How Global Refuge Increased Grant Proposals by 500% During a Funding Crisis

​The Transformation Story

The challenge: Scale grant writing capacity while maintaining quality and funder relationships
The solution: Strategic AI integration with Grantable as their "5th team member"
The result: 500% increase in proposals, 100% funder retention, zero team burnout

​What You'll Learn in This Case Study

• The funding crisis that changed everything - How overnight federal funding cuts forced Global Refuge to reimagine their funding strategy
  
• Beyond the efficiency gains - Why their 100% funder retention rate and award rates above the national average demonstrate enhanced relationship-building
  
• Practical implementation insights - Ways the team uses Grantable's features while maintaining quality control

​From Crisis to Increased Capacity: How Global Refuge transformed their grant writing process with Grantable

The Challenge: The Funding Crisis

There is a moment in every crisis when the old way of working is no longer good enough. For Global Refuge, that moment came when federal funding for refugee resettlement work disappeared virtually overnight, and they needed to build a new path forward.

After the public-private partnership, a bedrock of the organization during its 85 year history, was suddenly dismantled, the grants team was tasked with securing 100% private funding.

Global Refuge, which provides comprehensive services to help refugees integrate with their new communities, faced intense pressure to step up as the federal government stepped back. "We were forced to make very painful decisions about closing offices, laying off our talented and very dedicated staff, scaling back certain services at a moment when global displacement was reaching record highs. That's why we worked really hard to adapt and build resilience and find new ways to keep our doors open to those seeking safety," says Bethany Barkley.

Despite the headwinds, the grants team embraced the challenge and chose to double-down on their use of Grantable.

Since the team has integrated the tool into their workflow, they average five submissions per week while maintaining a 100% partner retention rate over the last two years. Better yet, Global Refuge is beating national grant award averages by 10 percentage points.

The Solution: A 5th Team Member

When Natalie Ledeboer-Cid, the team’s grants coordinator, learned about Grantable, an AI-powered grant management platform, the team had questions. Would AI compromise writing quality? Could it understand the nuance of their funder relationships? Was this another tech solution that promised more than it delivered?

Hannah Freedberg, Foundation Relations Officer, describes her skepticism as - "I was a reluctant user of AI. I was an English major. I loved to write. I loved that creative process. [With Grantable] I still get to write and I get to do some of my favorite parts of writing, which are making it shine."

It’s a hesitation that resonates across mission-driven organizations. Grant professionals often pursue their work for the love of writing and telling stories of their organization’s impact. But the reality was clear for the team. "We simply could not put out the volume required with 2.5 frontline fundraisers," Natalie explains. They needed to try something different.

As Grantable became an integral 5th member of the team, staff named her "Aileen" (AI-leen), playfully reflecting the team’s culture of collaboration and mantra to “work smarter, not harder.”

"Grantable acts as a brainstorming partner, a smart library, and an editor," Natalie explains. The team gained more time to focus on strategy and relationship-building while Grantable handled time-consuming tasks like formatting, content organization, and initial drafts.

How It Actually Works

Here is how Global Refuge has integrated grant writing AI into their workflow:

Building on Source Material

The team uploads their past proposals, reports, and organizational documents into Grantable, creating a searchable repository and powerful starting point for new proposals.

​"We've incorporated our theory of change and our logic models for each program into Grantable, which starts as a great framework for setting up our proposals … recognizing that those don't change."

Strategic Content Adaptation

Grantable's "shorten this" and "expand this" functions handle one of grant writing's most time-consuming challenges— adapting content to different word limits and requirements.

​"Oftentimes, funders will ask us the same question in different ways and with very different character or word counts. So whether it's “tell us about your mission in 50 words or a thousand words,” I now have a smart library with probably a hundred different ways that I have described our mission in the past. And I can reference them to create one that really fits what this particular funder is asking for."

Alignment and Brainstorming

When funders have specific priorities, Grantable helps the team identify meaningful connections between their programs and funder interests.

​"So let's say that a funder is looking to fund capital and we know we have some minivans that are getting old and really costly in terms of maintenance. It might be hard to say how this investment from a funder would align with their priority of supporting health outcomes. But our van, we know, is helping provide transportation to doctor appointments and to English classes …so that people can get integrated within their communities. So, Grantable can help make those connections a little bit more clear."

First Draft Generation

Rather than starting with a blank page, the team uses Grantable to create initial proposal drafts by pulling relevant content from their library and adapting it to new Request for Proposals (RFPs).

​"What took us two hours before to pull a first draft together now takes 20 minutes to get to the first round of editing."

The Results: When Efficiency Meets Mission

• ​2020: 19 proposals → 2025: Projected 130+
• ​Teammates burned out: 0
• Partner retention: 100% for two consecutive years
• Award rate: 10 percentage points above national average

The most important metric might be this: zero team burnout. Despite increasing their output, the grants team has reduced their stress level. "The ROI for Grantable is tangible proof that I care about work-life balance," says Bethany. "There's no way 118 proposals would have kept their mental health intact [without Grantable]."

The grants team now has time for gathering client stories, building authentic funder relationships, and thinking strategically about long-term sustainability.

"This tool allows us more time to tell our funders the stories of our clients, to walk alongside them day to day," explains Kendra Hernandez, Corporate Giving Specialist. "It's opened up a new world where we can go further together."

The ripple effects are far reaching. Direct service staff now know their work is supported. Funders receive more thoughtful, personalized proposals. The organization can deliver on its promise to provide comprehensive support to refugee families.

​Key Takeaways

Global Refuge's approach reveals something important about how purpose-driven organizations can thrive in uncertain times:

• Efficiency Creates Space for Excellence: Faster proposal writing means more time for strategy, storytelling, and funder relationships.
  
• Quality Control Remains Sacred: Every piece of content reflects their values and voice because the team is in charge of what matters most.
  
• Added Capacity Enables Mission Focus: When program teams aren't repeatedly asked for stats, stories, and program details, they can focus on the work that matters the most.

About Global Refuge

Global Refuge stands with and advocates for immigrants and refugees, transforming communities through works of service and justice. For 85+ years, they have provided comprehensive resettlement services that help refugees rebuild their lives in welcoming communities.

To support the work of Global Refuge visit www.globalrefuge.org/donate