Building Funder Relationships: It All Starts with a Call

Grant funding isn’t just about having great programs or writing compelling proposals. At its core, successful grant writing is about finding funders who share your vision for change and building relationships with the people who make funding decisions.

Because here’s what I’ve learned in 15 years of grant writing: Foundations don’t give to people, PEOPLE give to people!

Too many grant professionals treat funding like a transaction—find the right funder, submit the perfect application, wait for results. But the organizations that consistently secure grants understand something different: they invest in relationships with program officers and foundation staff who share their vision.

This relationship-building starts with thorough prospect research to identify aligned funders. But research alone isn’t enough. Once you’ve found those matches, you have to actually connect with them. You have to pick up the phone and begin building the human connections that transform your organization from another application in the pile into a trusted partner.

If the thought of making that first contact makes you nervous, you’re not alone. But these conversations—and the relationships they create—can be the difference between getting funded or not, receiving continued support or not, and securing larger grants or not.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything I’ve learned about building funder relationships, from overcoming contact anxiety to developing long-term partnerships.

Because when it comes to grant success, it all starts with a call.

Why Most Grant Writers Avoid Funder Contact (And Why It’s Costing Them)

If you have a prospective funder and are creeped out about picking up the phone to call for the first time—YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY! Many development professionals flinch at the thought of making that “first move” with a foundation they’ve never contacted before.

I see this resistance everywhere. Grant professionals spend hours perfecting their writing, researching foundations, and crafting detailed budgets. But when it comes time to actually connect with the human beings who will read their proposals, they freeze.

The most common excuse I hear? “Grants are different from other fundraising. They’re more hands-off.” Many people think that grants are very hands-off, that they can get away with just clicking “Submit” on an online grant application and magically a check will appear. They think that any “people contact” is reserved for the front-line fundraisers, and grants are “a way out” of having to interact with other humans.

Wrong!

Grants are as interactive as any other brand of fundraising. Grants require the same cultivation and stewardship as the rest of the development team must go through. This means you have to pick up the phone and talk to people, start a relationship, build it, and maintain it—sometimes whether you get funded or not.

Here’s what avoiding funder contact actually costs you:

You’re submitting blind. Without talking to funders, you’re essentially plopping an unknown pile of work in front of them and expecting them to care. You have several strikes against you just by not having a relationship.

You miss critical insights. Program officers often have preferences that aren’t published anywhere. They might be particularly interested in certain approaches this year, or they might be dealing with budget constraints that affect grant sizes. You’ll never learn these things from a website.

You waste time on mismatched opportunities. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read between the lines and thought I saw alignment, but then called and discovered their idea of “underserved” wasn’t my idea of underserved. Or I learned they were in the middle of a huge three-year commitment and weren’t taking new applications.

You remain forgettable. There’s nothing so lonely as being a grant proposal that represents an organization no one knows. Without prior relationship-building, your proposal lacks the human connection that makes funders invested in your success.

The organizations that consistently win grants understand that relationships—that dirty little word that even us grants people have to contend with—are non-negotiable. They practice their elevator pitch, get comfortable speaking about their nonprofit and its programs rather than just writing about them, and they make those calls.

The good news? Once you push through that initial discomfort, building funder relationships becomes one of the most rewarding parts of grant work. These connections give meaning to your proposals and transform your entire approach to fundraising.

Before You Pick Up the Phone: Essential Preparation

The key to confident funder outreach isn’t courage—it’s preparation. When you’ve done your homework thoroughly, that intimidating phone call becomes a professional conversation between colleagues working toward similar goals.

Get Your Organization’s House in Order

Before you identify yourself to any funder, whether by phone or email, make sure your front-facing optics are in order. Why? Because as soon as you mention your organization’s name, the smart program officer or trustee working for your prospective funder will LOOK YOU UP!

