Tips on How to Write a Grant Proposal Writing a grant proposal with regards to project design and management (PDM) is a skill that you have been introduced to during early-service training. First and foremost, the role of the Volunteer in Development is not to simply chase after money for their community. On the contrary, the role of the Volunteer is to facilitate knowledge and understanding of resource development, transferring skills needed to design and properly manage a project which includes the identification of local resources and/or funding opportunities. Writing a compelling and well-written grant proposal is skill to know for your project work as well as for your own professional development. Getting grant funding for project work is difficult given the fact that funding agencies that do grant making receive literally thousands of applications for a single award. And all of them are for worthy causes. So how can you make your organization s application stand out in the stacks? It s all a matter of what you say, and how you say it. Your cause or need could be the most critical in the world, but if your grant is unorganized and ineffective the grantor or funding agency won t make it past the first paragraph. In short, winning grants must be two things: Informative and engaging. That is, they must be clear, concise and tell a compelling story. Most grant applications ask for the same information, but they often have different formats. For example, some will have a list of questions. Others will ask for a narrative the story of your project. Below are the main components of a grant proposal and some grant writing techniques that will be useful. It is your opportunity to demonstrate to the funding agency that your project design would be an appropriate use of their resource investment. All grant application narratives typically include the following six items: Executive Summary, Need Statement, Goals and Objectives, Monitoring and Evaluation, Organizational Capacity, and Budget Narrative. Each item has suggestions associated with it to help you formulate your response. Just remember: When writing each section of your grant, if you make sure it is informative and engaging, you ll already be ahead of the curve! Executive Summary As the authors of Winning Grants, Step by Step, say, "It [the summary] requires the writer to capture the most essential elements of each component of the proposal, in a condensed style-yet in a way that will capture the reader's attention and distinguish this proposal from the pack." Executive Summary Need Statement Goal and Objectives Monitoring and Evaluation Organization Capacity Budget Narrative Identify the key points in each section of your proposal and include only those points in the summary. Emphasize the key points that you know are important to the funder. Highlights those points that fit with the grant maker's own priorities. Be consistent. Don't introduce new information at this point. Only use information that has already appeared in some part of your proposal. Use these questions to flesh out your summary: 1. What is your organization's identity and mission? Identify yourself clearly. 2. What are the proposed project' title, purpose, and target population? Describe the specific need that will be addressed and the objectives to be achieved. 1
3. Why is the project important? 4. What will the project or proposal accomplish by the end of the time period specified? 5. Why should your organization do this program (as opposed to any other organization)? 6. How much will the total project cost? How much are you requesting from this funder? 7. Make sure the summary is brief...no more than one page. 8. Thank the proposed funder for considering your request. Need Statement According to the authors of Winning Grants, the need statement is fundamentally important since this is where the funder will agree or not agree that the proposed project meets an important societal need. Characterized by both quantitative data and stories (qualitative data) that illustrate the need you propose to address, the need statement is really the key to unlocking the door of your grantor's interest. The need you address must be clearly related to your nonprofit's mission and purpose. It should focus on those people you serve, rather than your organization's needs. It should be well supported with evidence such as statistical facts, expert views, and trends. It must be directly connected to, and substantiate, your organization's ability to respond to that need. It must be easily digestible. Use the KISS principle (keep it sweet and simple). Avoid jargon and make it easy for the reader to get what you are saying. Goals and Objectives The goals and objectives section of your grant proposal provides a description of what your organization hopes to accomplish with your project. It also spells out the specific results or outcomes you plan to accomplish. A goal is an observable and measurable end result in which effort is directed. In contrast to the goal, an objective represents a step toward accomplishing a goal and is narrow, precise, tangible, concrete, and can be measured. A single goal can have one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe. Moreover, a goal is only as good as the objectives that go with it. Beverly A. Browning, in her Grant Writing for Dummies, suggests using the S.M.A.R.T. method of writing your objectives. Make them Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timebound. According to Mim Carlson and Tori O'Neal-McElrath, in Winning Grants, you should keep the following in mind when preparing your objectives: State your objectives in quantifiable terms. State your objectives in terms of outcomes, not process. Objectives should specify the result of an activity. Objectives should identify the target audience or community being served. Objectives need to be realistic and capable of being accomplished within the grant period. Tips for writing good goals and objectives: Carlson and O'Neal-McElrath, in Winning Grants, suggest you keep the following in mind as you write your goals and objectives for your grant: Tie your goals and objectives directly to your need statement. 2
