How a grants programme communicates — with applicants, declined applicants, active grantees, and the broader sector — is as important as the quality of its funding decisions. Poor communication erodes trust, increases reapplication confusion, and creates avoidable administrative burden on both sides. Strong communication practice builds confidence in the programme, respects applicant effort, and makes grantee relationships more productive.
Every grant round generates communication requirements across multiple stages. Mapping these requirements before a round opens prevents ad hoc responses that create inconsistency and missed obligations.
Pre-round communication: Prospective applicants need to know a round is opening, what it's for, who can apply, and what the process is. Clear advance notice — ideally with a consistent calendar of round openings — allows applicants to plan ahead. Community funders and gaming trusts with regular round schedules can publish their annual calendar, enabling applicants to prepare well in advance rather than scrambling at opening.
Application acknowledgement: Every application submitted should receive an acknowledgement. This confirms receipt, sets expectations for timeline, and signals that the application has been received without error. Automated acknowledgements are standard in purpose-built grants management systems; manual acknowledgement creates risk of missed confirmations.
Eligibility and completeness checks: Where applications require follow-up for missing information, the communication should be prompt, specific, and clear about what's needed and by when. Vague requests for "additional information" frustrate applicants and delay assessment.
Assessment period updates: For programmes with long assessment periods, a brief status update during assessment — "we're currently assessing applications, decisions will be communicated by [date]" — reduces inbound queries and demonstrates respect for applicant time.
Outcome communication: Outcome letters — both awards and declines — require careful drafting. They are often the most-read communication a programme sends.
Post-award communication: Active grantees need clear communication about reporting requirements, payment schedules, variation requests, and programme contacts. Proactive communication about administrative requirements prevents misunderstandings and late submissions.
Decline letters are among the most important communications a grants programme sends. They affect applicant experience, organisational reputation, and the applicant's decision about whether to apply again.
Acknowledge the effort invested. Grant applications take significant time and care. A decline letter that acknowledges this effort respectfully is more likely to maintain goodwill than one that is perfunctory.
Be clear and direct. Vague declines — "your application was not successful in this round" without any context — leave applicants unable to improve. Being clear about why an application wasn't funded (where this can be communicated without compromising assessment integrity) is more respectful than deliberate vagueness.
Provide feedback where possible. Not all programmes are resourced to provide individual feedback, but any feedback is more useful than none. General feedback on common strengths and weaknesses across the applicant pool — published as programme-level commentary — helps applicants without the administrative burden of individual letters.
Be consistent. All decline letters for a round should use the same template and level of information. Inconsistent decline letters invite comparison and complaints.
Avoid false encouragement. Phrases like "we were impressed with your application" in a decline letter, when the application scored poorly, damage trust if applicants learn otherwise.
Award communication sets the tone for the grantee relationship and establishes the terms of the grant.
Be specific about what's funded. Award letters should clearly state the amount, purpose, and conditions of the grant. Vague award letters lead to misunderstandings about what's approved and what isn't.
State reporting requirements clearly. Grantees need to know, from the outset, what they're required to report on, in what format, and by when. Discovering reporting requirements after accepting a grant creates friction and sometimes unwillingness.
Set up the relationship. An award letter that includes the name and contact details of the programme officer responsible for the grant relationship, and clear guidance on who to contact for what, starts the grantee relationship on professional footing.
For programmes receiving large application volumes, manual communication management is impractical. Purpose-built grants management software should handle:
The way a programme communicates with unsuccessful applicants affects whether they:
- Understand why they weren't funded
- Apply again in future rounds
- Recommend the programme to peers
- View the funder positively in the sector
Declined applicants often become future successful applicants. Programmes that treat declined applicants dismissively cut off a pipeline of improving applications.
Some programmes offer pre-application conversations (for large or multi-year grants) and post-decline briefings (for applicants who request feedback). These investments in two-way communication build sector relationships and improve future application quality.
Beyond individual applicant and grantee communication, grant programmes have obligations and opportunities around public communication:
Publishing funding decisions. Making grant award information publicly available — who received funding, for what, for how long — demonstrates accountability and helps sector actors understand the funder's priorities.
Communicating programme design changes. When a programme changes its priorities, eligibility criteria, or process, affected applicants and grantees need advance notice. Last-minute changes that affect applications already in preparation damage trust.
Reporting back to the sector. Annual reports that include programme learning, funding statistics, and reflections on what the programme has funded and why contribute to a well-informed sector.
Tahua includes configurable communication templates, automated applicant notifications, bulk outcome letter generation, and a full communication audit trail for OIA compliance.