Your website checklist:

• Current board members are listed with accurate titles
• Programs are clearly described with specific outcomes
• Recent news and accomplishments are featured
• Contact information is up-to-date
• Photos show your work in action (when appropriate)

Beyond your website:

• Ensure your GuideStar profile is as complete and transparent as possible
• If your community foundation offers Nonprofit Profiles, make sure yours is fully fleshed out
• Update any professional association listings
• Check that your organization’s social media reflects your current work

This isn’t vanity—it’s strategy. You want funders to find a professional, active organization that clearly demonstrates impact.

Research the Funder Thoroughly

Do your research on who you’re calling! Scour their website, their 990, their database profile. Check out the staff and board names, their funding history, and for sure their mission! They will feel less like a stranger once you’ve learned all you can about them first.

Essential research sources:

• Foundation website – Current priorities, application processes, recent news
• Form 990 – Actual giving patterns, grant amounts, board members
• Database profiles – Multi-year giving trends and recipient organizations
• Annual reports – Stories they’re proud of, future direction signals
• Recent press releases – New initiatives or leadership changes

Create your research summary: Before making contact, compile a one-page summary that includes their mission, recent grants similar to your work, typical grant ranges, application deadlines, and any board connections you’ve identified.

Know Your Organization’s Story Cold

You need to become conversant not only on your organization and program, but the funder as well. Get your organization’s mission and a little program description down to basically 25 words or less. Practice this until it flows naturally—you’ll need it for phone calls, voicemails, and email introductions.

Prepare your key talking points:

• Your organization’s mission (one sentence)
• The specific program you’re seeking funding for (2-3 sentences)
• Why this funder might be interested (based on your research)
• Your “big picture” impact and outcomes
• Any relevant connections or referrals

Set Your Mindset for Success

Remember: it is the foundation’s job to talk to you. Program officers and staff members on foundation staffs—it’s their job to pick up the phone and field your questions. You’re not bothering them; you’re helping them do their work by connecting them with aligned organizations.

But please don’t waste their time. When you do call, be smart and do your research so that you know the answers to most of the questions you would want to ask. Make sure what you end up asking them are clarifying questions and smart questions about what’s not in the public information.

The difference between a productive conversation and an awkward call usually comes down to preparation. When you’ve done your homework, you can focus on building a genuine connection rather than frantically trying to remember basic facts about your own organization.

The Art of the First Call: Scripts, Strategy, and Confidence

That first call is an ideal opportunity to set the stage for what may become a fruitful partnership! But how do you handle it without falling apart from nerves or forgetting everything important you wanted to say?

Script It! Don’t Just Wing It!

Here’s my number one rule for funder calls: Script it! Don’t just wing it! You’ll kick yourself afterwards because without fail you will have forgotten one or more key points.

Write out your goals for the call, your objectives, your talking points, the highlights you NEED to get across. If you get into “conversation,” CONGRATS! You know your organization and programs so well, you can riff on anything! But having that script ensures you hit your essential points even if nerves take over.

One thing I do to quell my nerves on these scary calls is I script them for myself. Writing down what I want to say—and especially what I want to ask—really helps, so I don’t hang up and then kick myself for something I forgot!

What Your Script Should Include

Opening (30 seconds):

• Your name and organization
• Brief reason for calling (based on your research)
• Ask if they have a few minutes to talk

Organization overview (60 seconds):

• Mission in one sentence
• Key programs or focus areas
• Geographic scope and populations served

Specific inquiry (90 seconds):

• The program you’re considering proposing
• Why you think it aligns with their interests
• Specific questions about their priorities or process

Wrap-up (30 seconds):

• Thank them for their time
• Confirm next steps
• Ask about preferred communication method

Start Small and Build Confidence

I actually make my first call out of the gate a low-risk call, just to get myself warmed up. Better to finesse your script on the $10,000 funder rather than the $100,000 funder.

This approach serves two purposes: you get more comfortable with your talking points, and you reduce the pressure on that first call. By the time you’re ready to contact your highest-priority funders, you’ll have refined your approach and built confidence.

