Introduction
A funders guidelines will tell
you what to include in a grant proposal for its organization. Most funders want the same
information, even if they use different words or
ask questions in a different order.
Some funders prefer that you fill out their
own application forms or cover sheets. If the funder uses an application form, be sure to get
a copy and follow the instructions. You may also use the
Minnesota
Common Grant Application Form if the funder you are approaching accepts it.
The following outline should meet the needs of most funders, or
guide you when approaching a funder with no written guidelines. The outline is for a
project proposal, and is most appropriate for a project that is trying to correct a
problem, such as water pollution, school truancy or ignorance about how HIV/AIDS is
transmitted. (See variations on the
standard outline for guidance on other types of proposals). The grant proposal as a whole, not including supplementary
materials, should usually be five pages or less.
Note: Consider using subheads for each
section,
such as "Organization Information," to help you, and your reader, keep
track of what youre trying to say.
Summary
At the beginning of your proposal, or on a
cover sheet, write a two- or three-sentence summary of the proposal. This summary helps
the reader follow your argument in the proposal itself. For example:
"Annunciation Shelter requests $5,000 for a
two-year, $50,000 job training program for homeless women in southwestern Minnesota.
Training will be offered at four rural shelters and will include basic clerical skills,
interview techniques and job seeker support groups."
Organization Information
In two or three paragraphs, tell the funder about your organization and why
it can be
trusted to use funds effectively. Briefly summarize your organizations history.
State your mission, whom you serve and your track record of achievement. Clearly
describe, or at least list, your programs. If your programs are many or complex, consider adding an
organization chart or other attachments that explain them. Describe your
budget size, where you are located and who runs the organization
and does the work. Add other details that build the credibility of your group. If other
groups in your region work on the same issues, explain how
they are different and how you collaborate with them, if you do.
Even if you have received funds from this grantmaker before,
your introduction should be complete. Funders sometimes hire outside
reviewers who may not be familiar with your organization.
Problem/Need/Situation Description
This is where you convince the funder that the
issue you want to tackle is important and show that your organization is an expert on the
issue. Here are some tips:
- Dont assume the funder knows much about your
subject area. Most grantmaking staff people are generalists. They will probably know
something
about topics like Shakespeare, water pollution and HIV/AIDS, but you
should not assume that they
are familiar with "Troilus and Cressida," taconite disposal methods or Kaposis
sarcoma. If your topic is complex, you might add an informative article or suggest some
background reading.
- Why is this situation important? To whom did your
organization talk, or what research did you do, to learn about the issue and decide
how to
tackle it?
- Describe the situation in both
factual and human interest terms, if possible. Providing good data demonstrates
that your
organization is expert in the field. If there are no good data on your issue, consider
doing your own research study, even if it is simple.
- Describe your issue in as local a context as
possible. If you want to educate people in your county about HIV/AIDS, tell the funder about the
epidemic in your county not in the United States as a whole.
- Describe a problem that is about the same size as
your solution. Dont draw a dark picture of nuclear war, teen suicide and lethal air
pollution if you are planning a modest neighborhood arts program for children.
- Dont describe the problem as the absence of your project. "We dont have enough beds in our battered womens
shelter" is not the problem. The problem is increased levels of domestic violence.
More shelter beds is a solution.
Work Plan/Specific
Activities
Explain what your organization plans to do about
the problem. What are your overall goals? You might say:
"The goals of this project are to increase the
understanding among Minneapolis middle school students about the impact of smoking on
their health, and to reduce the number of students who smoke."
Then go on to give details, including:
- Who is the target audience, and how
will you involve them in the activity? How many people do you intend to serve?
Some projects have two audiences: the direct
participants (the musicians in the community band, the kids doing summer clean-up in
the parks) and the indirect beneficiaries (the music lovers in the audience, the
people who use the parks). If so, describe both. How will you ensure that
people actually participate in the program?
- What are you going to do?
Describe the activities. Tell the funder about the
projects "output," or how many "units of service" you intend to deliver
over a specific time period: how many hours of nutrition counseling to how many pregnant
women; how many HIV/AIDS hot-line
calls answered by how many volunteers. Be sure you dont promise an unrealistic level of
service.
- What project planning has already
taken place? If you have already done research, secured the commitment
of participants or done other initial work, describe it so the funder can see that you are well-prepared.
- Who is going to do the work and what
are their credentials? (Attach resumes of key people.) Some
funders ask for the name of a project director, the person most
responsible for the project, whether volunteer or paid. Demonstrate that
the staff or volunteers have the expertise to do a good job.
