5 Steps How to Secure Unrestricted Grants for Your Nonprofit (Easy Guide for Leaders)

For too long, the nonprofit sector has been caught in a "starvation cycle." Leaders in the fields of criminal justice reform and health equity know this cycle all too well: you identify a systemic failure: perhaps the lack of mental health resources for reentering citizens: and you apply for a grant to fix it. But that grant comes with strings so tight they could choke the life out of your organization. It’s restricted. It’s siloed. It pays for the bandages, but it forbids you from fixing the machinery that keeps causing the wounds.

In my work as both an attorney and a public health professor, I have seen how legal and public institutions shape the health outcomes of our communities. I’ve seen how mass incarceration acts as a social determinant of health, creating ripples of trauma and chronic illness that last for generations. To dismantle these systems, we need more than project-based funding; we need the fuel of unrestricted grants. These are the "holy grail" of nonprofit finance: dollars that can be used for general operating expenses, allowing you to pivot, innovate, and address the root causes of inequity without asking for permission from a line-item auditor.

Securing these funds requires a shift in strategy. It requires moving from being a service provider to being a systems-change architect. Here are the five steps to securing the unrestricted support your mission deserves.

Step 1: Mapping the Landscape at the Intersection of Justice and Health

The first step isn't about writing; it's about seeing. The most successful organizations today are those that understand their work does not exist in a vacuum. If you are working on criminal justice reform, you are also working on health equity. If you are working on public health, you are inevitably touching the legal system.

Funders are increasingly waking up to this intersectionality. Private foundations like the MacArthur Foundation have pioneered "Big Bet" strategies that look at systems change, not just program delivery. To secure unrestricted grants, you must map out which funders are moving away from traditional silos. Look for those whose mission statements include phrases like "racial justice," "community safety," or "health disparities."

Your goal is to find funders who view criminal justice and public health as two sides of the same coin. When you find a funder who understands that a lack of healthcare access is a driver of incarceration: and that incarceration is a driver of poor health: you have found a candidate for unrestricted support.

Step 2: Crafting a Narrative of Systemic Interdependence

Once you’ve mapped the landscape, you need to change how you talk about your work. Most grant applications focus on "outputs": how many people you served, how many brochures you printed. This is the language of restricted funding.

To win unrestricted dollars, you must speak the language of "outcomes" and "systemic interdependence." Your narrative shouldn't just be about the 100 people your reentry program helped; it should be about how your program is challenging the constitutional citizenship rights of individuals who have been marginalized by the justice system. It should be about how you are bridging the gap between the courthouse and the clinic to ensure that health equity is a reality, not just a buzzword.

When you present your organization as a vital piece of the community’s infrastructure, you make the case that your entire operation needs to be funded, not just one specific program. You are telling the funder: "We are the experts on the ground. We know where the gaps are. Trust us with the flexibility to fill them."

Step 3: Leveraging Public Credibility for Private Flexibility

There is a common misconception that government grants are the enemy of unrestricted funding. In reality, they are often the stepping stone. While federal and state grants (like those from the Bureau of Justice Assistance) are notoriously restricted, they provide a level of "vouching" that private funders love.

Think of restricted public grants as your proof of concept. If you can manage a complex, highly regulated government contract for a crisis intervention program, you have demonstrated that your organization has the administrative backbone to handle large sums of money.

Use this credibility when approaching private foundations. Tell them: "The state is funding our direct services, but we need unrestricted capital to fund the advocacy and policy work that the state cannot or will not touch." This strategy positions you as a sophisticated operator who knows how to blend different types of capital to achieve a singular goal: reforming the systems that dictate public health outcomes.

Step 4: Building Trust through Data and Transparency (Without the Red Tape)

The reason funders restrict grants is a lack of trust. They want to ensure their money isn't "wasted" on overhead. To secure unrestricted funding, you must proactively build a "Trust Architecture."

This doesn't mean creating more paperwork; it means being radical about transparency. Share your data: not just the wins, but the challenges. If a particular policy reform effort failed because of a shift in the local legislature, be honest about it. Show the funder how you used that "failure" to iterate and improve your strategy.

Unrestricted funders aren't buying a product; they are investing in your leadership and your team's ability to navigate the complex waters of criminal justice and public health. When you provide regular, insightful updates that go beyond basic reporting requirements, you demonstrate that you are a partner, not just a grantee. This level of trust is what eventually leads to multi-year, general operating support.

Step 5: Cultivating Philanthropic "Partners" vs. "Patrons"

The final step is a mindset shift. Many nonprofit leaders approach funders as "patrons": powerful entities to be pleaded with. To secure unrestricted grants, you must treat them as "partners."

Partners share a common goal. If a foundation is committed to reducing mass incarceration, they have a vested interest in your success. Your job is to help them achieve their mission through your work. This means engaging with program officers not just when you need a check, but as thought partners in the movement for health equity and criminal justice reform.

Invite them to see the work in action. Host briefings on the role of courts in health outcomes. Share white papers on the intersection of constitutional rights and reentry. When a funder feels like they are part of the intellectual and social movement you are leading, they are far more likely to provide the unrestricted, flexible support that keeps that movement alive.

The Path Forward: Reclaiming Our Agency

Securing unrestricted funding is about more than just a healthier balance sheet. It is about reclaiming the agency of the nonprofit sector. When we are tethered to restricted grants, we are essentially outsourcing our strategy to people who may be far removed from the communities we serve.

In the fight for criminal justice reform and health equity, we cannot afford to be reactive. We must be proactive. We must have the resources to challenge the status quo, to fight for the constitutional rights of the most vulnerable, and to build a healthcare system that truly serves everyone: regardless of their zip code or their record.

The "5 steps" are not just a guide to fundraising; they are a guide to building a resilient, independent organization that can stand up to the systemic failures of our legal and public health institutions. It’s time we stop asking for permission to do the right thing and start securing the resources to make the right thing inevitable.

#criminaljusticereform #healthequity #equity #justice #publichealth #workforce #communityhealth #economicjustice #povertyreduction #constitutionalrights

Authored by Kevin D. Williams, Attorney at Law Kevin is also an Associate Professor of Public Health at Touro University California and the Board Treasurer of the Health Equity and Criminal Justice Lab. Opinions expressed herein are his own.