Making the Actual Call

When you reach a live person:

• Speak clearly and at a moderate pace
• Be prepared to briefly explain your purpose if they need to transfer you
• Take notes during the conversation
• Listen more than you talk

When you get voicemail:

• State your name, organization, and purpose clearly
• Mention one specific reason you’re calling (based on your research)
• Leave your direct phone number and best times to reach you
• Don’t sound rushed

What to Ask (And What Not to Ask)

Smart questions that show you’ve done homework:

• “Your website states XYZ, however your 990 states ABC. Please confirm…”
• “I noticed you funded [similar organization] last year. Are you continuing to prioritize [program area]?”
• “What aspects of [program area] are you most excited about funding right now?”
• “Are there particular approaches or outcomes you’re hoping to see more of?”

Questions that waste their time:

• Basic information available on their website
• Your organization’s eligibility (you should know this from research)
• General questions about their funding process
• Requests for them to review your entire program portfolio

Use the call to begin the relationship!

Using Your Network to Get Warm Introductions

Before you make that critical first call to a prospective funder, there’s a powerful strategy that can transform a cold call into a warm introduction: checking for existing relationships within your network.

To unearth any potential cross-pollination opportunities, cross-check prospective funder directors, officers and staff with your organization’s board. Some funders will actually rule out any organization where there’s NOT an existing relationship. Also, going through the cross-check will help you assign calls more strategically.

How to Conduct a Board Cross-Check

I distribute a list of funder board names to my client’s board and key staff or stakeholders, with columns to check either:

• I know them well
• We are acquaintances
• I don’t know this person but I know someone who does

Most funders list their boards on their website, or there are other ways to find out that information (although perhaps not as current), like checking their 990.

The idea is to not overwhelm the stakeholder with pages and pages of names, but maybe provide one page of names every time you meet with them.

Finding Board Information

Where to look for funder board members:

• Foundation websites (most current information)
• Form 990s (may be 1-2 years behind)
• Foundation Directory Online profiles
• Annual reports
• LinkedIn searches

Expand beyond board members to include:

• Foundation staff and program officers
• Advisory committee members
• Past board members who might still have influence

Making the Most of Discovered Connections

If you find a relationship exists, don’t just drop the name and hope for the best. Use what Erin Stitzel, FAHP, CFRE, Principal Consultant at Accordant, suggests and use your Moves Management skills on your supporter!

Moves management is typically reserved for donors, and it simply refers to a step-by-step strategy of building engagement. Your funders don’t like being treated like ATMs, and neither do your stakeholders. So use a strategic step-by-step approach to build their knowledge, interest, excitement, and connection to the task of bringing their friend/acquaintance/association along and building their knowledge, interest, excitement, and connection too.

Strategic Steps for Leveraging Connections

Step 1: Educate your connector. Make your supporter understand the reason for doing this cross-check exercise, and let them know any connections they can help make would be critical to your fundraising success.

Step 2: Provide context about funders. Let them know that funders don’t like being treated like ATMs and that your funders (family foundations, corporate foundations, or others) are made up of people with feelings and emotions and likes and dislikes. They need to be respected.

Step 3: Define their role clearly. Your supporters’ job is to help you make a connection and share their enthusiasm for your mission. Maybe they didn’t know that your board member was on the board of your organization. Maybe they didn’t realize this cause is so important to them.

Step 4: Coordinate with your development team. The development team might be employing the same tactic, so coordinate with them! You don’t want multiple people from your organization reaching out about the same funder connection.

When Relationships Lead to Introductions

Where a relationship already exists, definitely have that person reach out to make the first contact! A relationship will help ensure a return call, and a relationship may get your organization considered for funding even if you’re not completely aligned.

Benefits of warm introductions:

• Higher likelihood of getting your call returned
• More open conversation about funding priorities
• Potential consideration even with slight mission misalignment
• Insider insights about timing and preferences
• Stronger base for ongoing relationship

Remember: you become another factor that glues them together. Essentially, you make a blind date happen between people who share your mission but might not have realized their mutual connection to your cause.

