Grant Writer Efficiency: 4 Ways to Submit More Proposals

The math of grant success is surprisingly simple: the more quality proposals you submit, the more funding you’re likely to secure. But for most grant professionals I work with, the bottleneck isn’t knowing what to write — it’s finding the time to write it all.

“Submit more grant proposals” is advice we’ve all heard, usually from well-meaning leadership who don’t quite understand the time constraints we’re working under. When you’re already juggling multiple deadlines, research, relationship-building, and reporting, the idea of somehow increasing your output can seem impossible.

I’ve spent years helping nonprofits streamline their grant processes, and I’ve discovered that the secret isn’t working longer hours — it’s building systems that maximize your productivity during the hours you already work.

This post isn’t about quick fixes (we all know there aren’t any in the grants world!). Instead, I’m sharing four proven efficiency strategies that have helped my clients dramatically increase their grant submission volume without sacrificing quality or burning out in the process.

These approaches have transformed how my clients approach their grant writing workflow — and they can do the same for you.

Strategy #1: Build a Comprehensive Case Statement

One of the most powerful efficiency tools in a grant writer’s arsenal is a well-constructed case statement.

A case statement is essentially a master document containing all the vetted and approved language for the common questions that funders generally ask. Having this information organized in one place creates tremendous efficiencies that allow you to produce more grant proposals with less effort.

In my Unlock-Grants course, I cover case statements in depth because they’re that important to your productivity. A good case statement should include:

The beauty of a comprehensive case statement is that it eliminates the need to recreate the wheel with each new application. Instead of starting from scratch, you’re starting from a document of approved language that can be customized for each funder’s requirements.

For example, if your case statement has a 5,000-character answer about your program’s impact, but you encounter an application that only allows 1,200 characters, you already have the base content ready — you just need to condense it appropriately.

This single tool can dramatically reduce the time needed for each new proposal, allowing you to submit more applications within the same timeframe.

Strategy #2: Leverage AI Tools Effectively

In today’s grant writing landscape, artificial intelligence offers powerful tools to boost your productivity when used judiciously. While nothing replaces the human touch in crafting compelling narratives, AI can help with specific time-consuming tasks in your grant writing process.

You could use AI tools to edit your grant proposal’s narrative answers down to size. If your case statement has a 5,000-character answer within it, but you get to an application that only gives you 1,200 characters to answer the same question, you could input your longer text into AI and ask it to create a condensed version that preserves the key points.

And then of course you have to review that — you can’t just cut and paste and stick it in your grant application. You really have to check that AI did what you feel is important and left in what can be interpreted as true still. AI: you really need to keep an eye on it.

And also you need to remember that if you put information into AI, then the ether owns it. You gave it away. It is in the ether. Anyone else can get that information. So if you’re talking about anything that’s proprietary, I would be very careful with using AI. But I think that depending on the answer that you’re trying to pare down, you can use it very effectively and that would save you tons of time.

Beyond condensing text, AI can assist with several other aspects of grant writing:

• Proofreading for spelling, grammar, and clarity
• Generating first drafts of standard sections (which you’ll then personalize)
• Researching statistics and data points for need statements
• Suggesting alternative phrasings when you’re stuck
• Organizing research notes into coherent summaries

The key to successful AI integration in your grant writing workflow is maintaining control and judgment. Use these tools as assistants rather than replacements, and always apply your professional expertise to review and refine the output. When used strategically, AI can significantly reduce the time spent on mechanical aspects of writing, freeing you to focus on the relationship-building and strategic elements that truly require human insight.

Strategy #3: Automate Routine Tasks

Another key to becoming more efficient and organized — and ultimately able to produce more grant proposals — is to identify and automate the repetitive tasks that consume your valuable time.

Think about the routine aspects of your grant writing process. How many times do you write essentially the same organizational background paragraph? How often do you recreate similar budget spreadsheets? How frequently do you search for the same organizational documents? These repetitive tasks are prime candidates for automation.

You can find and build tools to automate rote tasks that are a part of your day. This is tantamount to, let’s say, boilerplate answers. And if you have that case statement, you can maintain all the different versions of your answers there, and say: Here’s the brief history of our organization. Here’s a 500-character answer. Here’s a thousand-character answer. Here’s a 1,500-character answer. So then you can just plug in what is just a standard rote answer, and that is one rote task that can be streamlined and made a lot more organized and efficient.