- When will the project
take place? Some funders ask for the project start date and
project end date. In general, a project can be said to start when you start spending
money on it. If the project is long, consider including a timeline.
- Where will the project take place?
You may not know the answers to all these
questions when you submit your proposal. But the more you know, the better
the proposal will look. Apply the "mind's eye test" to your
description. After reading it, could the reader close his eyes and imagine
what he would see if he came into the room where your project is
happening? Many project descriptions are too vague.
Remember: You can continue to submit updated
information to foundation staff almost until the date the board actually
reviews the proposal.
Outcomes/Impact
of Activities
Tell the funder what impact your project will
have — what will change about the situation as a result of your project. For example,
your pregnancy nutrition counseling program intends to increase the birth weights of your clients'
babies.
The impact of a project is sometimes hard to define. What
is the intended impact of a performance of Beethovens "Ninth Symphony," for
example?
Impact can be difficult to measure. The desired impact of
a smoking cessation program is clear, but the desired impact of a leadership
program for teenagers may be ambiguous and difficult to
quantify.
To add to the difficulty, few nonprofits can prove
conclusively that a given impact was caused directly by their project. Your clients
babies may weigh more, but the cause may not be your nutrition program. Nevertheless, you
must do the best job you can to define your intended
impacts.
Other
Funding
Here the funder wants to know if
other organizations have committed funds to the project or been asked to do so. Few funders want to be the sole support of a
project. (This may not be true if the project cost is very small — less than $5,000, for
instance — or if a corporation is seeking public visibility by sponsoring
the project.) Funders
generally expect you to ask for support from more than one source. In this
section, you can also describe the in-kind contributions (goods or services
instead of cash) that people are giving to the project.
Future
Funding
If you continue this project in the future, how
will it be supported? Most
funders dont want to support the same set of projects forever. Many funders see their niche as funding
innovation: supporting new approaches to old problems or finding solutions to new
problems.
What the funder really wants
to see is that you have a long-term vision
and funding plan for the project, that the project is
"sustainable," especially if it is a new activity. If you dont
have such a plan, start thinking about
it — if not for your funders then for the success of your project or organization.
Evaluation
How will you know whether you achieved the desired
impacts? If you have done a good job of defining them, all you need to do here is
describe the information you will gather to tell you how close you came. Will you keep records of
incoming hot-line calls? Will you call your
counseling clients six months after they leave the program to ask how they are doing?
Explain who will gather the evaluation information
and how you will use it. Be sure your evaluation plan is achievable given
your resources. If the evaluation will cost money, be sure to put that cost
in the project budget.
Budget
How much will the project cost? Attach a one- or
two-page budget showing expected
expenses and income for the project. Or you can use the budget format in
the Minnesota Common Grant Application Form.
EXPENSES
Divide the expense side into three sections:
Personnel Expenses
include the expenses for all the people who will work on the project.
They may be employees of your organization or independent contractors. If they are
employees, list the title, the annual pay rate and, if the person will be working less
than full-time or less than 12 months on the project, the portion of time to be
dedicated to the project. For example, if an employee will work half-time on the project from October
through May:
Counseling director ($35,000 x 50% x 8 months) =
$11,667
Also consider the time that may be
contributed by other staff who are not directly involved. For instance, the executive director
must supervise the counseling director:
Executive director ($40,000 x 5% x 8 months) = $1,333
If you are using employees for the project, dont forget to add
payroll taxes (FICA, Medicare, unemployment and workers compensation) and fringe
benefits such as health insurance. You can include a portion of these costs equal to the
portion of the persons time dedicated to the project.
For independent contractors, list either the flat fee you will
pay ($1,500 to design costumes for a play) or the hourly rate ($40/hour x 40 hours).
Direct Project Expenses
are non-personnel expenses you would not incur if you did not do the project. They can be almost anything: travel costs, printing, space or
equipment rental, supplies, insurance, or meeting expenses such as food.
Remember that you will have to live with this budget; you
cant go back to the funder and ask for more money because you forgot something.
Think carefully about all the expenses you will have. If you will be hiring
new people, for
example, dont forget that you may have to pay for classified ads. Also take the
time to get accurate estimates. If you will be printing a brochure, dont guess at
the cost. Call your printer and ask for a rough estimate.
Administrative or Overhead Expenses
are non-personnel expenses you will incur whether or not
you do the project. But if you do the project, these resources cant
be used for
anything else. For example, if you pay $500 a month for an office with space for four
employees, you will continue to rent the office even if the project doesnt happen.
But if the project does happen, one-quarter of the office space will be occupied by the project
director. So you can charge for one-quarter of your office rent, utilities
and administrative costs, such as phone, copying, postage and office supplies.
