Want an Unrestricted Grant? Here Are 7 Ways to Stand Out to Funders.

In the wake of last year’s federal funding freezes and cuts that canceled billions of dollars, nonprofits are confronting the hard reality that those grants may not be coming back anytime soon. The revenue sources that supported thousands of organizations for decades have dried up. Nonprofits cannot afford to wait for Washington to reverse course.

To fill budget gaps, more grant seekers are turning to private foundations for general operating support. However, funders tend to award unrestricted grants to organizations they know and trust. 

Securing unrestricted funding isn’t an overnight proposition. It requires a sustained effort to get on a foundation’s radar, build rapport with program officers, and demonstrate that you’ll use flexible funding responsibly. 

“Funders are looking for people who share their level of passion and concern and interest in solving problems,” says Alexander Justice Moore, chief development officer at D.C. Central Kitchen. “So when they give you something like general operating funding, they’re tapping you in to go solve that problem on their behalf.”

The Chronicle spoke with Moore and three other experts to learn how grant seekers can best position themselves to earn that confidence. Here are their top recommendations.

Raise your profile where program officers are looking.

At the Surdna Foundation, general operating grants made up 67 percent of its $53 million in grant making over the last fiscal year, says Sophy Yem, senior program officer for philanthropy. However, like many grant makers, Surdna doesn’t accept unsolicited proposals. When that’s the case, you’ll have to work at boosting your group’s profile with a potential funder if you want to be invited to apply, she says.

When [foundations] give you something like general operating funding, they’re tapping you in to go solve that problem on their behalf.

Funder briefings and gatherings of grantees are typically private, but if one of your grant makers is hosting or attending a conference, find out which other foundations will be there, Yem advises. Then ask the program officer how you can apply to be a speaker during a panel or session: “It’s how you get visibility with other funders.”

Foundations attend cause-specific conferences because they are prepared to give to groups working on that issue, so regularly review networking events in your field or region, advises Tonia Brown-Kinzel, grant-compliance manager at the Grant Plant, a consulting group that helps nonprofits secure and manage grants.

She recommends looking at the websites of state-based foundation associations for events open to the public or grant seekers. Use those opportunities to connect with program officers, says Brown-Kinzel.

Then be prepared to talk about your organization’s successes. “It’s not only important to be there at those events but to establish yourself as a thought leader. You can’t be a wallflower,” she says. “It’s not bragging, it’s advocating. It’s important you’re putting your story out there.”

Get referrals to warm up your cold outreach.

When you don’t have the resources to attend or speak at a conference, cold outreach can still be successful, says Anne Musial, chief development officer at The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom that covers issues related to gender, politics, and policy. “Just try to defrost as much as possible,” says Musial, who reports that general operating grants made up 87 percent of her group’s total revenue last year.

When you’ve identified a foundation that makes general operating grants, search its website or LinkedIn profile to find the program officers who focus on your cause, says Musial. Then see if any of your staff or board members are connected and can introduce you, which makes a program officer more likely to take your call.

Musial views peer organizations as resources, not competition. When she meets other fundraisers in journalism who have been successful in getting unrestricted support, she’ll ask for a 30-minute Zoom call to share what’s working. Sometimes that leads to referrals to the program officers they know, she says.

Nurture relationships long before you ask for money.

Once you’ve connected with a funder, nurture that connection over time to build trust. The experts say to expect at least six months and up to a year of relationship-building before you might be invited to apply for an unrestricted grant.

Because not every grant maker has a staff of program officers, Brown-Kinzel stays in touch with people who have the right connections to invite her to apply: “Make friends with wealth managers and advisers to donor-advised funds. Network with them, let them know what you’re doing, and they may in turn start that conversation.”

Moore says that the relationship must run both ways: You can’t expect that a foundation will be interested in you if you don’t show curiosity about what’s important to the foundation. 

When he speaks to program officers, he asks getting-to-know-you questions about how long they’ve been working there, whether the grant maker is going through a leadership transition, what the trustees care about, and if they’re looking for multiyear partnerships to go deeper into their program areas.