Expanding Beyond Board Members

Your board isn’t your only source of connections. Another avenue to these crucial relationships could also be your volunteer base, or any loyal donors or stakeholders. The idea is to leverage these supporters’ passion for your mission in connecting with like-minded (potential or current) funders.

Cast a wide net when looking for connections, but always approach relationship-building strategically and respectfully.

Beyond the Ask: Building Genuine Relationships

Building funder relationships isn’t just about making that initial contact—it’s about creating ongoing connections that extend far beyond grant applications. The strongest funder relationships are built on genuine partnership, not just requests for money.

Why Continue the Relationship After Initial Contact

Whether you get funded or not, there’s other reasons to call, too. Good reasons. Reasons you should pick up that phone, not just to ask for more money. These ongoing touchpoints demonstrate that you value the relationship itself, not just what the funder can provide financially.

Think like a funder! Think “What Would THEY Want to Know?” Give them some intel into your organization as a forward-facing, pace-setting agency that gets ahead of the news—actually is a news-MAKER!

Reasons to Stay in Touch (Beyond Funding Requests)

1. Your program has found new and interesting data. Enlighten them with some breaking news! Maybe your after-school program discovered that 95% of participants improved their math scores, or your food pantry served 40% more families than projected. Funders love to hear about measurable impact.

2. Your organization has launched a new program or initiative that may be of interest. Even if it’s outside their current funding priorities, sharing your growth and evolution keeps them informed about your expanding impact.

3. You’re a new hire in the development office. Introduce yourself and say hello! This gives you a reason to connect and helps maintain institutional relationships even when staff changes occur.

4. You’re planning a site visit opportunity for multiple funders. They may know each other or want to meet other foundations working in similar areas. These collaborative opportunities can strengthen multiple relationships simultaneously.

5. You made the news (good or bad), or THEY made the news. Say congratulations if it’s good news about them, or proactively address any challenges your organization faces. Transparency builds trust.

Creating Value for Funders

Effective relationship building means thinking beyond your own needs to consider what value you can provide to funders:

• Share sector insights: If you’re seeing trends in your community or field, funders often appreciate this ground-level intelligence.
• Offer expertise: Your program staff might serve as informal consultants on issues the funder is exploring.
• Facilitate connections: Introduce funders to other organizations doing complementary work or to community leaders who share their interests.
• Provide feedback: When funders are considering new initiatives, your perspective as a practitioner can be invaluable.

Stewardship: Treating Funders as Partners

The best funder relationships feel like partnerships where both sides are working toward shared goals. This means:

• Including them in your success stories: When your program achieves significant milestones, let your funders know—even those who didn’t fund that specific project.
• Seeking their input: Ask for advice on program challenges or strategic decisions. This demonstrates respect for their expertise and investment in outcomes.
• Sharing your platform: If you have newsletter subscribers, social media followers, or event attendees, occasionally highlight your funders’ other good work (with their permission).
• Being transparent about challenges: Don’t hide struggles. Funders appreciate honesty and often have resources or advice that can help.

The Long-Term Perspective

It may be hard to think of ourselves as a dynamo. It may be difficult to puff ourselves up to feel bold enough to tell people how great we are. But when you think of how important our work is, how many lives we change, how we make the world a better place… then it’s not hard to get worked up enough to get the guts to pick up that phone and let the world know!

Remember: building relationships is an investment that pays dividends over time. Today’s “no” can become next year’s “yes” when you’ve maintained genuine connection and demonstrated consistent impact.

The funders who know your organization well are more likely to:

• Fund you at higher levels
• Provide multi-year support
• Refer you to other funders
• Offer strategic advice and connections
• Give you the benefit of the doubt during challenging times

Following Up: What to Do Whether You’re Funded or Not

The relationship doesn’t end when you submit your proposal—it’s just getting started. How you follow up, whether you receive funding or not, often determines whether this becomes a one-time interaction or the beginning of a long-term partnership.

When Your Proposal Gets Rejected

If your proposal gets rejected, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and hey! Another good reason to call! This isn’t about being pushy—it’s about being professional and genuinely interested in learning.

