Proposal Writing:

Overview of Workshop

John Akuse
Introduction
 Grantseeking is a multibillion-dollar-a-year
business. If it were a single company, it
would rank at the top of the Fortune 500
list.
 Grantmakers give away money because of
their concern about social problems,
injustices, or inequalities.
 Grantseekers that are successful correctly
perceive the sponsor's view of the world
and incorporate that view in their grant
proposal without dwelling on their own need
for funding
 Sponsors view grants as investments in
improving the future and furthering their
mission.
 Proposals are funded when they express
the same priorities shared by the
grantmaker. Projects are rejected when
they do not precisely reflect the priorities of
the grantmaker (Miner
 Key Components of the Proposal Writing Process
 A proposal writing exercise could
be divided into three broad parts:
 what to do before you start writing

 what to do during the actual writing

or drafting of the proposal
document
 what to do after sending
documents.

 EACH OF THESE PARTS IS AS

IMPORTANT AS THE OTHER.
Don’t start writing a funding
 THE EXTENT OF WORK YOU DO proposal before you have done
AT EACH PART, DEPENDS ON
THE TYPE OF PROPOSAL YOU the necessary research, thinking
ARE WRITING AND THE EXTENT and planning!
OF THE RELATIONSHIP YOU
HAVE WITH THE DONOR
AGENCY.
Before You Start
 Read the funding guidelines and directions carefully.
 Make sure you have enough time to prepare the proposal.
 Consider whether the grant is right for your organization.
 Is the proposed program consistent with the mission and goals of
my organization?
 Does my organization currently have the staff expertise and
resources to implement the program?
 Does my organization have the capacity to administer the funds that
it is applying for?
 Does my organization have direct ties to and experience with the
target population?
 Is there community support for the proposed program?
 Is the amount of money being offered worth the time and expense
involved in applying for it?
Before You Start writing again
 Be clear about why and for
whom you are writing the
proposal.
 The first question you need to
ask yourself is: Why are you
writing a funding proposal?
 Understand the donor for
whom you are preparing it -
Choose the Donor and Know
the Donor.
 Who are you writing the
proposal for?
THE PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
 Concept Note: A Given
number of pages
document, summarizing
what you hope to achieve
and how, as a preliminary
step for the donor, to
decide whether it is
interested in getting more
How you write the proposal
will depend, to some extent,
information or not
on the requirements of the  A standard format
donor. Possibilities established by the donor
include:
 Your own format.
THE PROPOSAL COMPONENTS

 While funding sources vary in their guidelines

and requirements for submission of
proposals, the following components are
fairly standard parts of most proposals:
 Cover Letter & Title, Summary or Abstract,
Introduction, Statement of the
Problem/Needs Assessment, Goals and
Objectives, Program Plan and Methods,
Monitoring and Evaluation, Budget, and
Appendices.
Title Page
 Grant writers should design a bold and attractive
cover that includes
 the name of the grant,
 a subtitle if necessary,
 the names of both the grant program and the
funding source,
 the date of submission,
 the city and state, and the department's name.
 They should use graphics and color to heighten the
appearance of the cover.
Table of Contents

 Grant writers always should include a table of

contents so reviewers can refer easily to a
specific provision without fumbling through
each page.
 You should use an outline format and indent
the subsections for clarity.
Abstract/Summary

 Some funding sources require an abstract, a

one-page description of what the program
proposes to do and the expected results.
 It summarizes the important points of the
program and highlights the key aspects of the
problem statement, the program description,
and the goals and objectives.
Problem Statement
 The problem
statement is the
bedrock upon which
all else rests.
 If no problem exists,
the ORGANISATION Grant writers should give a
historical perspective that
AND FUNDER leads from the beginning of
needs no funding and the problem, through
resource allocation different time periods, and
respectively. up to the current condition.
 Goals and Objectives
 Goal statements often start with an
action indicator, such as to or will
(e.g., to reduce inmate population, to
decrease fear of crime, will strengthen
community partnerships, will minimize
the temptation to join a gang).
 By contrast, objectives are specific,
precise, and exact statements that
Often used interchangeably,
lead step by step to the achievement
goals and objectives, in fact, are of the goals.
two distinct criteria that must be  Four elements of an objective--
met. subject, assignment, condition, and
A goal is a broad general standard--must be met for it to be
statement explaining what the
grant program is expected to measurable.
accomplish.
Program Strategy/Method
 In this section, the grant writer
must provide a clear statement
of how the organisation is
going to organize and
administer the project to meet
the intended goals and
objectives.
 If required by the RFP, the
The program strategy is the grant writer must identify
specific method or activities specific individuals who, by
that the organisation will virtue of training and
employ for the duration of the
grant program to achieve experience, will carry out
stated objectives. portions of the program and
attach their resumes.
Example of Continuous Training Programme Methodology
 Budget & Budget Narrative
 Budgeted expenses must be reasonable,
allowable, and cost-effective for the
activities proposed in the program strategy.
 The budget narrative also must describe
and explain how each particular item was
calculated.
 Typical budget categories include
personnel, fringe benefits, travel,
equipment, supplies, contracts, utilities,
construction, indirect costs, and
consultants.
 When creating the budget, the organisation
must not overlook one important issue--the
budget must be in proportion to the goals
The budget narrative details a and objectives.
comprehensive itemization and  Often, the goals of the project far exceed
explanation of the costs incurred the funds being requested, thus making the
from the administration and goals unattainable. This is known as the
implementation of the program.
reasonableness requirement of the budget.
Appendix
 Often, a grant application has a page restriction
limiting the narrative portion. If this is the case,
writers should include an appendix that contains all
of the charts, tables, and supporting documents.
 They should not waste valuable space in the actual
narrative section, but append all supporting
materials and use an in-text citation (e.g., see chart
1 in appendix).
 In this way, writers can include organizational charts
setting forth specific elements, flowcharts depicting
a particular process, Gantt chartst denoting a
sequence of events and milestones, and additional
statistical data.
Cover Letter
 The cover letter should be written on the applicant's
letterhead, and should be signed by the
organization's highest official.
 It should be addressed to the individual at the
funding source with whom the organization has
dealt, and should refer to earlier discussions.
 While giving a brief outline of the needs addressed
in the proposal, the cover letter should demonstrate
a familiarity with the mission of the grant-making
organization and emphasize the ways in which this
project contributes to these goals.
 PACKAGING YOUR PROPOSAL
 While you will obviously spend much time
working on the content of your proposal, you
should also pay attention to the appearance
or design of your proposal.