Be sure to read the funders fine print on
administrative or overhead expenses (sometimes called indirect
expenses). Some funders don't cover administrative expenses. Some
instruct you to charge a flat percentage of your direct expenses. Others will allow you to itemize.
If the funder has rules about overhead, remember that some of your personnel costs may in
fact be "overhead" and should be moved to this section. An example is an
executive director supervising a project director. You will pay the executive director
whether or not you do the project, so she could be considered an administrative expense.
Note: Be sure to add up all your expenses
carefully. Incorrect addition on budgets is one of the most common errors in a
grant proposal.
INCOME
All income for a project fits into two categories:
Earned Income is what people give you in exchange for the service or product your
project generates. Not all projects generate income, but many do. A play generates ticket
income and maybe concession income. An education project may have income from publication
sales or tuition. Show how you calculated the estimated earned income:
Ticket sales ($10/ticket x 3 performances x 200 seats x 50%
of house) = $3,000
Contributed Income
comes in two categories: cash and in-kind. Show cash contributions
first and indicate whether each item is received,
committed, pending (youve made the request but no decision has been made)
or to be submitted. This section should correspond to the
Other Funding section in
the text. For instance:
Ardendale Community Foundation (received) |
$5,000 |
City of Ardendale (committed) |
$2,500 |
Acme Widget Corporation (pending) |
$3,300 |
Jones Family Foundation (to be submitted) |
$4,000 |
Other funders (to be submitted) |
$5,400 |
If you plan to seek funds from a number of other funders
but don’t know which ones will say yes, an "other funders" line
is an easy way to indicate how much total money you need to
receive from all other sources to balance the budget.
In-kind
contributions are gifts of goods or services instead of cash. They can
include donated space, materials or time. If you list in-kind contributions as income in
your budget, you must also show the corresponding expenses. If someone
gives you something
at a major discount, you would show the whole expense and then list the portion being donated
under in-kind contributions. Here are some examples:
Expenses: |
|
Classroom rental |
$1,500 |
Curriculum consultant |
$2,000 |
Teacher aides (4 x 40 hours each x $5/hour) |
$800 |
In-kind contributions: |
|
Ardendale Community Ed. (classroom rental) |
$1,500 |
Jane Doe (curriculum consultant) |
$1,000 |
Parents of students (teacher aides) |
$800 |
In this example, Jane Doe, the curriculum consultant, is
doing the work for half-price, while the parents are volunteering as teacher aides.
In-kind contributions can be important for three reasons:
1. It shows all the ways in which the community is supporting your
project, even though not everyone is giving cash.
2. It shows the true cost of the project --
what you
would have to spend without the community support.
If you want to show in-kind for these reasons, you can
either show it in the budget, as above, or simply add a footnote to the bottom of
the budget, like this:
"This project will also receive more than $3,000 of
in-kind support from the school district, participating parents and various education
professionals."
3. If you are applying for a matching grant, the in-kind
income may sometimes be used as part of the match. If you want to use
in-kind contributions as part of your match, then you must put a dollar
value on them and put them in the budget. Funders who provide matching grants may have policies on how much in-kind
expenses you can use in your match and how
it must be documented.
Supplementary
Materials
Funders may ask for a variety of materials along
with the proposal itself. Almost all funders want at least the following:
- A copy of your IRS letter declaring your
organization tax
exempt. If your group is not tax exempt, you may need to apply through a fiscal
agent, or fiscal sponsor. In that case, send a copy of your fiscal agents
IRS letter.
- A list of your board of directors and their
affiliations, such as "CPA," "marketing director, Acme Widget" or
"parent volunteer."
- A financial statement from your last complete
fiscal year, including a statement of income and expenses and a
balance sheet showing assets and liabilities at the end of the year. Some funders
ask for an audited statement. If you are too small to be audited, call to ask whether an audited
statement is mandatory or just preferred.
- A budget for your current fiscal year. If you
are well along in the fiscal year, also show actual year-to-date income and expenses next to
the budget projections.
- A budget for the next fiscal year if you are
within three or four months of the new year.
Some applicants are small parts of very
large institutions, such as a department at the University of Minnesota or
an after-school program in the Minneapolis Public Schools. In such cases,
you may be better off submitting supplementary materials only for your
program, not for the whole institution. Ask the funder what you should do.
Grantmakers may ask for other materials, such as a copy of
your most recent IRS Form 990. If you dont understand what a funder is
requesting from you, ask. If you
dont have some of the requested materials, attach a note explaining why.
