Funding Tips & Techniques
On this page, we've compiled some proven techniques that will help you organize your grant application and enhance its chances for success.
Twelve characteristics of a successful grant application
- Match ideas to the funding source and thoroughly understand what the program wants.
- Use the program office for technical assistance and advice.
- Begin the necessary groundwork before the notice of funding availability is published.
- Establish a timetable and organize the necessary personnel as soon as funding availability is announced.
- Follow the instructions and format.
- Lay out a master plan.
- Be reasonable and realistic.
- Provide information on all the review criteria.
- Explain omissions, rather than hope no one will notice.
- Make a reasonable funding request and match the budget to the scope of work.
- Address items regarding participant protection/human subjects.
- Keep the application simple, reasonable, businesslike, and professional.
General tips
- Be sure to mention any in-kind services and resources your organization is already receiving, including existing donations, business partnerships, and volunteers. Estimate the monetary value of these donations and services, and include it in your budget.
- Whether you use the postal service or another delivery service, always make sure a signature is required upon delivery of your proposal package. That way, you can track it if it gets lost or misplaced.
- Make sure that all parts of your proposal are consistent with one another in their content and style (margins, fonts, etc.). If multiple writers will be involved, designate one member as editor to ensure consistency.
- Keep multiple fully developed projects available for proposal writing at a moment's notice.
- Each proposal should be unique and personalized -- don't create one generic proposal and mail it to multiple funders.
- Keep your audience in mind as you write your proposal. Keep prose simple and concise, avoiding jargon, so that any reader will be able to understand what you've written.
- Stick closely to guidelines about word count, page count, and margin size.
- Most funders are willing to help you. Feel free to call and ask questions -- as long as you've already checked to see if the answer is in their literature or on their Web site.
- Focus on the problem your organization is trying to solve. On what will the funder's money be spent, and how will that help solve the problem?
- Give the funder evidence that your proposal has a reasonable chance of working.
- Funders may want to visit your site -- take advantage of this opportunity to make a personal connection.
Supplementary documentation
While each funding organization has its own requirements, most typically solicit the following documentation in addition to the actual application. Having this documentation prepared and ready will expedite your grant-writing process. Be sure to check the funder's requirements for specific documentation needs.
Program details
- A description of the services you plan to deliver
- The setting(s) in which programs and services will be delivered
- The target population(s), with provisions for handicapped and non-English-speaking participants
- Statistics, data, and stories specific to your situation, including a detailed needs assessment providing objective, data-based evidence of the prevalence and extent of the service need among your target population
Implementation/Evaluation
Your proposal package should include a complete strategic plan, detailing:
- how services will be delivered on a continuous basis
- how your plan will be implemented in accordance with RFP (request for proposal) standards, including a description of subcontracts or other agreements where appropriate
- your quality assurance review policies and practices
- how outcomes will be measured, and the steps to be taken if the activity does not result in the anticipated outcomes
- percentage/scoring criteria.
Staff/Experience
- The names of the executive director and board of directors, as well as members of the advisory committee
- Years of experience in program management and in-service delivery to the target population
- A chart of staff positions (project managers, consultants, contract staff, ancillary service providers, volunteers, and full- and part-time staff)
- A description of primary staff qualifications
- Letters of recommendation that demonstrate networking, interagency collaboration, and community support
Financial
- A formal program budget
- A current audited financial statement for your organization
- Proof of tax-exempt status
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