Donna V. Dunlop
former Program Director of the Dewitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund
sponsored by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation

Basic Grant Proposal Writing

• The first and second laws of successful grant seeking are Know Thyself and Know Thy Grantmaker.
  

• Your board and staff should define the mission, goals, objectives and priorities of your organization together. These should in turn define the programs and activities you undertake, and in turn form the basis of your grant seeking.
  

• Be sure you have a program to "sell" that meets a need in your community and fits within the mission of your organization. Sound planning needs to precede fund raising.
  
  
• Know and understand the context for your work. Who else is working on your issues locally, statewide or nationally (if applicable)? What is distinctive about what your organization is doing? Are there opportunities to collaborate or make connections with your colleagues to reach your goals?
  

• Be sure you have involved the necessary people in the creation of your proposal. Have program staff review a draft of the proposal to be sure you have the facts straight. Do you have the approval and support of the board? Who needs to sign off on the proposal? The process of involving board and staff in proposal preparation and review is a powerful mechanism for ensuring buy-in.
  

• Think about the proposal as a management tool in addition to being a request for funds. Keep the document alive by referring back to it to be sure that you are doing what you said you would, or that you have a good reason to change course.
  

• Create a generic "boilerplate" proposal that you will customize depending upon the grantmaker to whom the request is being sent. Each proposal should give evidence that you have done your homework (e.g. "Because of your commitment to xyz, we would like to describe our plans to abc.").
  

• What kind of data are you collecting or might you collect that will give evidence of the progress you are making? Ho w do you plan to tell your story, internally and externally? Should there be a line item in the proposal to cover the costs of data collections and reporting? Good data or "evidence" will help you build the case for future support with current and future funders.
  

• Remember, you don't need to pursue all grant opportunities. They may take you off course if you're not careful.
  
  
• Think of proposal writing as helping others to become as invested in your work as you are.

Basic Steps

Remember that although there is a great deal of information to cover, a foundation proposal should, as a rule, be 5-10 pages in length (unless you have been given other directions by the funder). Some detail can be included in appendices that your reader can choose (or not) to review. Sometimes funders prefer to be contacted first with a 1-2 page letter. Find out. If the foundation has written guidelines for proposal writing, get a copy for your files. Follow them carefully. Maintaining up-to-date files on foundation activities and guidelines is a critical piece of fund development.

It may be useful to think of your proposal, in part, as a presentation of your management plan. Use it for your own internal purposes and update it as necessary. Don't think of your proposal in a vacuum.

Proposal Format
There are many ways to format a proposal. Based on many years of experience writing and reviewing proposals, I recommend the following:

1. Executive Summary. This should include a brief description of the project and its goals with some context. Why this request at this time? It should also contain your specific request for funds and for what purpose. An overall budget figure should be provided here and mention other sources of support.
   
   
2. Statement of Need/Local Context. Flesh out why this work is important and what is happening locally that makes the work necessary and doable. The presence of other funding helps to build credibility. you should also describe where this work fits in the overall organizational agenda and indicate board and staff support of it. Cite appropriate current research - sparingly. Remember, if the funder is working in a particular field, he/she is likely to be familiar with the research.
   
   • Why is this particular project necessary? (Is anyone else doing similar work locally? Why does this build upon/complement that work?) Do other initiatives relate to the proposed project? Make connections whenever possible.
     
     
3. Project Goals and Objectives. What do you want to accomplish with this work? What are your desired outcomes?
   
   
4. Strategies. What specific steps are you going to take to reach your goals? Outline a reasonable and thoughtful approach to getting the job done, including descriptions of specific key activities. For each goal, there should be a clear description of a strategy that helps you meet the goal.
   
   
5. Timeline. What are you going to do and when? What are the benchmarks for success in the project? When will you make course corrections? Who is responsible for what tasks? Note whether this is a pilot that you hope will be institutionalized. Give some sense of the duration of the work. Again, think of this as a management tool.
   
   
6. Evaluation Plans. How will you determine whether you have met your goals? How will you document project progress? Who, if anyone, is conducting the evaluation? Do they have credibility? What are the costs? Are you going to have internal and external evaluation/documentation information? Evaluation of projects is becoming increasingly important for donors. It should be for you as well. Make it clear that measurable ends matter to your organization.
   
   
7. Description of Key Staff and Project Partners. Who is going to get this work done? Do they have credibility? Resumes. Do you have partners (e.g. local university or youth services agency)? If so, describe. Are they providing resources to get work done? How much?
   
   
8. History. Provide a description of organizational capabilities. Briefly describe the history of your organization. You should have some "boilerplates" to call upon for this purpose. Outline previous fundraising experience. Have you been part of the other local or national initiatives (foundation or government initiated)? Describe track record.
   
   
9. Budget. What are the full project costs? What is being put up locally? What are the local partners putting up? Large budget line items should be justified in notes to the budget.Describe what portion of the budget is being requested from the donor. Note other sources of support, including other grants, and in-kind support. If requests are pending, include a list of these prospects. Funders generally like to know that they're in it with someone else. Describe, if possible, plans for how the program will be funded once initial donor support has run its course
   

Remember to include a concise but compelling cover letter with your proposal. Thank the funder for any previous support.


Reporting Back

If a grant is approved, it is likely that the funder will want reports on your progress. Even if these are not required, it is wise to send at least brief reports on the work completed. What you do after you receive your grant is more important than what you've done before. And you need to keep the funder in the picture as you begin to work on your program. Having made an investment in your work, the funder will want to know how your work is progressing.

Keep the following in mind:

• From the start, identify what the funder's reporting requirements are. Be sure you understand what is expected, in what form and how frequently. Mark your calendars to be sure reports are provided in a timely manner.
  
  
• Your reporst should have utility for the people running the program. They should help you determine if course corrections are necessary and how you are making progress towards stated goals.
  
  
• Refer to the terms of the proposal. Your report should report on the actitvities outlined in the proposal.
  
  
• If you are recommending that there be changes in the design of the porject or there are significant personnel or organizational changes, let the funder know. As a rule, funders do not like surprises. Full disclosure is best.
  
  
• Don't think that your report has to be all positive. In fact, a report that is too positive raises all sorts of red flags. It is better to report on positive and negative lessons learned. if something hasn't worked, describe what you have learned and what you will do differently to meet your goals.
  
  
• Think of the funder as a partner who is likely to have expertise and is as interested in hearing about your progress as your staff is. if you need advice, your funder can often help.