GrantCraft's Readiness Checklist: Is Your Organization Ready for Grants?

Why Grant Readiness Matters More Than Grant Writing

Many organizations rush into grant writing before they are actually ready to receive and manage grant funds. The result is wasted time on applications that get rejected, or worse, winning a grant that the organization cannot properly administer. Grant readiness is the foundation that makes successful grant writing possible, and the GrantCraft Readiness Checklist is a free tool designed to help you assess where your organization stands.

Grant readiness means having the organizational infrastructure, documentation, financial systems, and programmatic capacity to not only write a compelling proposal but also to manage the funds responsibly and deliver on your promises. Funders evaluate your readiness just as carefully as they evaluate your proposed project, and weaknesses in organizational capacity are one of the most common reasons proposals are declined.

What the Readiness Checklist Evaluates

The GrantCraft Readiness Checklist walks you through a series of questions organized into key categories. Each category represents a critical area that funders assess when reviewing your application. Understanding where you have gaps allows you to address them before you invest time in writing proposals.

Legal and Tax Status

The first section verifies that your organization has the legal foundation required for grant eligibility. This includes having 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or fiscal sponsorship, state incorporation, and any required registrations such as state charitable solicitation licenses. Without these foundational documents, most funders will not consider your application regardless of how strong your program might be.

If your organization is new and still awaiting IRS determination, the checklist helps you identify fiscal sponsorship as an interim option. A fiscal sponsor is an established 501(c)(3) that can receive and manage grant funds on your behalf while you build your own infrastructure.

Governance and Leadership

Funders look for organizations with active, engaged boards of directors and competent leadership. The checklist asks about your board composition, meeting frequency, bylaws, and conflict of interest policies. An organization with a board that meets quarterly, has diverse expertise, and actively participates in fundraising is far more attractive to funders than one with a board that exists only on paper.

The checklist also evaluates your staffing capacity. Do you have staff with the skills to manage the proposed project? If you plan to hire new staff with grant funds, do you have the human resources infrastructure to recruit and manage them? These questions help you identify capacity gaps before they become problems. For more on demonstrating organizational capacity, see our guide on organizational capacity and partnerships.

Financial Systems and Controls

This is the section where many organizations discover they are not as ready as they thought. Funders, particularly federal agencies, require grantees to have robust financial management systems. The checklist asks about your accounting software, internal controls, segregation of duties, audit history, and ability to track expenses by funding source.

At minimum, your organization should use accounting software that can track income and expenses by program and by funding source. You should have written financial policies covering areas such as purchasing, travel reimbursement, and check signing authority. If you are pursuing federal grants, you may need an annual audit under the Single Audit Act if your federal expenditures exceed $750,000. The checklist helps you assess your current financial infrastructure against these requirements.

Programmatic Track Record

Can you demonstrate that your organization has successfully delivered programs similar to the one you are proposing? Funders want evidence of past performance, not just good intentions. The checklist prompts you to consider your program evaluation data, participant outcome data, and any external recognition or validation of your work.

If you are a new organization without a track record, the checklist helps you think about alternative ways to demonstrate capacity, such as the qualifications of your staff, partnerships with established organizations, or pilot program results. You may also want to start with smaller grants from local foundations that are more willing to fund newer organizations.

Grant Management Infrastructure

Winning the grant is only the beginning. The checklist evaluates whether you have the systems to manage grant compliance, including progress reporting, financial reporting, and outcome tracking. Federal grants require quarterly or semi-annual reports with specific data elements, and missing a reporting deadline can jeopardize your funding and your eligibility for future awards.

The checklist asks about your data collection systems, reporting workflows, and whether you have designated staff responsible for grant management. For a comprehensive look at post-award management, see our guide on post-award grant management and compliance.

How to Use Your Checklist Results

After completing the checklist, you will have a clear picture of your organization's readiness across all major categories. Areas where you check every box are your strengths, and you should highlight these in your proposals. Areas with gaps are your priorities for improvement.

For each gap, develop a timeline and plan for addressing it. Some gaps, like obtaining an independent audit, may take months to resolve. Others, like drafting a conflict of interest policy, can be addressed in a week. The important thing is to be honest about where you stand and to avoid applying for grants that require capacities you do not yet have.

Readiness Priorities by Funder Type

• Federal grants: Prioritize SAM.gov registration, financial audit history, internal controls, and data tracking systems.
• State grants: Ensure state registration is current and that you can comply with state-specific reporting requirements.
• Private foundations: Focus on board governance, mission alignment, and programmatic track record.
• Corporate funders: Emphasize community impact, visibility, and partnership potential.

Building Readiness Over Time

Grant readiness is not a one-time assessment. As your organization grows and pursues larger or more complex grants, your readiness requirements will evolve. Revisit the GrantCraft Readiness Checklist annually, or before embarking on a new category of funding. What was sufficient for a $10,000 foundation grant will not be sufficient for a $500,000 federal award.

The checklist is also a valuable tool for board presentations and strategic planning. Sharing the results with your board helps them understand their governance responsibilities and the organizational investments needed to support a successful grants program. Use it as a conversation starter about where your organization is heading and what infrastructure you need to get there.

Learn more about grant writing strategies at Subthesis.

Ready to build a complete grant writing skill set? The Complete Grant Architect course covers everything from needs assessment to budget construction to post-award management.