WHAT TO DO WHEN THE FUNDER SAYS NO
Someday, probably when your agency is least expecting it, an envelope arrives bearing the return address of the grantmaker. The day of reckoning has come. Do you do what I do and hold the envelope up to a light bulb, trying to discern whether a check is tucked inside? Receiving an answer from a potential funder is a lot like hearing from the critics. If there’s approval, you get the money. If the reviews are tepid or unfavorable, what you receive is a “thanks but no thanks” letter.
If your agency gets a rejection letter, what’s the appropriate response? Because it’s entirely possible that your agency may want to apply again to this grantmaker in the following year, you should view this as an opportunity ...