Wednesday, December 19, 2012

12 Days of Gratitude: Day 5 - Thank the panel that rejected your grant


Thank an organization that rejected your proposal

Every organization has at one point in time experienced the disappointment of a rejection letter for a grant application that took tireless hours to write.  Now, while you may be trying to find new ways to replace these funds, there’s one last step that you may want to consider.

Write a genuine thank you letter to the officers or review panel of the foundation that rejected your application. Why?

Quite a bit of work goes into the review process, and as grants become more and more competitive, the amount of applications foundations receive increases steadily as well.  And you never know the amount of heartfelt debate that may have taken place among the review panel before the final decision was made.

Even more, if you ask them why they rejected your application, you’d be surprised at the insight you receive that you can take into consideration when you apply again there, or at any other organization in the future.   

Could you imagine getting a thank you note from someone just saying, “Thanks for considering us and for learning our story?”   It probably doesn’t happen that often.

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