Coastal Services Center

• The Non-Profit Guides organization designs grant writing tools to help nonprofits win grant funds. The "10-Point Grant Writing Guide" is specifically aimed at nonprofit organizations and provides sample inquiry letters, cover letters, and budgets.
• "A Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing" (PDF) by Lynn E. Miner explains what motivates grant makers, where to find out about public and private grants, and how to get started.
• The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance has a guide for "Developing and Writing Grant Proposals." This guide provides another perspective on grant seeking.
• The Minnesota Council on Foundations provides a guide for "Writing a Successful Grant Proposal." Although specifically geared for Minnesota, this guide helps grant seekers understand what information funders want and provides some guidance on how to answer these questions. Also visit the Grantmaking Basics section where you will find articles like "A Day in the Life of a Program Officer," "The Truth About Site Visits," and "Trustees: Who Are They Anyway?"
• Purdue University has developed a set of Proposal Enhancement Tools. These tools were designed to help writers develop a strong grant proposal by clearly identifying the audience and the potential impacts to that audience. This set contains seven worksheets and can be downloaded in PDF format.
• The Environmental Protection Agency has developed an on-line grant-writing tutorial. Although this tutorial is designed to address questions regarding environmental justice, education, and pollution prevention through the EPA's grant programs, the information you will find here is helpful when applying for any federal grant. For instance, this site showcases various required forms and provides tips on filling these out correctly. The mock grant-writing activity is also widely applicable.

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