Beyond boilerplate text, consider automating these common grant writing tasks:

• Create templates for different types of proposals (government, foundation, corporate)
• Develop standardized budget spreadsheets with formulas already in place
• Set up document libraries organized by category for quick access to frequently needed materials
• Create checklists for each grant submission process to ensure nothing is missed
• Use calendar reminders for important grant deadlines and follow-ups
• Create email templates for common communications with program staff or funders
• Develop a system for tracking proposal status and reporting requirements

Many grant professionals find that project management software or customer relationship management (CRM) systems can help automate and organize their grant processes. Tools like Asana, Trello, or even specialized grant management software can help you track deadlines, assign tasks, store documents, and maintain communication — all from one central location.

The time investment in setting up these systems is quickly repaid through increased efficiency. By automating routine tasks, you can redirect your focus toward the creative and strategic aspects of grant writing that truly require your expertise and attention.

Strategy #4: Delegate and Collaborate Strategically

One of the most underutilized efficiency strategies is effective delegation. If you’re trying to handle every aspect of the grant process yourself, you’re creating an unnecessary bottleneck.

If you have a case statement, what this does is make it so much easier for you to delegate. If you’ve got someone in an administrative role, let’s say, that has some free time, you can say: Hi, here is the history of the organization. Or, here is all the information on our organization as pertains to this program, but it’s a new fiscal year, so we need to update.

So please change FY23 to FY24. Update the board list. Update the number of years the organization has existed. Update the CEO’s name or the program lead’s name when there is a staff change. Update that they’ve been with the organization for X-plus-one years. Here are the other awards that we’ve won or boards that our senior staff are sitting on now. Here are our current board members’ affiliations.

All those things that change over naturally in a new fiscal year can be updated. And you can delegate that and set aside more of your time for the nuts and bolts work of grants — and your relationship building, which is so important! So that’s one way you can delegate rote tasks in order to free up time to submit more grant proposals, thereby potentially get more grant dollars in the door.

Beyond administrative updates, consider delegating these aspects of the grant process:

• Ask program staff to provide updated impact numbers and client stories
• Ask finance staff to prepare program budgets as early as possible
• Recruit trusted peers or colleagues to review proposals before submission
• Partner with evaluators to develop strong measurement frameworks
• Engage subject matter experts to review technical sections

Effective delegation isn’t about passing off your work — it’s about creating collaborative processes that leverage your organization’s collective expertise while allowing you to focus on the elements that specifically require your grant writing skills. This approach not only increases efficiency but typically results in stronger proposals with broader organizational buy-in.

Remember that delegation works best when you provide clear instructions, reasonable deadlines, and feedback on completed work. Investing time in training others on grant-related tasks may require upfront effort but will pay dividends in your long-term productivity.

Conclusion: From Efficiency to Impact

Submitting more proposals is fundamentally about time management and efficiency. Anything you can do to ensure your time is being used for the heavy lifting of proposal writing is what’s important. It won’t happen overnight, but using your time most wisely is the way to increase your productivity and, over time, win more grants.

The strategies we’ve covered — developing a comprehensive case statement, leveraging AI tools, automating routine tasks, and delegating effectively — aren’t just theoretical. They’re practical approaches that I’ve seen transform grant programs across organizations of all sizes.

Start with the strategy that addresses your biggest bottleneck. For many grant writers, creating a case statement offers the quickest path to increased efficiency. For others, identifying tasks to delegate might yield the most immediate results. The key is to begin somewhere and build momentum.

Remember that grant success is a long game. Small improvements in efficiency, applied consistently over time, yield significant results. By implementing these strategies, you’re not just enabling yourself to submit more proposals — you’re creating sustainable systems that will support your organization’s funding efforts for years to come.

Take Your Grant Writing to the Next Level

Looking for more tools to increase your grant writing efficiency? The Unlock-Grants course provides comprehensive training on these strategies and more, including:

• Ready-to-use templates for case statements
• Scripts for calling funders to get valuable intelligence
• Calendars and dashboards to track deadlines and submissions
• Scorecards to evaluate potential grant opportunities
• Project budget templates to streamline planning and implementation

These tools are designed to help you implement the efficiency strategies discussed in this post, enabling you to submit more high-quality proposals and secure more funding for your organization’s important work.

Learn more about the Unlock-Grants course