Summer Grant Strategy: 5 Smart Ways to Strengthen Your Grant Pipeline During the Slow Season

While summer might feel like a fundraising slowdown, it’s actually a golden opportunity to strengthen your grant pipeline. With fewer deadlines and more breathing room, nonprofits can refocus on long-term strategy—and set themselves up for fall success.

If you want to stop chasing grants and start building a more sustainable, mission-aligned approach, summer is your time to shine.

1. Conduct a Mid-Year Grant Calendar Review

Is your grant calendar still working for you? Summer is the perfect time to pause, assess, and adjust. Pull out your list of upcoming opportunities and take a hard look:

• Are these grants still aligned with your goals?

• Have any deadlines shifted?

• Do you need to build in more lead time for preparation?

  
  

Cut what no longer fits and identify gaps. The goal is a calendar that reflects your capacity and strategic priorities—not just a list of deadlines.

Related resource: 4 Things You Need to Know Before Building a Nonprofit Grant Calendar

2. Use Instrumentl to Identify New, Better-Fit Funders

If you’re already using Instrumentl, you know how powerful it is for discovering funders. But don’t stop at the initial search. Use the summer months to go deeper:

• Explore new keywords or program areas

• Revisit saved opportunities with fresh eyes

• Analyze funder giving trends and geographic preferences

  
  

Finding better-aligned funders now will save you hours later—and increase your chances of securing meaningful support.

Instrumentl has helped Just Write Grants discover, track, and manage grants way faster than any other tool we've used before. Start your 14-day trial with our link and use MELANIE50 to save $50 your first month.

Pro tip: Filter for multi-year funding or general operating support to prioritize high-impact opportunities.

3. Refresh Your Core Proposal Content

Think of your grant content as your nonprofit's professional wardrobe. Summer is a great time to tailor it.

• Update your boilerplate language

• Revise your mission statement or program descriptions

• Add the latest impact data or testimonials

• Refine your outcomes section to match funder priorities

  
  

Strong, reusable content gives you a head start on every proposal—and ensures consistency across applications.

Bonus: Create a simple "grant-ready narrative library" so your team isn’t reinventing the wheel each time.

4. Build a Grant Readiness Toolkit

Funders often ask for specific documents. When you're scrambling to meet a deadline, tracking these down wastes valuable time.

Prepare now:

• Updated board list

• Latest audited financials or 990

• Current organizational and program budgets

• Key staff bios and resumes

• Evaluation tools or data snapshots

  
  

Put these in a shared folder so they’re easy to find and update as needed. The more ready you are, the more competitive you become.

5. Book a Strategy Session or Grant Audit

Want to get even more value from your summer planning? Bring in a grant strategist. A quick review of your recent proposals, funder matches, and narrative framing can uncover easy wins and deeper opportunities.

Whether you're a one-person development team or part of a larger shop, a second set of experienced eyes can help you:

• Refine your funder strategy

• Strengthen your case for support

• Position your org as a top-tier grantee

  
  

Let’s talk: Schedule a free 30-minute strategy call

Conclusion: Make Summer Work for You

Summer doesn’t have to be slow. It can be strategic. By revisiting your calendar, refining your funder list, and refreshing your content, you’ll head into fall with a stronger, smarter grant pipeline.

And if you need support, we’re here to help.

Want a free checklist to guide your summer grant strategy? Click here to download our free Summer Grant Planning Checklist and start organizing your next steps today!