 Just as clothing is important in the business

world for establishing initial impressions, so,
too, is the appearance of your proposal as it
reaches the reviewer's hands.

 The proposal should "look" familiar to the

reader. A familiar proposal is a friendly
proposal. Look at the printed materials
issued by the sponsor.
when appropriate, use the same font
 Note their use of font size and style, white
space, and headings. Structure your size, style, layout, and headings as
proposals to match the private foundation's they do in their publications. Your
publication preferences; proposal will look more credible
when you consider these factors.
 Before You Send the Proposal

 Check the appendix to

make sure it includes
all required
attachments.
 Follow funders’
instructions exactly in
Make time to edit the proposal. packaging the proposal
Make sure all sections of the  Pay attention to
proposal are consistent with
each other proposal deadlines
Writing Tips At A Glance
 Write simply and avoid jargon.
 Use short sentences.
 Use the active rather than the passive voice when
you can (e.g. .specially trained project staff will run
all training courses. rather than .all training courses
will be run by specially trained project staff.).
 Check for spelling and grammar mistakes . if
necessary get someone else to read it through and
make corrections.
 Revise and rewrite if necessary.
 Don’t exaggerate.
 Write for a non-technical reader.
Following-up the proposal
 There are two kinds of follow-up related to the
writing of funding proposals.
 Firstly there is the .what.s happening?. kind of
follow-up, when you have submitted a proposal and
waited some time for a response.
 Secondly, if you are fortunate enough to be
successful in your application, there is the follow-up
that helps to build strong and supportive ties
between project/organisation and donor.
Dealing with Grant Decisions
 Planned reactions become planned options. How do
you plan to behave if your proposal is funded?
Rejected? What are your options?
 When you have a powerful itch, it is almost
unbearable waiting to get it scratched! Having to
wait to get what you want demands patience and
tolerance--unless you have planned options.
 Patient people turn to other activities to meet other
needs while they are waiting for grant decisions.
 This keeps them strong and in control. Strong
people wait a lot. It may take many months before
the decision on your proposal is made.
 If Rejected
 If it is their policy, request reviewer
comments, particularly verbatim
comments; otherwise you may only
receive summary comments, which are
less specific.
 Ask if you should reapply next year. Use
this as an opportunity to build a
relationship with the sponsor for the next
submission cycle.
 Periodically send a photocopy of articles
or publicity with a note: "Thought you
If you were turned down by might be interested in this."
the sponsor, thank the
source for considering the
 Invite them to your agency to get to know
proposal. Ask what can be
you better. Avoid making them feel as if
done to improve the you only need them at submission time.
proposal.
If Accepted 1
 You have just heard the good
news that your proposal has
been successful.
Congratulations!
 Is this the end of the
process?
 No. In fact, it is the beginning.
 Thank the donor for the
favourable response. This means sending regular
 Keep the donor up-to-date on reports and information that
what is going on in the project may be of use or interest to
and/or the organisation. the donor.
If Accepted 2
 Meet the reporting
requirements of the donor.
This means providing the right
information (narrative and
financial), in the right format, at
the right time.
 As soon as you sign a contract
with a donor, diarise when
reports are due.
Invite donors to your  Make a note in your diary for a
events even if you think month before the reports are
they may not be able to due so that you have them
come. ready on time.
If Accepted 3
 Be available for meetings with the
representatives of the donor.
 Be ready to answer questions, organise
field trips, and/or explain details.
 Wherever possible, get donor representatives
into the field where they can meet the
people whom the donor contribution is
actually helping.
 Keep communication open at all times. This
is the Key
Felicitation

 Thanks for accepting to be bored