Unfunded List

Our session on "Reimagining Rejection for Funders" at the Exponent Philanthropy conference in Austin went very well last week. 60 lean funders were there to learn better strategies for declining grant proposals. To prepare for the conference and our session, Margaret Chapman and I put together a list of suggestions for funders looking to improve their declination efforts. Unfortunately, rejection is a part of the proposal process (and a part of life) but thoughtful grant making programs can turn down applicants with kindness, candor, and by working with Unfunded List they can provide value to every single applicant whether they accept them or not. There is no perfect grant cycle. Based on our experience speaking with hundreds of rejected applicants and reviewing their proposals, we have devised this list of suggestions for funders who are looking to improve their funding programs. https://lnkd.in/eGAqdj9a

Unfunded List board chair Margaret Chapman and our founder Dave Moss are headed to Austin this week for the #2024ExponentConference. This short vid explains how we work with thoughtful grantmakers to provide helpful and thoughtful feedback to proposal authors. https://lnkd.in/efKAzk5H

Thank you Grant Professionals! Grant professionals are unsung heroes. We appreciate their contributions to the social sector and to the world. Philanthropy is a tremendous force for good but it can be confusing and grant professionals help organizations navigate. A large portion of our vast committee of volunteer evaluators are grant professionals. This year, we wanted to do something to thank them and so we are proud to be one of the many sponsors for this year's GrantSummit hosted by Grant Professionals Association. https://lnkd.in/eGVWUvSX

Our founder and board chair are looking forward to attending the #2024ExponentConference this year.

We are once again reviewing proposals. Here is the timeline for this round.

Our founder Dave Moss and our board chair Margaret Chapman have been doing the bulk of the behind-the-scenes work here for the past 8 years. For this interview, the weather cooperated and each were both able to sit on their home porches for a recorded discussion. They had a wide ranging discussion that begins with Margaret's childhood in West Virginia, covers her vast experience in philanthropy in DC, and talks about why she got involved and stayed involved with Unfunded List. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/e7JWvXmC

Unfunded List’s 18th round of grant proposal review is in the books. Since our first round, we have always taken a moment to pause and consider what an honor it is to be able to read and evaluate documents of such importance and passion. Since 2015, we have reviewed well over 1000 grant proposals and each one contained a promise to repair the world. Our next round is coming right up. We are looking for?more proposals to review?and we are?always looking for more evaluators.?We have 3 exciting partnerships this Fall and we are expecting a wide array of proposals to review. In particular, we will have proposals related to economic justice from the Washington, DC area thanks to a partnership the Next Gen Giving Circle. We will have more international development proposals from our ongoing partnership with Kuja. And we also expect several dozen proposals for oral healthcare programs from community organizations all over the US. This will be a brief update since we still have a lot of planning and preparation to do for the Fall round, but I did want to pause and take a moment to recognize once again some of the organizations we reviewed this past round. All in all, 160 evaluators completed a total of 600 evaluations on 55 proposals. We are expecting a greater number of proposals and evaluators this Fall. To help us prepare for our upcoming round, I have chosen one organization to highlight for each of the 3 thematic areas we are expecting this Fall. Cont'd....https://lnkd.in/gi7y4VAV

Disrupting Declination: Our Innovative Intervention for Grant Gridlock Feedback can be harder to find than funding which can leave authors dejected following a declination. Most funders do not provide feedback to rejected grant proposals and are understandably focused on their selected grantees. Even if a foundation or grantmaker does provide detailed feedback to grantees, it is often cursory and unhelpful and?the power dynamics at play make the entire process awkward and difficult. In many other sectors,?a thorough review process is considered essential. Novelists have editors, doctoral candidates have thesis advisors, engineers conduct stress tests, actors take notes during rehearsals, academics and scientists submit their work for peer review, legislative bills are debated and commented on before they become laws. Great review makes for great proposals. Since 2015, Unfunded List has independently reviewed over 1100 proposals and we have found our coordinated and comprehensive proposal evaluation program to be a tremendous service to proposal authors at all levels of experience. In addition, dozens of inclusive grantmakers from a variety of sectors have found value through co-review partnerships.?In 2024, we are partnering with?the global platform KujaLink?to review international development proposals as well as the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation to review proposals from the U.S. related to oral health care.?And we are eager to partner with more grantmakers to provide this service to more proposal authors. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e-_BucYD

Our deadline was this weekend, but we have space to review more proposals so we are pleased to offer an extension. Get your proposal submitted by Thursday, April 4th to be included in this round of review. https://lnkd.in/fDehYYA

Submit your proposals this week!