You can also attach resumes of your key personnel as
well as general information about your organization, such as newsletters, brochures or
annual reports. If you have a lot of supplementary materials,
consider adding
a sheet that lists them in the order in which they are attached.
Putting It All Together
Now put the whole thing together: the cover sheet
(if appropriate), the proposal itself, the
budget and the
supplementary materials. Add a cover letter if you
wish. Dont put the proposal in a fancy binder; a paper clip is fine. Be sure to note if
the funder wants multiple copies of anything, or if a cover sheet needs to be signed by a
staff or board member.
Variations on the Standard
Outline
The proposal format described above is most appropriate for a problem-based project
costing $5,000 or more. At times you will need to alter this format to suit other circumstances:
Small request
If you are asking for a small amount of money ($1,000 or less), you can put the
entire proposal in a two- or three-page letter with required attachments. Use the
same outline, but keep it short.
Non-problem-based project
Many arts and humanities projects are not trying to solve a problem. A performance of
Beethovens "Ninth Symphony" is not a response to some societal
ill. If that is your situation, you can alter this outline by deleting the
situation description. After you have described your
project, insert a new section in which you discuss the benefits of the project.
General operating proposal
Often you are asking for money not just for a specific project but to support
all your activities for one fiscal year. In this case, adapt the standard proposal as
follows:
- Organization information: No
change.
- Situation
description: What issues was your organization founded to address? Why is your
organization needed? (If yours is not a "problem-based" organization, you can
skip this part.)
- Work plan/specific activities: Use
this section to explain what your organization plans to accomplish during the year for which you
seek operating funding.
- Impact of activities: What are the
intended impacts for that years activities?
- Other funding: Who are
the other funders providing operating support for this year?
- Future funding: What is your
long-term funding plan for your organization, especially if your
operating budget is growing?
- Evaluation: In general, how do you
evaluate your work?
- Budget: You dont need a
special project budget, just the financial information described under
Supplementary Materials,
above.
Capital or endowment proposal
Include the same information as for a
project proposal. Explain how this building project, or the creation or expansion of your
endowment, will help you do a better job of serving your community. But also write about your
long-term plans for financial health, especially if you want money for a
building. The funder doesn't want to help you buy a building if you can't
afford to maintain and operate it.
Other Common Questions
about Grantwriting
1.
Should I apply
to more than one grantmaker at a time? Should I ask each one for the
project's entire cost or just a portion?
2.
Should I use a
professional grantwriter?
3.
What happens to my
proposal after it reaches the grantmaker?
4.
What should I do if my
proposal is rejected?
5.
What should I do if my
proposal is funded?
6.
What should I do if I raise some money,
but not all I need?
1. Should I apply
to more than one grantmaker at a time? Should I ask each one for the
project's entire cost or just a portion?
As noted in the
Other
Funding section, few funders want to be the sole support for a
project. You should usually apply to multiple funders, asking each for
partial support. Ideally, the total of all your funding requests will add
up to about 200 percent of the money you actually need. This allows for
the likelihood that some funders will turn you down or give you less than
you requested.
2. Should I use a professional
grantwriter?
There are plenty of freelance grantwriters in most
communities who write proposals for a fee. (Most experienced writers will not work on
commission, however.) There are both good and bad reasons to hire a
freelancer:
Good reasons to
hire a freelance grantwriter:
- To write a good, basic proposal — the
"mother proposal" — that your group can then adapt to suit different
circumstances. After a year or so, however, you should be able to write this on
your own.
- To search grantmaker directories and
databases and identify likely
funding sources. Again, your organization should soon develop these skills internally.
- Because you have five proposals due in one week.
Bad reasons to hire a
freelance grantwriter:
- Because your group wants grant money but neither
your volunteers nor your staff want to "dirty their hands" by asking for money. Seeking
money is a core activity for most nonprofits. Learn to live with it.
- Because a freelance fund raiser promises he can get
you a lot of money through his "connections." Particularly with
major funders, projects are generally funded because of their worth, not
due to connections.
- Because your organization has never tried to raise
money before and suddenly wants a large amount of money for a big capital project. Alas, big money
tends to go to groups with a long track record and solid funding base. There are
exceptions, but dont count on being one of them.
If you decide to hire a freelance
grantwriter, be sure to look at some writing samples. And ask for the
names and phone numbers of past clients who work in your field.
3. What happens to my proposal
after it reaches the grantmaker?
In some foundations, the staff screen out proposals
that are ineligible or poorly planned or simply not within the
organization's current focus. Staff then research the remaining proposals
and write recommendations for the board.
The research may include meeting with the applicants. Recommendations may go to the board
with or without the original proposals. The board makes the final decisions.
