Grant management is the process of administering funds provided by grant-making organizations to nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and other eligible entities. The grant management process includes grant application, grant administration, grant monitoring, and grant reporting.
Effective grant management is critical to ensure that the grant funds are used for their intended purposes and that grant recipients meet the terms and conditions of the grant agreement.
In this blog post, we will delve into grant management statistics that highlight the importance of grant management in the nonprofit and research sectors.
Key Grant Management Statistics 2023 – MY Choice
- Only 50% of grant proposals submitted to foundations are awarded funding.
- The average success rate for federal grant proposals is 20%.
- Nonprofits with budgets under $1 million are more likely to receive smaller grants, typically under $50,000.
- Approximately 60% of grant applications are declined due to poor project design or incomplete applications.
- Grantmakers report that the most common reason for denying a grant proposal is that it does not fit within the funder’s guidelines or mission.
- The number of grantmaking foundations in the United States has grown by more than 50% in the last 20 years, from around 47,000 to more than 86,000.
- The median grant size for private foundations in 2018 was $25,000.
- 60% of grantmakers now require some form of evaluation as a condition of funding.
- According to the Nonprofit Times, the average cost to apply for a grant ranges from $5,000 to $15,000.
- In 2018, the National Science Foundation received 49,192 grant proposals and awarded funding to only 11,212 of them, a success rate of just 22.8%.
Grant Management Stats
#1: The global grant management software market size is expected to reach $2.8 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 12.5% from 2020 to 2025.
#2: 85% of grant-making organizations use grant management software to streamline their grant application and grant administration processes.
#3: 94% of grant recipients find grant management software to be essential in tracking and reporting their grant activities.
#4: 70% of grant recipients use grant management software to manage their grant funds, while 30% still rely on manual methods.
#5: 80% of grant recipients believe that grant management software improves the accuracy and efficiency of their grant reporting.
#6: 60% of grant-making organizations use an online portal for grant applications, while 40% still accept paper-based grant applications.
#7: 90% of grant-making organizations require grant recipients to submit regular progress reports to monitor the use of grant funds.
#8: 75% of grant-making organizations use automated systems for grant reporting and monitoring, while 25% still rely on manual methods.
#9: 90% of grant recipients find it challenging to track their grant-related expenses without a grant management software.
#10: 80% of grant recipients believe that grant management software helps to ensure that their grant funds are used for their intended purposes.
#11: 70% of grant-making organizations use a common reporting format for all grant recipients, while 30% allow grant recipients to use their own reporting format.
#12: 95% of grant recipients find it easier to manage their grants with the help of grant management software.
#13: 60% of grant recipients use grant management software to prepare their grant reports, while 40% still prepare their grant reports manually.
#14: 80% of grant-making organizations require grant recipients to provide a final report at the end of the grant period.
#15: 70% of grant-making organizations use automated systems for grant reporting and monitoring, while 30% still rely on manual methods.
#16: 85% of grant-making organizations believe that grant management software improves the transparency and accountability of the grant process.
#17: 90% of grant recipients find it easier to collaborate with their grant partners using grant management software.
#18: 80% of grant recipients believe that grant management software helps to build trust with their grant-making organizations.
#19: 60% of grant recipients believe that grant management software helps to reduce the risk of fraud and mismanagement of grant funds.
#20: 90% of grant-making organizations believe that grant management software helps to reduce the administrative burden of the grant process.
Table 1: Challenges and Features of Grant Management Software
| Statistics | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Biggest challenges: Integrations | 75% |
| Biggest challenges: Learning curve | 72% |
| Most common features/tools utilized: Document management | 66% |
| Most common features/tools utilized: Proposal creation | 61% |
| Expected growth rate of grant management software in the next 5 years | Just over 10% |
Table 2: Federal Grants and Foundation Giving Statistics
| Statistics | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Federal grants to states and local governments in 2019 | $721 billion, about 16% of the US budget |
| Grants by sector: Health care | 61% |
| Grants by sector: Income security programs | 16% |
| Grants by sector: Transportation | 9% |
| Grants by sector: Education | 9% |
| Grants by sector: Training | 9% |
| Grants by sector: Employment | 9% |
| Grants by sector: Social services | 9% |
| Total federal grants awarded accounted for by above sectors | 29% |
| National Institute of Health research project grants awarded in 2019 | 54,903 |
| Acceptance rate of NIH research project grant applications in 2019 | 20% |
| Growth in federal grants to states between 2008 and 2019 | 42%, after adjusting for inflation |
| Independent foundations | 92% |
| Corporate foundations | 3% |
| Community foundations | 1% |
| Foundation giving in 2019 | $75.7 billion, a 2.5% increase from 2018 |
| Foundation giving as a percentage of total giving in the US in 2019 | 17% |
| Increase in charitable giving by sector in 2019 | Education (12.1%), public society benefit (13.1%), arts, culture, and humanities (12.6%), environment and animal organizations (11.3%) |
| Nonprofit income derived from grants in 2020 | 20% |
| Foundations providing general operating support to grantees in 2020 | 32% |
| Foundations providing capacity building or organizational effectiveness grants to the majority of its grantees in 2020 | 18% |
| Donors affected by technology when giving to nonprofit organizations | 27% |
| Individual donations as percentage of all giving in 2016 | 87% |
| Donors who consider grantmaker transparency when deciding where to give | 41% |
| Applicants for Fulbright Student Grants in 2019 | 4,860 |
| Acceptance rate of Fulbright Student Grant applications in 2019 | 18% |
| Average award for Fulbright Student Grant recipients in 2019 | $3,800 |
| Percentage of Fulbright Student Grant recipients with an annual income below $40,000 in 2019 | 80% |
| Success rate for a grant writer applying for a combination of new and existing funders | 50-60% |
| Success rate for a grant writer applying for new grants | 30-40% |
| Success rate for a grant writer applying for existing grants | About 80% |
| Percentage of grant seekers who submitted an application and won an award in 2019 | 75% |
Grant Management Facts
- Grant management is a complex process that requires attention to detail and good organization skills.
- The grant management process begins with the application and ends with the grant closeout.
- Inaccurate reporting and tracking can result in grant funding being revoked or not renewed.
- Grant management software can automate many of the tasks involved in grant management, making the process more efficient and accurate.
- Effective grant management helps non-profit organizations to better serve their communities and achieve their goals.
Grant Management Benefits
- Improving accuracy and efficiency in reporting and tracking.
- Streamlining the grant management process.
- Better alignment of goals with funding sources.
- Improved communication and collaboration between grantmakers and grantees.
- Increased visibility into the use of grant funds.
Grant Management Trends
- The adoption of cloud-based grant management software is increasing.
- The use of data analytics and reporting is becoming more common in grant management.
- There is a growing emphasis on collaboration and communication between grantmakers and grantees.
- The use of mobile technology for grant management is becoming more widespread.
- There is a growing interest in understanding the impact of grant-funded projects.
Grant Management Adoption
- 60% of non-profit organizations use manual or paper-based methods for grant management.
- 30% of non-profit organizations use cloud-based grant management software.
- 10% of non-profit organizations use a combination of manual and software-based methods for grant management.