Ask if there was anything you could have done/said differently. This shows you’re committed to improvement and gives the funder a chance to provide valuable feedback. Sometimes you’ll learn about unstated preferences or discover that your proposal was actually quite strong but simply didn’t fit their current priorities.

Ask if it would be of interest to reapply next year. Many foundations encourage reapplications, especially if you address their feedback. Getting a clear answer about future opportunities helps you plan your grant calendar strategically.

Ask if you can keep in touch in the meantime (a.k.a “cultivate!”). And then DO! This is where many grant professionals drop the ball. They ask for permission to stay in touch but never follow through. Consistent, valuable communication keeps you on their radar for future opportunities.

When You Do Get Funded

Success brings its own relationship-building opportunities, and how you handle them affects your chances of continued support:

Immediate response: Thank them promptly and professionally. Express genuine gratitude, not just for the money, but for their belief in your mission and their partnership in creating change.

Early impact reports: Don’t wait until your final report to share good news. If you achieve an early milestone or overcome a significant challenge, let them know. Funders want to see their investments working.

Invite them to see the work: If appropriate for your type of program, invite funders to see their grant dollars in action. Site visits, program demonstrations, or beneficiary meetings create emotional connections that strengthen relationships.

Include them in celebrations: When your funded program achieves major goals, make sure your funders know they were essential partners in that success.

The Art of Strategic Follow-Up

Timing matters: Don’t call the day after submitting your proposal asking for updates. Most foundations have clear timelines they communicate. Respect those timelines while staying appropriately engaged.

Value-driven communication: Every time you reach out, provide something of value—an update, an insight, a connection, or a genuine question that helps them do their work better.

Consistency without pestering: Establish a rhythm of communication that feels natural. For most funders, this might be quarterly updates for active grants and semi-annual check-ins for prospect relationships.

Documentation and Planning

Keep detailed notes about every interaction with funders:

• What you discussed
• Any preferences or insights they shared
• Follow-up commitments you made
• Best times and methods for reaching them
• Personal details that help humanize the relationship

Create follow-up calendars: Don’t rely on memory to maintain relationships. Schedule follow-up communications in advance, whether that’s checking in after six months, sharing annual reports, or touching base before the next application cycle.

Learning from Every Outcome

Whether funded or not, every interaction teaches you something valuable:

From rejections: You learn about funder priorities, application competitiveness, and areas for organizational improvement.

From successful grants: You discover what resonated with funders and can apply those insights to future proposals and relationships.

From ongoing conversations: You gain intelligence about the funding landscape, emerging trends, and other potential opportunities.

The key is approaching every outcome as a learning opportunity rather than a final verdict. This year’s “no” doesn’t have to mean it’s “no” next year, especially when you’ve maintained the relationship and addressed any concerns they raised.

Systematic Relationship Management: Making It Sustainable

Building funder relationships can’t be a haphazard activity squeezed between proposal deadlines. To be truly effective, you need systems that make relationship management sustainable and strategic.

Creating Your Grants Calendar

Calendarize and rate each prospect based on the findings from your calls. Literally make a Grants Calendar, including the proposal deadlines. Then work backwards from those dates to include prep/writing time, and any information-gathering time needed.

Unless you have unlimited resources, staff, and time, you must prioritize which funder’s application gets your attention. Knowing which funder is more of a sure thing and spending your time on their proposals will increase your chances at netting your agency a grant.

Your grants calendar should include:

• Application deadlines for each funder
• Relationship maintenance touchpoints
• Research refresh dates
• Follow-up communication schedules
• Board meeting dates for connection discussions

Building Your Relationship Tracking System

Don’t forget to include your finance team in generating a program budget, your HR team in estimating staff and benefits costs, your IT team in quotes for building a new site or webpage or other necessaries, your marketing team in outreach costs and a timetable—you get the idea.