“You should be interested in their priorities,” says Moore. When a program officer asks you if you have any questions, be prepared. “If your only question is, when is the grant due and how much can I ask for, you are missing out on tons of really interesting and meaningful content that allows you to be a better partner to them and what they’re looking to accomplish in their work.”

Lay that groundwork for months before you ask for money, he adds: “It is very rare that potential funders or current funders are making a decision and informing themselves about our program solely based on what grant proposal that they’re reading from us.”

Show funders exactly where your missions overlap.

Before you submit your proposal, be totally clear on what makes your nonprofit a good partner for the foundation and what values the organizations share.

The 19th doesn’t limit itself to foundations that make grants to journalism groups, Musial says. She thinks more broadly about the issues they cover to find areas of alignment outside of the news box: “We report on climate, reproductive health, caregiving, and education, so we reach out to funders who fund in those spaces.” Some program officers reply that they have the budget only for direct services, but others have given The 19th operating grants for covering those issues, she says.

Yem agrees that alignment is the most important aspect of your pitch. “To get on our radar is to know someone that we know and to make sure that the work is aligned. If there is no alignment, then I wouldn’t try,” she says. For example, an arts group applying for a grant from an environmental program without showing that there is any overlap would be an automatic no.

If you’re told it’s not the right time in the funding cycle, you can always apply again later, but listen carefully when it’s not a good fit, Yem says: “Accept the first no, and don’t keep going for it.”

Write a proposal that balances immediate impact with long-term growth.

In your proposal, Brown-Kinzel recommends using reflective language to restate what the foundation identifies as its priorities on its website. “Mirror back their own language to them to show this is the alignment,” she says.

You don’t need the detailed goals a program grant requires, but you can’t ignore outcomes entirely. “In some way, define what are the overall goals and objectives that are tied to your mission,” Brown-Kinzel says. “What can you achieve on an annual basis that the funder can expect they can be a part of?”

According to her, the ideal proposal shows that you will spend some of an unrestricted grant right away for immediate impact, use some for strategic growth, and reserve some for a rainy day.

Convert project grants into general operating support at renewal time.

Moore says 74 percent of D.C. Central Kitchen’s fundraising revenue is now unrestricted, but many of its funder relationships began with project-focused grants.

He stays in close contact with program officers by sending customized emails once a month highlighting the success of the activities they’ve supported, in addition to related programs that the foundation perhaps doesn’t yet support.

In these emails, he tells program officers, “We love that the job-training program supports our economic-security pillar or that you’re promoting community nutrition, and that fits our human-services pillar,” says Moore. “We make sure that everything that we do nests and makes sense together holistically.”

The more you can show a foundation how effectively you’ve stewarded their money so far, the more likely they are to give you general operating support and let you be the judge of how to spend it.

Yem says the Surdna Foundation does not hesitate to give general operating support right off the bat, but organizations that have previously received project support are well suited to ask for an unrestricted grant. “If a grant comes up for renewal, and it’s aligned, then it can turn into general operating support,” she says.

Be honest about your challenges.

Finally, the experts say you can best demonstrate that your nonprofit will be a good steward of unrestricted support by being honest and transparent about your future.

If you relied heavily on federal grants that are now frozen, you can frame the situation as a unique event that is not the result of poor planning.

During times when your group is facing hardship, Brown-Kinzel says, you can acknowledge how important receiving operating support is at that moment while making it clear you have a plan to navigate troubled waters. For example, if you relied heavily on federal grants that are now frozen, you can frame the situation as a unique event that is not the result of poor planning: “You not only want to demonstrate that you are usually financially stable but that what you’re doing strongly aligns with the funder’s priorities.”

Musial says that highlighting your sustainability plan is also paramount to building trust. Especially for a multiyear operating grant, Musial says, you want to present a long-term outlook.

Don’t say that you need an operating grant to survive, she warns. Even if that’s the case, keep your framing forward-looking: “You can say, ‘This will help us keep the lights on and lay the groundwork to make sure we can keep the lights on for the next few years.’”

Originally published May 12, 2025. Updated April 27, 2026.