Grants 101

Elements of a Proposal Presented by Dierdre McKee

Proposal Rhetoric

• There’s a problem—let me tell you about it; give you its context; and explain why it’s important to solve it

• Here’s our solution—let me give all the details about this solution and how it will work and what its outcomes will be

• Our organization is uniquely capable of actually achieving these outcomes because……

Elements of a Proposal

• All proposals share common elements• Effective proposals:– Are organized so that the ideas flow from each

other and are easy to understand– Follow convention about grammar, spelling

and punctuation– Have a style that suits the subject and the

funder– Follow the funder’s guidelines for format

Common Elements of Proposals

• Executive summary/Introduction• Organization information• Statement of need/challenge• Description of

project/organization to include:– Details on workings of project– Goals and objectives– Activities to reach objectives

Common Elements Cont.’d• Staff information: job descriptions,

bio’s, resumes/CVs• Evaluation information• Explanation of how project will be

sustained in the future/post grant• Budget• Attachments

Executive Summary

• Used to screen proposals• Mini version of proposal with info on

organization, problem, solution, and amount requested

• ASK FOR THE MONEY• Relates the grant request to funder’s

interests• Best to write last

Organization Information

• Mission statement• History• Accomplishments/activities• Sometimes divided into 2 separate

sections

Statement of Need/Problem

• Is a description of the problem you’re trying to solve in your project/org.

• Documents why the funder should give you a grant

• Need is not YOUR need (i.e. more staff, new building), but larger, social need (more people needing services, etc.)

• Presents facts/evidence/statistics

Statement of Need/Problem

• Description of problem should have three parts:– Context of the problem—define problem so

others can understand it, identify with it, and recognize how important it is

– Justification—explain why the problem is important to solve and define scope (size, impact etc.) of problem

– What aspect you want to solve—if problem is a large social issue, your project most likely only addresses a portion of it.

Description of Project/Purpose of Grant

• Details!• Goals vs. Objectives– Goal: conceptual/abstract– Objective: measurable outcome– Example

• Goal: After school program will help children improve their reading skills

• Objective: After school reading program will assist 50 children improve their reading scores by one grade level as demonstrated on standardized reading tests after participating in the program for 6 months.

Project Description Cont’d• Activities to reach goal/objective—

DETAILS!– What exactly will you do?– Who will do it? – Where will you do it?– How often/how much time?– What resources will you use?– Why those resources?– What will you provide?

HOW do those activities relate to the objectives and goals?

Staff Information

• Goal is to show expertise/ability to carry out project and reach goals

• Biographies• Attached resumes or CVs

Evaluation

• With goals and objectives in mind, how will you DEFINE success?

• Then how will you MEASURE success?

• Sometimes scientific, sometimes less formal

• Reporting• How will you USE that data?

Sustainability

• No funder wants to support you forever

• How will project continue after grant period? – Will it become self-supporting?– Will it require additional grant support?– Will it become part of regular org.

budget and covered by other grants/revenue?

The Budget

• Tells your story in numbers• Demonstrates how much the

project will cost• Shows funders exactly what they

will support/where their money will go

• Serves as a plan for how your organization will operate the project

The Budget

• 2 kinds—overall project and request budget

• May require a separate form from funder

• Sometimes requires a budget narrative (justification)

Attachments• Financials:

– Budgets– List of largest funders/grants– Audit for last year/2

• Others:– 501c3 letter– W-9– 990– Board List– Annual report– Letters of support– Anything else the funder wants!

Thank you!

To learn more about the grant seeking process, view the next

slidecast, “Logic Models”