7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofit Secure Corporate Grants

If you’re like many nonprofit leaders, corporate grants might feel intimidating, or like something “other” organizations do. But the truth is, corporate giving can be one of the most reliable and impactful funding sources for your nonprofit. And yes, it’s totally doable.

At Bloom Grant Consulting, here are seven tips I use to guide our clients to find and secure corporate support, without the overwhelm:

1. Know What You’re Looking For

Corporate giving comes in different shapes:

• Direct grants: Companies fund specific programs or initiatives.

• Employee-driven grants: These are often tied to volunteerism or matching gifts.

• Sponsorships: Support for events or campaigns in exchange for visibility.

• In-kind contributions: Donations of goods, services, or expertise.

Not every company offers every type. Knowing your options upfront helps you target your efforts where they’ll have the most impact.

2. Align With Their Values

Corporations have goals for giving—they want to support causes that reflect their mission and values. Do your homework:

• Look at their CSR (corporate social responsibility) statements.

• See who they’ve supported in the past.

• Follow their news and community initiatives.

When your mission aligns with theirs, your proposal will naturally stand out.

3. Use Smart Tools to Identify Corporate Grants

Searching company websites one by one can feel endless. Corporate giving databases exist for a reason; they centralize all the info you need: eligibility, deadlines, focus areas, and more. A little upfront research can save hours and help you find the right fit faster. Look at websites such as Instrumentl, Double The Donation, or Candid's Foundation Directory.

4. Leverage Your Supporters

Your donors and volunteers might be the key to unlocking corporate grants. Many companies prefer supporting nonprofits that their employees already care about. Ask who works where, connect with employee champions, and let them help open doors. Warm introductions beat cold calls every time.

5. Tell Your Story With Numbers and Heart

Corporate funders want to see both impact and outcomes. Combine data with stories:

• Show what success looks like.

• Include measurable results.

• Add personal testimonials that make your work real.

Tailoring your language to each company’s priorities makes it clear you understand them and their goals.

6. Show Up Online

Your website and social media are your first impression. Keep them professional, up to date, and full of proof points about your impact. A strong online presence reassures funders that you’re credible, organized, and making a difference.

7. Treat Grants as Relationships, Not Transactions

Winning a grant is just the start. Even if you don’t get the funding, every interaction is a chance to build connections. Send thank-you notes, share impact updates, invite company representatives to events, and stay in touch. Over time, these relationships grow into ongoing support.

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Corporate grants can feel like a mystery, but in truth, they are a great opportunity for your organization. With thoughtful research, strategic alignment, and strong storytelling, your nonprofit can unlock new funding and build partnerships that last. It’s less about luck and more about strategy, relationships, and knowing your value.

At Bloom Grant Consulting, I love helping nonprofits feel confident and capable in this process. Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization secure corporate grants.

Perseverance through Fire & Flood

Jacquee reflects on a year of personal challenges and professional growth and highlights the power of perseverance and resilience in nonprofit sustainability. 

The past year has been a season of profound change and reflection. For me, it has been marked by personal loss and the challenges that come with life’s inevitable transitions. Yet, it has also brought joy, professional milestones, and opportunities to celebrate the work that inspires me daily. If I had to choose one word to define this year, it would be perseverance.  

Perseverance is the continued effort to achieve something despite difficulties, failures, or opposition. This quality has not only shaped my personal journey but also guided the work we do at Bloom Grant Consulting. As nonprofit leaders face uncertainty about the future–whether due to economic volatility, political shifts, or the evolving grant landscape–perseverance is the steady current carrying us all forward.  

Four years ago, I founded Bloom Grant Consulting with a vision inspired by nature’s resilience and adaptability. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I am surrounded by the striking beauty of fireweed, a plant that thrives in the wake of environmental upheaval. Fireweed’s ability to regenerate and flourish in the aftermath of disruption serves as a powerful metaphor for the work we do.  

Like fireweed, we focus on cultivating growth in challenging conditions. Each seed we plant represents intentional, meaningful, and sustainable grant strategies designed to help nonprofits bloom despite an ever-changing landscape. Just as fireweed’s roots lie dormant under forest cover, waiting for the right moment to regenerate, we build systems and strategies that ensure nonprofits are ready to thrive when opportunities arise.  

Fireweed in bloom.

