Ten Tips

Ten Tips Grant Writers Should Commit to Memory

This article is reprinted from the Foundation and Corporate Grants Alert newsletter, December 2001 issue. The newsletter is published by Capitol Publishing Group, a division of Aspen Publishers, Inc., a Wolters Kluwer Company. Email: aspenreprints@cadmus.com.

The daunting task of proposal writing is a frequent source of questions for both new and experienced grant writers. Many grant seekers turn to their colleagues for answers and insights into tried-and-true methods of creating successful proposals.

A popular meeting spot for grant seekers and other fundraising professionals to share ideas and questions is Charity Channel, the world's largest online community of the best and brightest non-profit-sector professionals. Charity Channel (www.charitychannel.com) offers more than 50 non-profit-related discussion forums, with topics including grants and foundations, advocacy, annual funds, boards, e-philanthropy, sponsorship and technology.

Recently, on Charity Channel's Grants forum, Jennifer Mansfield of JHM Consulting in Merrimac, Mass., asked grant seekers for help in constructing a proposal writing tip sheet. Many forum participants posed quick and helpful replies and the resulting ten-point list, below, details many not-to-be-forgotten steps in the proposal writing process.

Ten Grant Writing Tips

1. When seeking funding for a program start from your own strategic plan: what activities will move you forward and what will they cost? Do not change or create programs solely for funding purposes.

2. Do your homework, make sure you have identified, described and documented the need for which you are seeking funding (include statistics when possible). Make sure to put this problem statement near the beginning of your proposal.

3. Do your homework some more...have an understanding of the funder's mission, funding priorities and geographical preferences. Based on your program needs and each funder's interests, match your program with a prospective funder. Also understand the typical grant size given by the funder.

4. Understand the application process; get a copy of their guidelines and deadlines for submission. Funders vary with their timelines and even how they want to be contacted. This sounds simple but if they have a specific instructions - follow them to the letter.

5. Pay close attention to the appearance of the proposal. Make sure your font is no smaller than 12 point. Use bold/underlined headings for new sections. Your margins should not be less than one inch on all sides. Toss in a chart, graph or sidebar story once in a while. In other words try to make the document user friendly. The reviewer can't help but have an "Oh No" reaction to a proposal with dense type and narrow margins.

6. Generally, most proposals start with a one-page summary or project abstract page - this should tightly summarize your case for support and proposal.

7. Typically a longer project narrative, goals and objectives of the project, evaluation, budget and budget justification page, follows the summary page. The entire proposal should be about five (and no more than 10) pages.

8. Include a one-page cover letter outlining your agency, the proposal and the amount of funding requested.

9. If your proposal is not accepted, send a thank you note or make a call thanking the funder for the time spent reviewing your proposal. Ask for any shortcomings of the application, so that you might revise when applying in the future.

10. If your project is funded, follow up with a thank you, a 6-month and 12-month letter telling the funder how the money is being spent.

Just a little digging around can help you find out how much money a foundation or corporate entity is awarding in grants each year.

Form 990 is the information return that nonprofits with revenue of more than $25,000 are required to file annually with the Internal Revenue Service. This information is available for anyone to view at Web sites such as GuideStar.com which enables you to search by the nonprofit's name to view basic foundation info and, with a little more exploring, a recent Form 990.

Look at these forms to see who was given grant monies and for what purpose. Look in the section labeled "Grants and Contributions Paid the Year or Approved for Future Payment." For example, when you need a very large grant, you can quickly see whether 25 percent or more of grants recently awarded are over $200,000; if so, then you can feel comfortable asking for a large grant, too.