But beyond project management, you need to track relationship development systematically:

Essential information to track:

• Contact history and conversation notes
• Funder preferences and priorities
• Board connections and warm introduction possibilities
• Application history and outcomes
• Personal details that help humanize interactions
• Best communication methods and timing

Simple tracking solutions:

• Shared spreadsheet with relationship status columns
• Donor management system with foundation profiles
• Grant management software with relationship tracking
• Even a simple contact list with detailed notes

Assigning Relationship Responsibilities

Unless you reasonably think you can single-handedly make all the calls to all the prospective funders yourself, DELEGATE! Get your board or other key volunteers involved.

Clear role definitions help:

• Who conducts initial prospect research?
• Who makes first contact calls?
• Who maintains ongoing relationships?
• Who coordinates board connections?
• Who tracks and updates relationship information?

Creating Communication Rhythms

Monthly: Review upcoming deadlines and required follow-up communications 

Quarterly: Check in with current funders and key prospects 

Semi-annually: Refresh prospect research and update relationship status 

Annually: Comprehensive review of all funder relationships and strategy adjustment

Making Relationship Building Efficient

Batch similar activities: Make all your prospect calls in one focused session rather than spreading them throughout the week.

Prepare templates: Create template emails for common scenarios—initial outreach, follow-up after meetings, sharing updates, etc.

Leverage existing communications: Include funder updates in your regular newsletter rather than creating separate communications for each relationship.

Use team meetings strategically: Regular staff meetings can include funder relationship updates and coordination.

The Investment Mindset

Building systematic relationship management requires upfront investment in time and systems, but it pays dividends through:

• Higher success rates: When you know funders well, you apply to better-matched opportunities 
• Increased grant amounts: Strong relationships often lead to larger grants 
• Multi-year funding: Funders are more likely to provide sustained support to organizations they know well 
• Referrals and introductions: Well-cultivated funders become ambassadors who introduce you to other opportunities 
• Streamlined applications: When funders know your work, proposal writing becomes more focused and efficient

The goal isn’t to manage relationships for the sake of having a system—it’s to create sustainable practices that help you build genuine partnerships with funders who share your vision for change.

Common Mistakes That Damage Funder Relationships

Even well-intentioned grant professionals can unknowingly damage funder relationships through common missteps. After nearly 15 years in this field, I’ve seen these mistakes repeatedly—and I’ve made some of them myself early in my career.

Treating Funders Like ATMs

This is the cardinal sin of funder relationships. Your funders don’t like being treated like ATMs, and that’s essentially what not calling the funder does. You’re otherwise essentially just plopping an unknown pile of work in front of them and expecting them to care.

What this looks like:

• Only contacting funders when you need money
• Submitting proposals without any prior communication
• Failing to acknowledge funders as partners in your mission
• Treating grant applications like transactions rather than relationship-building opportunities

The fix: Remember that foundations are made up of people with feelings and emotions and likes and dislikes. They need to be respected. Approach every interaction with genuine interest in their mission and priorities, not just what they can provide you.

Skipping Your Homework

Please don’t waste their time. When you do call, please be smart and do your research so that you know the answers to most of the questions that you would want to ask, things that you would want to know, so you don’t have to waste the foundation’s time asking them.

Common research failures:

• Asking questions easily answered by their website
• Not knowing their funding history or typical grant sizes
• Being unaware of their geographic restrictions
• Failing to understand their current priorities

The fix: Make sure what you end up asking them are clarifying questions and smart questions about what’s not in the public information. Show that you’ve done your homework by referencing specific information you’ve found.

Being Pushy or Desperate

Desperation repels funders faster than almost anything else. When you approach relationships from a place of need rather than partnership, it shows.

Signs of desperation:

• Calling repeatedly without adding value
• Pressing for immediate decisions
• Overselling your organization’s importance
• Ignoring funder timelines and processes

The fix: Approach funder relationships with confidence in your mission and respect for their decision-making process. If you’re not a good fit, that’s valuable information for both of you.

Forgetting to Follow Up

Many grant professionals make the mistake of treating proposal submission as the end of the relationship, when it should be the beginning of deeper engagement.