Securing grant funding isn’t a luxury–it’s essential to keeping a nonprofit’s mission alive. Over the years, I’ve seen how the right funding at the right time can sustain critical programs, launch new initiatives, and deepen an organization’s impact. The resources are out there, and with a thoughtful and strategic approach, organizations can build sustainable bases of funders deeply invested in their missions.  

At Bloom, we believe in using grants as tools–not distractions. They should strengthen your organization, not strain it. Our approach is grounded, restorative, and tailored to your unique needs. From crafting replicable grant templates to identifying aligned funders, we aim to create sustainable solutions that allow you to focus on your work: uplifting, empowering, and transforming communities.  

This year, I’ve had countless conversations with nonprofit leaders who are grappling with concerns about the road ahead. Federal funding cliffs, economic challenges, and shifting political landscapes create an atmosphere of uncertainty. However, these challenges also highlight the importance of building resilient and adaptable funding models.  

As a team, we remain steadfast in our commitment to helping organizations navigate these challenges. Whether it’s developing strategic grant calendars, identifying new funding opportunities, or creating impact-driven proposals, our work is grounded in your organization’s extraordinary mission.  

As we prepare for the year ahead, I am filled with gratitude for the incredible organizations we’ve had the privilege to support. Your passion, dedication, and resilience inspire us to do our best work every day.  

Here’s to a new year filled with perseverance, growth, and blooming opportunities. Let’s keep moving forward together.  

3 Tips to Maximize Your Partnership with a Grant Consultant

Establishing a clear budget, detailed program descriptions, and a long-term strategic plan will help maximize your partnership with a grant consultant. 

Partnering with a grant consultant is a strategic investment in your nonprofit organization’s future. You can maximize this investment by ensuring your grant consultant deeply understands your organization's needs and goals. In this blog post, I’ll review three tips for maximizing your partnership with a grant consultant. 

1. Develop a Clear Budget 

Have you accounted for your nonprofit's needs? A clear budget is a requirement of most grant submissions and is vital to a financially sustainable nonprofit organization. Developing a clear budget will help your organization reflect on its priorities and allocate resources appropriately. 

Your grant consultant will review your budget to deepen their understanding of your organization’s priorities and funding requirements. As a grant consultant, it’s our role to communicate what’s outlined in the budget in a concise needs statement that reflects the organization’s mission, vision, and programming priorities. 

Part of developing a clear budget is defining a grant revenue goal. A clear grant revenue goal will allow your grant consultant to develop an appropriate scope of work based on your organization’s funding needs. This goal will also allow you and your grant consultant to establish SMART goals that provide accountability to the budget. This encourages communication and collaboration between you and your consultant to reach the organization’s funding goals. 

In addition, a clear budget can help your grant consultant develop a grant strategy that reduces your organization's risk by diversifying funding sources and pivoting when funding falls through. 

2. Craft Detailed Program Descriptions 

Your mission and vision statements briefly describe your organization’s purpose. Crafting detailed program descriptions will help you communicate how your organization fulfills its mission. 

Your grant consultant will review your program descriptions to deepen their understanding of your organization’s programming and associated funding needs. Program descriptions will allow your grant consultant to tell the story of your organization’s impact and how the funding will be allocated to further the mission. 

As I covered in our previous blog, Data-Driven Reporting and Outcome Evaluation, funders are also interested in seeing the tangible impacts of your programming on the communities they serve. Therefore, it’s essential to develop clear metrics for your programming that can be used to demonstrate its impact to potential funders. Stories and data visualizations can help your grant consultant communicate your organization’s impact.

3. Create a Long-Term Strategic Plan

You likely have goals for your organization for the year ahead, but what about the next three to five years? Creating a long-term strategic plan will help your organization understand its future funding needs and plan for long-term funding success. 

Your grant consultant will review your long-term strategic plan to understand your organization’s vision and goals for the future. Your grant consultant will utilize your long-term strategic plan to develop a strategy to engage existing, past, and prospective funders to meet your goals and continue to fulfill your mission as your needs and programming evolve. 

In addition, a long-term strategic plan showcases your organization’s commitment to its future, inspiring confidence from funders. 

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In conclusion, establishing a clear budget, detailed program descriptions, and a long-term strategic plan will help maximize your partnership with a grant consultant by providing them with the information they need to achieve grant success. 

Interested in more tips to prepare your grant strategy? 

Our Interactive Grant Readiness Checklist will help you assess your grant readiness before investing in a grant consultant, including a comprehensive checklist, detailed assessment questions, and space to self-reflect and strategize. Use code “READY2024” to access the checklist for FREE through the end of the year.