, Active Grant, Reporting, Renewal and Closed. 

How often should a grant pipeline be reviewed? 

Weekly review fits well for many nonprofits with active grant programs. Monthly review can also be beneficial to see pipeline health, upcoming deadlines, application activity, funding decisions and renewals. 

What is the difference between a grant pipeline and grant calendar? 

Grant pipeline tracks all aspects of each opportunity while grant calendar concentrates on dates such as LOI deadline, application deadline, follow-up, decision, reporting and renewals. 

What is the difference between grant pipeline and grant tracking spreadsheet? 

Grant pipeline is the entire process of managing opportunities while grant tracking spreadsheet is the tool that is used in the process. 

Should declined grants remain in the pipeline? 

Declined grants should be generally removed from active pipeline but stored in historical records since the funder may become valuable in the future while the experience gained can help the organization. 

Should awarded grants remain in the pipeline? 

Yes. Awarded grants still have to be monitored for grant agreements, funding periods, implementation, reporting and potential renewal. 

How can nonprofits find enough prospects for grant pipeline? 

Nonprofits can search for funding prospects by using foundation databases, government funding sites, foundation websites, Form 990-PF data, historic funding, previous grantees, networking and grant research tools. It is crucial to find aligned funders rather than collect as many as possible.