Have you applied for a federal grant in the past but got a rejection? Worry not, as rejections are part of life, especially when it comes to the professional world. When you apply for a grant in order to fund your dream project, getting rejection can feel discouraging and dejecting. You put in a lot of planning, strategy, efforts, and dedication to secure a federal grant, and rejection can feel like a crushing setback. However, they can never mark the end of your grant-securing journey; there are still hundreds of opportunities waiting for you. It’s important to step back, understand, and use the experience as a learning opportunity.
Now the question is, what do you do after getting rejected for a federal grant application? It’s crucial to understand what went wrong, consult with a professional, get constructive feedback and bounce back with a refined strategy. In this blog, we will discuss what you should do if your federal grant application gets rejected and turn it into a future win.
Let Yourself be Disappointed, but Move On
Every grant seeker faces rejection at least once in their lifetime, and quickly snapping out of that dejection is not possible. Negative emotions and feelings like frustration and sadness are common in such situations. Therefore, give yourself some time, let yourself be disappointed, and vent out by talking to someone or practicing your favorite hobby. Make sure not to be disappointed for a longer time and bounce back at the right time to fix things. Take as long as 24 hours and then move on and take the desired action.
Read Over Your Rejection Letter
The first and most important thing you should do is read your rejection letter. Your rejection letter can give you clues and reasons about why your application is rejected and whether it’s possible to reapply with some modifications. Sometimes, your application may be good, but a funder may not process your request due to the limit they can handle in a year. In such cases, they reopen the applications after some time; therefore, you can reapply on the next due date. If this happens, mark your calendar, check your application and reapply with the required modifications and changes.
Revise the Proposal
Rejection either means the other grant proposals are better than yours or your research project needs further improvements. If the latter is the reason, it’s important to adjust your grant application proposal accordingly. Open usgrants.org or any other website you have used to apply and open your grant proposal. Modify the answers to the research questions, change the methodologies and objectives, and update the expected outcomes to make them align with grant perspectives. Besides that, add detailed information about expenditure and how you are going to fulfill the objectives. Making such revisions and changes can help you secure the funding when you resubmit the grant proposal.
Review the Rejection Notice Carefully
Most federal grant programs provide feedback and scoring to explain the reason behind the rejection of an application. It’s important to carefully read that part of the rejection notice and identify the areas of weaknesses. Reviewers also write specific comments on what aspects of the grant proposal fell short and need improvements. Pay attention to such comments and make an action plan for the new grant proposal. Understanding the reasons can help you decide where you went wrong, what you should improve on, and whether you have targeted the right grant or not. Sometimes, you have to request to review the comments using a FOIA request.
Ask for Clarification
If you feel confused or require clarification on any aspect, like the reviewer’s comments, reasons, score or anything else, you can contact the agency. Request a debriefing or clarification on the feedback to understand where your proposal was not as competitive as others. Most of the time, you can get in touch with expert staff who can debrief you on your rejection. Make sure to take notes to understand the issues and suggestions they offer to incorporate in future applications. During this process, you can even ask questions like how many proposals the Grantmaker received, how many grants were awarded, whether it was a traditional cycle or affected by changes, what specifically disqualified your proposal, etc.
Analyze the Weak Points
Once you read the application and reviewer’s comments and talk with the expert for clarification, combine all of that and analyze the weak points. Review if the budget is too high or not justified as per the project scope and objectives. Check the goals, objectives, and methods and ensure they are clear and realistic in terms of the time frame and grant missions. Ensure that your proposal is aligned with the grant’s properties and funding preferences. Analyzing such weak points helps you modify the new grant proposal accordingly and maximize the winning chances.
Revise and Strengthen Your Application
Use feedback and review of weak points to modify your application and make it align with the agency’s requirements. Revise the problematic sections and make your objectives clear, refine your approach, adjust your budget and follow all guidelines. Change and update all the issues and be careful to leave the elements that reviewers liked intact. If you have some new information or findings, you can add them to the new application to make it even better. Bring in your colleagues and ask them to share their feedback and suggest improvements, as fresh eyes can allow you to catch overlooked flaws and rectify them to improve overall quality.
Seek Alternative Funding
Along with reworking on your current proposal, explore alternative funding opportunities that might be an easy and better fit. Find additional grant opportunities in private foundations or local grants with your city or county for specific programs. Look for corporate sponsorships, as they can also give you funding to kickstart your project. Many state governments offer grants for different sectors like health, education, research and technology, community development, etc. Talk to people in your professional network and connect with the ones who can help you make a direct pitch to some funder. Network with peers who can offer you insight on specific formalities to complete when applying for additional grant proposals.
Conclusion
Rejection is part of the grant application process, and it’s important to collect yourself, reflect and bounce back with something better. Disappointment is common in such situations, but it should only be temporary, not forever. Once you are out of grief, it’s important to take the necessary steps to understand the issue and take action. Review your application, rejection notice, and reviewer’s comments and get clarification on things you are confused on. Take suggestions from experts and your colleagues to find the flaws and make the required changes. Along with that, seek alternative funding to kickstart your project as soon as possible.