Include all relevant groups and individuals in your target population. Always allow plenty of time to accomplish the objectives. Do not confuse your outcome objectives for methods. Figure out how you will measure the change projected in each objective. If there is no way to measure an objective, it needs to be changed. These are your performance measurements. Once the goals and objectives of your grant proposal are in place, you need to walk the grantor through the methods you will use to achieve those goals and objectives. Carlson and O'Neal-McElrath, authors of Winning Grants: Step by Step suggest following these guidelines as you write your methods component for your grant proposal. Closely tie your methods to the proposed program's objectives and need statement. Link your methods to the resources you are requesting in to the proposal budget. Explain the rationale for choosing these methods by including research, expert opinion, and your own past experience. Delineate the facilities and capital equipment that will be used in the project. Layer activity phases so that the program is moved toward the desired results. Include a timeline. Include a discussion about who will be served and how they will be chosen Write this narrative as though the reader will be any person who knows nothing about your organization and the project you're proposing. This is not "dumbing" it down, but making it crystal clear. Once the methods component has been written look at it again and ask these questions: Do the methods derive logically from the need statement and your goals and objectives? Have you accurately presented the program activities you will be undertaking? Did you explain why you chose these methods or activities? Is there a timeline that makes sense? Have you made it clear who will perform specific activities? Given the resources you expect to have, are these activities feasible? Monitoring and Evaluation A key question any grantor will ask of an organization applying for funding will be, "How will you know your idea worked?" Before you design your evaluation, consider the reasons to do an evaluation. Carlson and O'Neal-McElrath, authors of Winning Grants, Step by Step, suggest that evaluations can accomplish these six purposes: 1. Did your project actually do what you set out to do? 2. To determine if the methods specified were used, and if the objectives were met. 3. To find out if an impact was made on the identified need. 4. To obtain feedback from the people served and other members of the community. 5. To maintain control over the project (evaluations are done at various points in the project). 6. To make changes in the program mid-stream, if necessary, to insure the program's success. 3
Determine if you will use qualitative or quantitative for your data collection, or what combination of the two types you will use. Develop a good description of these methods and their rationale for the grantor. Make sure the evaluation component of your proposal connects with the proposal's objectives and methods. If those objectives and methods are measurable and time specific, the evaluation will be easier to design. Ask yourself these questions as you develop the evaluation section of your proposal: 1. What is the evaluation's purpose? 2. How will you use the findings? 3. What will you know after the evaluation that you didn't know before? 4. What will you do as a result of the evaluation that you couldn't do before because you lacked the relevant information? 5. How will the clients and community served be better as a result of the project? Organizational Capacity This section of your proposal needs to be just as succinct as the rest. Stick to the information that will establish your organization's credibility and ability to accomplish the goals of this project. What you should consider including in the organizational information section: 1. Your organization s location. 2. A summary of your requested program. 3. Your organization's position and role in the community. Mention any collaborating partners in your community. 4. How your organization is unique. Explain why your request does not overlap with other similar services. 5. Your organization's most important achievements that relate to this proposal. Include past successful projects or special recognition your organization has received. Consider using a bullet format to lay out these achievements in an abbreviated way. 6. Very brief summary of the need statement. Remember this is all about reassuring the reader that you are the organization best suited to carrying out the proposed project. Don't include information here that is presented elsewhere in the proposal, unless it is in abbreviated form. Budget Narrative Developing budgets for grant applications is a difficult and time consuming process. Many factors must be considered. Depending on the funding opportunity, match requirements, indirect funds for the institution, and personnel costs are but a few. The Budget Summary details the overall costs of the proposed project. You will notice it falls into a few distinct categories: Personnel, Supplies and Materials, Other Operating Expenses and Services, Capital Outlay, and Other Outgo. These categories are contained (in some form or fashion) in virtually every grant application. Effort should be made to understand the categories, and what budget amounts go where. Likewise, the Budget Detail Sheet demonstrates how the costs in the Budget Summary were calculated. Most funders will request this information, and it will most often pertain to calculation of salaries and benefits. 4
The Budget Narrative is an explanation of what the funds are used for and how you arrived at the amounts. Some funders require this information while others do not. It is the funder s intent to determine whether or not the costs are reasonable to the proposed project. For example, a grant proposal that centers on equipment should not include costs for curriculum development or cross-country travel. 5