March 01, 2023
If you are wondering if it is a viable strategy to write one proposal and submit it as-is to multiple funders, the basic answer is no, it’s not advisable. There are some limited exceptions, which we get into later, but that’s the general rule.
Writing a proposal and sharing it with multiple donors via email rarely leads to success for several reasons.
First, most funders do not accept unsolicited proposals, which are proposals submitted to a funder essentially at random and not in response to a specific request for proposals (RFPs). If an organization emails the same project description and request for support to several funders at once as part of a mass mailing, these would all be unsolicited submissions. Even if a funder has active RFPs, a submission would still be regarded as unsolicited if the proposal is for a program that is not accepting proposals. For example, if a foundation funds climate change and health education but accepts proposals only for its climate change program, an organization that submits a proposal requesting funding for its health education program is submitting an unsolicited proposal.
Second, every funder has different programmatic priorities and goals. If you send the same proposal to several funders without first revising the content to accommodate each funder’s particular interests, your proposal is unlikely to be successful. Funders fund proposals that help them advance their goals. If your proposal focuses on your organization’s needs and does not show the overlap between what you do and what the funder hopes to achieve, your proposal will probably not spark a funder’s interest.
A third reason why the “write one proposal and send it everywhere” approach generally doesn’t work is that while some funders accept unsolicited proposals, they fund very few. Some foundations, such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, state this explicitly. The Packard Foundation accepts unsolicited proposals but notes that it funds fewer than 1% of them. As a grant strategy, unless you have a compelling reason to send unsolicited proposals, it’s always better to send proposals in response to a direct invitation from the funder or in response to an open funding opportunity announcement.
However, there are times when sending the same proposal to several donors can work.
Below are three situations in which it can be effective to send essentially the same proposal to multiple donors.
Few private foundations support conferences. Government agencies are better bets, but even then, the conference topic must overlap with the agency’s interests. However, funders that support conferences often like to see that other funders are also providing support. While you may have to revise your proposal slightly to conform to different funder guidelines, it is possible to submit almost identical requests for conference support to several funders. For conferences, funders are interested in similar information, such as the conference agenda and target audience, the expected number of attendees, the conference location, and whether the conference will be open to the public.
Another example where it may be possible to send the same proposal to multiple funders is when the funders are non-traditional, such as small family foundations that lack a formal application process, or a wealthy individual donor who wants to see a project description but doesn’t care about the request’s format. Corporate donors can also fall into this category. While many large corporations have separate foundations that process grant applications, other companies have informal programs that do not require formal proposals.
You can prepare one proposal and submit it to multiple funders when each funder has agreed to accept a common (or standard) application. Funders accepting common applications tend to be smaller private foundations or community foundations. However, even when funders accept a common application, there can be differences in certain requirements, such as how the application must be submitted, so you’ll still need to read each funder’s guidelines carefully. Regardless, common applications are probably as close as you can get to preparing a single application and having it accepted by multiple donors.
So, should you submit unsolicited proposals? Unsolicited proposals are rarely accepted or funded and are generally not worth submitting. On the other hand, if you’ve determined that it will take very little time to prepare the funding request and send it to multiple funders, you may decide it’s still worth trying.
If you do send unsolicited proposals, one cautionary note is that you should be aware of how doing so may affect your and your department's annual performance evaluations. If you work for an organization that looks closely at proposal win rates and bases salary increases or employment decisions on the percentage of proposals that have been successfully funded, you’ll want to think carefully before submitting unsolicited proposals. Because unsolicited proposals are rarely funded, submitting them frequently will lower your win rate. However, if your organization is encouraging you to submit as many proposals as possible and does not evaluate performance based on win rates, that obviously changes the risk and reduces the negative repercussions of submitting them.
Regardless of what you decide to do with unsolicited proposals, don’t forget to employ the best grant strategy, which is to cultivate relationships with funders in addition to focusing on open requests for proposals.