How to Write Effective Grant and Funding Proposals
Grant writing is a task that requires a medley of skills and talents. Your work needs to be thoroughly researched, and it needs to be compelling.
And of course, for many charitable organizations, it’s an essential process that is fundamental in funding and maintaining their services. So you need to know how to do it well!
The thing is, there is a lot of competition. Grant appraisers might read hundreds of applications for each round of their funds.
This short article will outline how to write effective grant proposals. Whether it’s a cover letter or a formal application, you’ll find essential and actionable tips below.
What Should a Grant Proposal Do?
In short, a grant proposal is an appeal for money. To do that as effectively as possible, you should refer back to these four critical points in the writing process:
A grant proposal should be precise about a specific project: In other words, a reader should know exactly what you’re asking money for.
You need to offer an adequate explanation of the need for the project (define the problem): This is where you show your knowledge and research on the social issue at hand. This inspires the reader with confidence that you understand the problem and are thorough with your research and expertise. You should use statistics and facts to back up your argument.
You need to explain how your project fixes that problem: Tell the potential funder what your project will do with their backing. Don’t forget to add key details like anticipated start and end dates of the project, geographical locations, and targeted outcomes.
You need to be precise about costs: You need to be exact about how much your project will cost and why it’s going to cost that much. You will also need to provide accounting records for your charity. They need to see they can trust you with their money and understand how the funds they provide will further your mission in a way that isn’t currently possible.
How Should A Grant Proposal Look?
The standard structure of a grant proposal—at a minimum—should look like this:
The Premise (Intro)
Who We Are
a) The Problem
b) The Solution
Costs
Let’s dive a little deeper into what each of these key sections should look like:
The Premise (Abstract): Your first task is to neatly surmise everything you’re trying to say in 2-3 sentences. The reader shouldn’t have to read half of your application to figure out what it is you’re on about.
Who We Are: After you’ve told them what you’re doing, tell them who you are. This gives a face to your project and lets you state your credentials. Tell them why you should be trusted to put their money to good use.
a) The Problem: Here, you should describe the issue your project is working to overcome. Why is this issue important, and why does it deserve their investment?
b) The Solution: After you’ve stated the problem, you need to articulate how your project is going to change it. Be specific to outcomes and long-term impact where you can.
Costs: In a standard letter to a charitable trust, you won’t have the space to give a complete costing report. However, you should have a brief synopsis of how much it will cost with a summary of what the money is going towards.
Applications That Go the Distance
Applications that go the distance will also include the following sections:
Case Studies: If you can show proof of your work's real impact, you’ll strengthen your case. In short, show them your success to inspire faith in your application.
Monitoring and Evaluations: If you can tie in monitoring and evaluation into your outcome section, you again show your ability to be thorough and that you’ve done your research.
Exit Strategy: A grant proposal with real depth is one that looks ahead. As most funding is one-off payments, how will you fund your project when the initial money runs out? What are your plans for sustainability?
Additionally, here are a few other things to consider:
It’s common for funders to also ask for a copy of a signed account and sometimes your organization's charter.
Unless stated otherwise, do not include anything else in your application - i.e. brochures - especially if you’re delivering physical copies to the funder's address.
Adding anything else not only creates clutter, but is also inappropriate. Funders want to see the four key points illustrated previously. If they want to see anything else, they will ask you.
Extra Tips For Grant Writers
Beyond the essential grant proposal elements we’ve just gone over, consider these additional best practices:
Tailor to whom you’re writing: Giant appraisers receive a lot of applications. So do some research into the interests of whom you’re writing to. Why? This will make you stand out from the crowd.
Use examples and research effectively: Good grants will use research to illustrate the need for their project and use examples to show the success of similar projects to show that it is viable. For example, here’s how to use a Google Grant effectively.
Investigate: Research is everything. The chances are, you won’t be reinventing the wheel. Someone else will likely have already done a project at least a bit similar. Don’t be afraid to speak to them. Ask them why, how, and where. Ask them how they fund their projects. Ask them what they wish they’d known before. Ask them what their most significant issues were/are.
Keep it short: Your reader will appreciate you keeping to the point. Writing more to sound more comprehensive isn’t advised.
Tell Them Where to Find Your Website and Social Accounts: If the appraiser is at all interested in your application, they’re going to want to do some further investigation into who you are. Be sure to let them know where to find your website and your social accounts to make their life easier. And while you’re here, check out this article on how to continuously improve your nonprofit's website.
Double and triple check: As with everything you write, it’s good practice to carefully edit for mistakes of all kinds, syntax, spelling, grammar, and so on. This attention to detail will reflect on your organization and your passion for your project.
Tell a story where you can: It’s not enough to convince someone your project is worthwhile with numbers. You also need to captivate hearts, so don’t be afraid to use some creative license and tell a captivating story.
Be positive: Passion is everything. It needs to shine through in your proposal. You want readers to buy into your positivity.
Ask for feedback: Most grant applications aren’t successful. Even worthy, high-quality applications are often knocked back. Asking for feedback makes rejection a learning experience. See it as an opportunity to improve. What’s more, by showing a willingness to improve, you could build a strong relationship with the funding body moving forward.
Adjust and Improve: Following on from this last point, a finished and polished proposal can continuously be improved. Whether it’s reacting to feedback from funders, a change in data or costs, or you’ve found a nicer way to fashion one of your sentences.
Keep up-to-date records of your applications: There is a good chance you’ll be applying to many funders. Having an excel sheet that tracks your applications will streamline your process. This is important as it will stop your charity from applying to the same foundation twice.
Collect data during your project(s) for case studies: Sometimes, you’ll be asked to supply a case study. Either to prove how you’ve carried out successful projects before. Or, sometimes charities that have given you money will request a case study of your activity to show what you’ve done with their money.
Wrapping Up
Mastering the process of applying for funding is essential. It requires a medley of skills and can be a lot of hard work.
However, if you follow the steps and advice above, you’ll have a competitive application. Moreover, you’ll find the process rewarding!
If you’re hungry to learn more, then check out these 5 podcasts for charity fundraising advice.
This article was contributed by Harry Prince, Creative Content Manager at Spacehuntr.