Everyone wants to get the really big grants. However, if you focus exclusively on these, you may miss out on funding your project. A different approach is to seek several smaller grants, which are more commonly found and may have less competition.
An effective way to do this is to divide your project into parts that function independently. For example, if your proposed project is to open a halfway house, you might seek funding for researching needed services, then separate funding for the facility.
Your grant application should describe the entire project, but specify which part you want each specific funder to consider paying for. In addition, it is important to specify all of the funding you are seeking. The funder needs to know that to help make a decision, and it is considered an ethical approach.
This strategy has another advantage to you. Once you secure one funding source, other funders will be more likely to contribute to a winning idea. Soon, you’ll have sizable funding for your project from multiple sources.
-Chris