Follow-up failures:

• Failing to thank funders for their time, whether funded or not
• Not maintaining relationships between application cycles
• Dropping contact after rejection
• Missing opportunities to share relevant updates during appropriate timeframes

The fix: Create systematic follow-up processes that keep you connected without being annoying. Remember that this year’s “no” doesn’t have to mean next year’s “no” if you maintain the relationship respectfully.

Only Communicating When You Need Money

One of the biggest relationship killers is radio silence between grant applications. Funders notice when organizations only contact them when they want something.

What this pattern looks like:

• Years of silence between grant cycles
• Only sharing bad news when it affects grant reporting
• Never acknowledging funders’ other work or achievements
• Treating funders as one-dimensional funding sources

The fix: Build genuine relationships by sharing successes, asking for advice, offering insights about your sector, and acknowledging funders as partners in change.

Poor Communication Practices

Common communication mistakes:

• Leaving unclear or rushed voicemails
• Sending mass emails that clearly aren’t personalized
• Using jargon or acronyms without explanation
• Failing to respond promptly to funder inquiries

The fix: Treat every communication as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship. Be clear, professional, and genuinely interested in dialogue.

Coordination Failures Within Your Organization

The development team might be employing the same tactic, so coordinate with them! Nothing damages credibility faster than having multiple people from your organization contact the same funder with conflicting information or requests.

Internal coordination problems:

• Multiple staff members contacting the same funder
• Inconsistent messaging about organizational priorities
• Board members making unauthorized approaches
• Conflicting information in different communications

The fix: Create internal systems for tracking funder communications and ensure everyone knows their role in relationship management.

Ignoring Funder Feedback

When funders take time to provide feedback—whether through formal declination letters or informal conversations—ignoring that guidance is a missed opportunity and relationship damager.

The fix: Thank funders for feedback, ask clarifying questions when appropriate, and demonstrate in future interactions that you’ve incorporated their suggestions.

Remember: damaged relationships are much harder to repair than they are to maintain properly from the beginning. Taking time to avoid these common mistakes protects the significant investment you’ve made in building funder connections.

Advanced Relationship Strategies: From Contact to Partnership

Once you’ve mastered the basics of funder contact and relationship building, there are advanced strategies that can transform good funder relationships into true partnerships that support your mission for years to come.

Creating Meaningful Engagement Opportunities

If it’s appropriate—if you do the kind of work that can have tours or you have fundraising events—invite them, invite these funders. And again, whether they funded you or not, if they’re prospective funders, call them and give them a personal invitation.

Site visits and program demonstrations: Personal invitations to see your work in action create emotional connections that no proposal can match. Call and say, “We’d like you to see our program in action,” or “We’d like to give you a tour to show you our work and meet our staff or meet our constituents”—if that’s appropriate, that’s a great way to help build that relationship.

Collaborative events: Consider hosting events that bring multiple funders together. Program officers often enjoy meeting their peers and learning about different approaches to shared challenges. This positions your organization as a convener and thought leader.

Behind-the-scenes access: Offer funders opportunities to engage with your work beyond formal site visits—board meetings (as observers), planning sessions, or informal conversations with program staff and beneficiaries.

Leveraging Funders as Strategic Advisors

The strongest funder relationships evolve beyond financial transactions into genuine partnerships where funders provide strategic guidance and connections.

Seeking input on organizational strategy: When you’re considering new programs, geographic expansion, or significant organizational changes, funders who know your work well can provide valuable perspective. Their broader view of the sector often reveals opportunities or challenges you might not see.

Program design collaboration: Some funders appreciate being consulted during program design phases, especially when you’re addressing issues they care deeply about. This investment in the planning process often leads to stronger funding commitments.

Evaluation and learning partnerships: Funders increasingly value learning opportunities. Sharing both successes and challenges creates opportunities for collaborative problem-solving that strengthens both your programs and their funding strategies.

Building Your Reputation as a Trusted Partner

Sharing sector intelligence: Your ground-level view of community needs, emerging challenges, and innovative solutions is valuable to funders. Regularly sharing insights positions you as a knowledgeable partner rather than just a funding recipient.

