Proposal Writing and Grantseeking

How much impact should you promise in your proposal? Let’s say you’re addressing homelessness, or addiction, or any one of a number of stubborn social problems. You’re a $4 million-a-year agency in a major city. Should you be claiming to “solve the problem” with a few large grants? Probably not.

It’s that part of the proposal we almost always tend to shrug off. “Oh, yeah, we have to write up something to explain the budget, we’ll get to that after we do the important stuff.” Evidence suggests it might be worth much more than a shrug.

There’s evidence to suggest that telling a story is an effective way to engage funders. Turning dry statistics into lively, compelling narratives about real people in real situations is a good way to make a proposal spark a response. Are there ways to tell a story besides “once upon a time?”

The proposal is an appropriate way to submit a request for funding, but it’s important to make the right kind of request—matching the format of the proposal to the ‘kind’ of funding you’re after. Some charitable dollars are “fungible” – money given by an individual donor, e.g., and can be used for many different purposes within the organization. But foundation grants are intended for specific purposes and proposals need to match the donor’s intentions.

One request for a grant, one lottery ticket: which has a better chance of winning? A false equivalence, for sure, because there’s a lot you can do to improve your odds with a proposal—even a single request. But with lottery tickets, all you can do is buy more and more of them in the hope that one might hit it big. Still, it’s on the minds of most who write and submit proposals.

Are there really essential pieces and parts of a persuasive proposal? Things you absolutely need to include: no matter the subject, no matter the funder? Experience suggests that the answer is yes, there are basics that can’t be ignored. The Grantsmanship Center 's Model includes 8 essential parts for a successful proposal. And of those eight, here's the five that too often are neglected:

Sending off a well-written, credible proposal is the first act in the drama. Now comes the mystery – someone, somewhere is going to read it, evaluate it and decide whether or not to fund it. Who are those guys? Who reads, votes, rejects or rewards your effort?

In a proposal writing workshop one of the participants (call her Roxanne) despaired of anyone wanting to help her raise the money she needed. “All we need is a van to carry some equipment,” she worried, “but it’s not glamorous and we don’t have any way to get started.”

Many nonprofits are probably “guilty” of this understandable habit: you contact a foundation to see if you can apply; then you submit a proposal; and if you’re awarded the grant, you wait until the required report to contact them again. Perhaps three communications in the lifespan of a grant.

Most, if not all, funders now expect your nonprofit to address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in your proposal. Funders want to know what you have to say about whether and how your organization is diversifying, delivering your work equitably and including all who are a part of your community and society.