Proposal for a Grant -How to write a Proposal for a Grant

Proposal for a Grant -How to write a Proposal for a Grant

Writing a Proposal for a Grant is something you might have to write again and again as you are not the only one interested in getting some funds to boost your business. Now, how many proposals would you have to write to get considered? The one after reading this article could well be your last and Best.

Most Industries and NGOs looking to assist Small businesses often face a lot of compelling proposals and they have to settle for very few out of many. It takes a degree of expertise for a particular proposal to be considered. It, therefore, means that amongst all other things, a poorly written proposal is a bad shot.

The type of business you are going into certainly plays a role in the success of your proposal, that is why you should know exactly what the Investor wants his money to go into so that you do not seek an investment for a marketing business when the available Grant is strictly limited to Agriculture and Agricultural Sectors.

The first thing that catches the eye in a Proposal is its format. We will now go through the format for a Proposal for a Grant.

1. A Cover Letter

Just as written for an intended Job, a Cover letter explains the reasons for the application for the Grant and of course tries to win over the heart of the Investor, whether an individual or a corporate organisation. The letter should not be more than four paragraphs and carries everything in a normal letter. It is important to make a good impression in your Cover letter so your tone should be clear and show seriousness. Let your letter make them feel the need to invest in your Project.

2. Executive Summary

Next to your cover comes your Executive Summary. It gives your Grantor an insight as to what you are proposing. Make it as short as possible, a few sentences will do. Explain in summary what you want from your grantor and what needs to be compelling and convincing enough.

3. Introduce Your Organisation

This is the part you introduce yourself or probably the organisation you are working under. You can give a brief history of your organisation, stating the core values you possess. This is a way you can build trust for your organisation from the funder.

4. Write a direct problem statement.

The next step is to take time to explain the problem you are looking to fix and how you intend to go about it. Write this part in such a way that you sound convincing to the funder, and explain clearly why it is a necessity and why your company is the best place for the job.

5. State your goals and objectives.

This is the part where you state what you or your organisation is planning to do to take care of the problem. This is where you clearly specify the Successes you are looking to achieve if the loan is given. You can also outline steps you will take to get to various outcomes so as to sound more convincing.

6. Project design: methods and strategies.

The grantor will want to low how you hope to achieve your goal, so this is where you give a laid out plan, stating your motives. You can go as far as stating the desired timeframe, with some other in-depth analysis of procedures the intended project will take before it comes to successful completion.

7. The evaluation section: tracking success.

Grantors want to know your evaluation module/model. How will you evaluate the success or failures of your project? Are you hiring an evaluator or are you doing it yourself? All these details should be well outlined in your proposal. If the project does not measure up to your standard, what will be your reaction and the cost effect? Grantors want to give money to someone who, though is not the chief funder but is willing to put in all the work to succeed, sharing a part of the losses.

8. Other funding sources and sustainability.

You need to mention to the grantor if you are expecting more funding from other sources or if they are the only expected source. Truth is that most organisations sometimes, do not want to be the sole sponsors of any project. How long are you going to do the project, is it a consistent project or does it have a timeframe this is where you state it. You also need to state if it will be a self-financing project that needs one-off support or whether it will still need periodic boosts.

9. Budget

After you might have outlined this, write down the budget for the entire project. Include staff payments, if you will be starting with staff and the number of persons you are looking to hire. If you will be paying for the office space, include it in your budget. The endpoint is having a comprehensive budget.

Successful grants are a huge possibility if you can come up with great ideas and state them properly. these few tips will help you achieve your aim.

1. Be Brief

You have a whole lot of pages available to you for your proposal but try as much as possible not to be too long, you might end up boring your proposed grantor. It is better to have a few pages with detailed information than have loads of pages with junk.

2. Remove Relevant Information

This is one major reason we have outrageously long proposals and they end up not achieving any results. This notion that makes you write extensive junk should be discarded. Do not bore your grantor with stories of how you have been writing proposals for grants for a long time without being picked, nobody wants to hear that. Rather than help your course, it is even a Red Flag, that there is something wrong with you. All irrelevant details should not come in.

3. Be Honest

Be truthful, especially in your Budget. The greatest mistake you will make in your proposal is Budget Padding. If possible, do your market survey on the current prices and give your budget. There are other ways to get your budget up rather than lying to those who might decide to do little verifications on it.

These tips and more will help you write good proposals and achieve desired results. Remember to understand the grantor and what his thoughts are so that you align your proposal with those goals.