Grant Portfolio Strategy: Diversifying Your Funding

Build a resilient funding strategy across multiple sources. Learn how successful organizations diversify their grant portfolio to reduce risk and ensure sustainable growth.

The Strategic Funding Approach

Organizations that rely on a single funding source face significant risk. Successful nonprofits and social enterprises typically maintain 5-8 different funding streams, creating stability and growth opportunities.

The Ideal Grant Portfolio Mix

  • Core funding (40%): Large, multi-year institutional grants
  • Project funding (30%): Specific program or initiative grants
  • Innovation funding (15%): Pilot programs and new initiatives
  • Emergency funding (10%): Crisis response and urgent needs
  • Capacity funding (5%): Organizational development and training

Building Your Grant Pipeline

A mature organization should have applications at different stages:

  1. Research phase: 15-20 potential opportunities
  2. Preparation phase: 8-12 applications in development
  3. Submission phase: 4-6 applications awaiting decisions
  4. Active phase: 3-5 funded projects running

Risk Management Through Diversification

Funder Type Diversity

Mix government, foundation, corporate, and lottery funding

Timeline Diversity

Balance immediate, medium-term, and long-term funding

Purpose Diversity

Secure core costs, project costs, and innovation funding