In other foundations, staff members make
decisions on smaller requests. In still other foundations, the board sees every proposal unscreened by
staff.
Grantmakers with no paid staff typically do not have the resources
to do a thorough
review of each applicant. They therefore tend to fund projects and
proposals that are already familiar to their boards, perhaps through personal involvement or because an applicant has been recommended
by someone they know and trust.
4. What should I do if my proposal
is rejected?
The letter giving you the unhappy news will probably be a
form letter. But if you wish and the funder has staff, you may phone and ask, "Can
you tell me anything that will help us another time?" Perhaps they liked your proposal but just ran out of money; perhaps there was
some tiny point of confusion that could be resolved easily. But dont make such a call if
you are feeling angry or combative. You are trying to get information, not argue a case in
court.
If you are rejected, but after an objective review of the
funders guidelines you still believe there is a match, apply again in about a
year. Many applicants are only successful on the second or third try.
5. What should I do if my proposal
is funded?
If your proposal is funded, you may receive
the check with
a cover letter. Or you may get a full-blown contract stipulating, among other things, that
you must submit a report when the project is done.
In all cases, write immediately to acknowledge the gift. If
you sign a contract, be sure to read it first and note when and what kinds of reports are
due. Then turn the report in on time. If you realize you cant do so, send a note or
call to say it will be late.
Before preparing a report for a funder,
check to see if the funder has specific reporting forms and guidelines.
You may also use the Minnesota Common Report
Form if the funder accepts it. Introduced by the Minnesota Council on
Foundations in March 2001, the Minnesota Common Report Form provides a
standardized format for a nonprofit grantee to use in reporting to
different grantmakers about work it has accomplished with their grants,
reducing the amount of time the grantee must spend rearranging basic
information to fit funders’ varying reporting requirements. To download
the form and view a list of funders that accept the form,
click
here.
Even if the funder doesn't ask for a report, send
one anyway. Show the funder how well you are using the money. If your project generates a newspaper
article or other publication, send a copy. If it includes a public event, invite the
funder to attend. If you get heartfelt letters of thanks from participants, send a
sampling to the funder. Don't be like the stereotypical college
student who only
writes home when he needs money.
What if you get some funding but not what you wanted
for the project? For example, you had budgeted $50,000 for the project but you could only raise $35,000.
You will then have to decide whether you can do the project in a meaningful way with the
money you have. If you can, you must write all those who funded the project and explain
how you will adapt to the lower budget. If you cant, write the
donors to explain the
situation and ask if you can transfer their money to another project (that you describe
fully). They might say yes. If not, you must return the money.
6. What should I do if I raise some money, but not all I need?
What if you get some funding but not what you
wanted for the project? For example, you had budgeted $50,000 for the
project but could only raise $35,000. You could submit another round of
proposals to different funders. Or you will then have to decide
whether you can to do the project in a meaningful smaller way with the money
you have. If you can do so, you must write all those who funded the project
and explain how you will adapt to the lower budget. If you can’t do the
project and can’t raise additional funds, write the donors to explain the
situation and ask if you can transfer their money to another project (which
you describe fully). They might say yes. If not, you must return the money.
Conclusion
Seeking grant money can be time-consuming and
sometimes frustrating. Among Minnesotas largest grantmakers, about one proposal in
three is funded. You may find that you can get project money but not the operating money
you need to keep your basic activities going. You may be surprised by funders
generosity, but you may also be surprised by their periodic changes in focus, especially
if those changes leave you on the outside looking in.
But remember that Minnesota has an extraordinary
fund-raising climate. People from other states envy the major corporations and large
family foundations that form the backbone of many of our innovative social and cultural
programs. Most funders have board and staff people who are thoughtful,
careful, curious, well-educated about community issues and willing to help you. If you
have a good project that has been carefully planned to meet some real needs, you will find
people willing to talk with you and advise you. Good luck!
Updated February 24, 2006
About the Author
Barbara Davis is a nonprofit management consultant. She has taught
extensively on grantwriting and other topics of interest to nonprofit organizations.
Reprint Information
The "Writing a Successful Grant Proposal Online Tutorial" is adapted from an
article in the Minnesota Council on Foundations
Guide
to Minnesota Grantmakers, the most current and
comprehensive directory of Minnesota grantmakers. Reprints of Daviss
article are also available from the Minnesota Council on Foundations for $1
each (minimum order of 5). Quantity discounts are available. Contact MCF at 612.338.1989; info@mcf.org
© Copyright 2005 Minnesota Council on Foundations
Reproduction in any form without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited.
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