How to Make Your Grant Proposal More Effective

When writing your grant proposal it is important to keep a few things in mind to maximize your chances of funding. Here are some things to be aware of when writing and editing your grant proposal.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Research: Do not even start writing a proposal until you have researched the foundation or funding agency to ensure that your project will coincide with their mission. Grant proposals take time, so don't waste your time writing a grant that contradicts the agency's mission. An example is writing a grant to fund teen sex education including education about birth control and submitting it to the Catholic Church. No matter how good your grant is, it probably would not get funded because it contradicts the funder's mission.

2. Read: Read the request for proposal. Most request for proposals are very detailed and tell you exactly what to do and how to write them. Some even specify margins and font size in addition to type of paper. You do not want to get denied a grant just because you didn't follow the directions.

3. Edit: Once you have a proposal written edit, edit, and then edit some more. You want it as concise as possible because the quicker the funder can read and understand your proposal, the more likely you will be to get funded.

4. Proofread: Realize that the funding may give you quite a bit of money so wants to make sure that you pay attention to detail and are accurate. One of the quickest ways to make them question you is to have typos, poor grammar, and other error that suggest you are not detailed oriented.

5. Cooperate: In these times of limited funds, agencies tend to like proposals that show multiple groups are working together. This makes them feel like the project will have a greater impact in many cases. Several grants even give preference to groups working together.

6. Check the numbers: One of the biggest mistake many make is not having realistic budgets. Most people who review grants have enough experience to estimate what your budget should be. If it is too high or too low they may question you ability to make the project a success and understanding of the project. You want them to look at your proposal withou any hesitation and say "This is great!!" not wonder if you understand the economics and can handle the project.

Tips & Warnings

• Never give up- sometime it takes time to get a grant.

[amylaine]

on 10/11/2009 Research, research, research, and community support is the backbone to a great proposal as a opposed to a just passable grant proposal.

[sneedc]

on 12/22/2008 You're dead on with being realistic about funds available in this dubious economy--I need to save this for my boys who are preparing themselves for college soon.