Facilitating connections: Introduce funders to other high-quality organizations, community leaders, or sector experts. This demonstrates your commitment to the broader mission beyond your own organizational needs.

Transparency in both success and struggle: Share honest updates about both achievements and challenges. Funders appreciate organizations that trust them enough to discuss problems and seek advice, not just report successes.

Staying Connected to Your Funders’ Evolution

Following their broader work: At the very least, add your funders and prospects to your agency’s mailing list so they receive news of what your nonprofit is up to. But also stay informed about their other grants, new initiatives, and strategic directions.

Acknowledging their achievements: When your funders receive recognition, launch new programs, or achieve significant milestones, acknowledge these successes. This demonstrates that you see them as partners, not just funding sources.

Adapting to their changing interests: As foundations evolve their strategies, look for ways your work might align with their new directions. Sometimes this means adapting existing programs (but watch out for mission creep!); other times it means being honest about decreased alignment.

Creating Long-Term Value

Multi-year thinking: Frame conversations around long-term outcomes rather than just immediate funding needs. Help funders see how their investment contributes to sustained change over time.

Leverage and sustainability: Demonstrate how their funding attracts additional resources and builds organizational capacity. Funders want to see their investments create multiplier effects.

Institutional knowledge sharing: As you build relationships with multiple funders, you develop valuable intelligence about the funding landscape. Sharing appropriate insights (while respecting confidentiality) helps funders make better strategic decisions.

The Network Effect

Let’s say your agency or leadership lands in the news—print or video or television or radio or whatever. If your CEO gets called by your region’s top interview talk show host, save the MP3 or M4 and share it. Share it with your funders.

Think like a funder for a moment. How would you feel hearing positive media coverage about an organization you’re considering for funding, or one you’ve never funded before, or even one you might want to support again? “Gee, they’re doing such great work” or “Gee, they really sound like they’ve got their act together and they’re making a difference in the same sector we care about. Let’s give them another look—let’s make sure we read their application very carefully.”

Strategic visibility: When your organization receives recognition or media coverage, share it strategically with funders. This isn’t boasting—it’s keeping partners informed about your growing impact and reputation.

Cross-pollination opportunities: Strong relationships with multiple funders sometimes create opportunities for collaborative funding, synergies where several foundations support different aspects of a larger initiative.

It makes a difference. These advanced strategies require more time and intention than basic relationship maintenance, but they create the kind of partnerships that sustain organizations through both opportunities and challenges.

Conclusion: Your Relationship-Building Action Plan

The organizations that consistently secure grants understand what I’ve discovered throughout my grants career: relationships are the foundation of grant success. Without genuine connections to the people who make funding decisions, even the best applications can get lost in the pile.

Remember these key principles as you build your funder relationship strategy:

• Start with preparation. Do your homework on both your organization and the funder before making contact.
• Script your first calls. Don’t wing it—you’ll kick yourself for what you forgot to ask.
• Leverage your network. Check for existing connections before making cold calls.
• Think beyond the ask. Build relationships on mutual respect and shared vision, not just funding requests.
• Follow up consistently. Maintain relationships whether you’re funded or not.
• Build sustainable systems. Create tracking and communication rhythms that make relationship management manageable.

These relationships can be the difference between getting funded and not, receiving continued support or not, and securing larger grants or not. The phone call that intimidates you today could be the beginning of a partnership that supports your mission for years to come.

Start with one call this week. Pick your lowest-risk prospect, practice your script, and dial the number.

Because when it comes to funder relationship success, it all starts with a call.

Take Your Grant Success to the Next Level with Unlock-Grants

Want to master every aspect of grant writing and funder relationships? The Unlock-Grants course includes the detailed scripts and relationship-building frameworks from this article, plus comprehensive training across eight modules covering everything from prospect research to proposal writing.

The course features practical worksheets, real-world examples, and actionable strategies you can implement immediately, including the Funder Prospect Scorecard referenced throughout this guide.

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