Stronger Together: The Advantage of Grant Collaboration
More and more funders are moving away from siloed investments. They are looking for collective solutions to collective problems, and that means collaborative grantmaking is on the rise.
If your organization is navigating tight budgets, growing needs, and limited internal capacity, you don’t have to go it alone. The right partnership can unlock access to larger, multi-year grants and extend your impact.
But collaboration for grant funding is more than just teaming up. Funders want to see strategic alignment, shared power, and a unified vision.
Why funders are investing in collaboration
No single organization can solve systemic challenges by itself. Funders know this, and they are designing grant programs to support partnerships that are community-rooted and cross-sector.
Collaborative grants allow funders to:
Reduce duplication by encouraging resource sharing
Reach scale by supporting regional or statewide partnerships
Foster innovation by combining lived experience with professional expertise
Support equity by ensuring smaller or grassroots partners are included
Build sustainability by investing in networks, not just projects
Foundations like W.K. Kellogg, Kresge, and Robert Wood Johnson have emphasized that their most transformative grantees are those working in deep partnership with others.
Funders are looking for signs of a strong partnership
A collaborative proposal requires more than a letter of support. It needs to show that the partnership is real, trusted, and ready to execute.
Here’s what funders want to see:
Clear roles: Each partner brings a specific and complementary strength
Shared leadership: Decision-making is transparent and equitable
Track record: Ideally, you have worked together before, even on a pilot
Fair budget: Resources are distributed equitably, not hoarded by one org
Joint evaluation plan: Outcomes are collective, not just individual
Community voice: Stakeholders help shape the work and priorities
This is especially important for grassroots and BIPOC-led organizations. Funders are watching to see whether collaborations truly share power or simply use smaller groups to meet equity optics.
Preparing for a collaborative grant application
The strongest partnerships begin long before a funding opportunity drops.
To get grant-ready:
Choose the right partners: Look for shared values and mission alignment
Develop a shared vision: Make sure every partner has real buy-in
Formalize the relationship: Use MOUs to clarify scope and accountability
Create a joint budget: Reflect contributions and capacity equitably
Select a lead applicant: Funders usually require a single org to apply
If you haven’t worked together before, start small. Co-host an event, run a pilot project, or co-author a letter to the editor. Prove to yourselves and to funders that your partnership works in practice.
Ready to reach out to funders? Start here.
Once your team is aligned, begin by identifying funders who prioritize collaboration. Many foundations are explicit about this in their guidelines or past grantee profiles.
When you reach out:
Ask if they accept collaborative applications
Share what makes your partnership unique
Be honest about potential challenges and how you will manage them
Focus on community impact, not just partner benefits
Describe how the collaboration will outlive the grant period
Funders don’t expect perfection. But they do expect preparation, transparency, and intentionality.
Final thoughts
Collaboration isn’t just a strategy for larger grants. It is a reflection of how real change happens. When done right, it leads to stronger proposals, more sustainable programs, and deeper community trust.
If your organization is considering a partnership for grant funding, invest the time to do it well. The payoff isn’t just financial. It is structural.
And if you are navigating how to tell your partnership story to a funder, I would be glad to help.
