- A non-profit grant is a funding request for a project submitted to an institution or corporation with the specific goal of raising a certain amount for that project.
- Whether it is an organization's grant proposal form or a grant you are putting together from scratch, it comprises of these elements: a cover letter, a summary, a mission statement, goals and objectives, tools and strategies, assessment methods, scale of the project, organizational details, budget, test results and studies, list of board of directors, proof of tax exemption.
- In non-profit grant writing, it is important to have a project in mind, identify an organization that is known to or is likely to support that type of project, then tailor your grant accordingly. It is not advisable to choose a funding organization first and then write a grant that tries to match the projects it supports.
- In non-profit grant writing, recognizing the scope of a project is crucial. The grant must lay out specific goals and measurable objectives so that the grant-making organization knows what it is funding. However, if you believe that the success could be duplicated or translated to another non-profit project or expanded at a later stage, it broadens the non-profit grant's potential in attracting more diversified funding.
- Avoid some of the most common mistakes in non-profit grant writing in order to ensure your grant attracts funding. These include not being specific about the problems and solutions, not mentioning evaluation tools, and not adhering to the funder's proposal guidelines or proposal submission deadlines. Also, ensure that your grant is impeccably written, neatly formatted and proof-read for spelling, typos, and grammatical, factual and other errors.
