Writing Grant Proposals

Professional Grant Writers Typically charge hourly or daily rates plus expenses. Roughly $50-$150/hour. Generally includes time for both writing and research. If you hire a grant writer, the more work you do ahead of time, the fewer hours you end up paying for. Some charge a percentage of the funding amount. Considered unprofessional or even unethical by many established grant writers. Most Federal grants require a written assurance that no one who develops the proposal be given a percentage of the funds. Also be careful of specifics: if the grant is for a multi-year fund, do you pay a percentage of each year’s disbursement, or all up front?

Professional Grant Writers (cont) Another advantage to working with professionals: They know the major grant-funding sources. They can recommend sources/institutions you haven’t thought of. They have more experience with the needs and biases of different institutions. You can hire them just to evaluate your grant proposal and advise on it, even if they don’t write it. A disadvantage: you probably should not include the grant writer’s fee in your project budget. Grant funders want their money spent on the project itself, with every dollar accounted for.

Cover letter Proposal Summary Organizational Description Problem Statement Project Objectives Methods and Schedule Evaluation Criteria Budget

Cover Letter Brief background of you or your organization. The purpose for the funding. Amount of funding. Contact name, and any contact information. (Keep this all extremely brief. Never longer than a page – a short page.)

(The Proposal Summary should be no longer than one page.) Absolutely the most critical single page of your Grant proposal. Used by funding agencies to screen applications. Conventional wisdom: 90% of decisions are made based on the contents of this page. Should be written after the proposal has been developed. (The Proposal Summary should be no longer than one page.)

Proposal Summary (cont.) Identify yourself or your organization. You’ll be giving an in-depth introduction later, so keep this brief. Purpose: establish your credibility and/or eligibility for the requested funds. Explain the purpose of your project. Your sales pitch. Describe the implementation of your project. Brief description of your methods and schedule.

Proposal Summary (cont.) Describe your project’s expected results. This project will accomplish X. List your overall budget. The total required budget. Any funding from other sources. Your requested funding from this source.

Organizational Description Introduce your organization (or team, or self): The history of your organization. The purpose of your organization. The overall goals of your organization, and how they relate to this project.

Organizational Description (cont.) Your organization’s relevant accomplishments. Any important information regarding organizational structure. Equal opportunity employer? Organizational hierarchy? Who will take on which major responsibilities? Give names, titles, and contact information.

Statement of Problem The “thesis statement” of your grant proposal. What is the purpose of your project? Inverted pyramid structure: Describe the general problem. Outline current outside work and research regarding this problem. Identify any shortcomings/limitations of outside work. Specifically those issues your project will address directly. Explain how your project will solve this problem.

Project Objectives Exactly what do you hope to achieve? Provide any metrics or quantifiable milestones you plan to reach throughout the project. Be brief, you’ll be covering this in detail later. Address how you will inform the funding organization, once you reach these milestones.

Methods and Schedule Describe your methodology Detail each major step of the project Dilemma: Providing fine detail makes your organization appear more professional and prepared for the project. But… this can lock you into an inflexible situation where your project cannot adapt to changes. Consider including some language addressing possible changes to methodology as circumstances warrant. Depending on the size of the project, you may want to hire a professional grant writer.

Methods and Schedule Provide job descriptions for each staff member. Include staff members and background. And/or include qualifications required of applicants. Staff includes any volunteer/student help. Provide a timetable for each step of the project. See above Dilemma for advantages/disadvantages of specificity.

Evaluation Criteria Explain how you will evaluate your progress. How will you know? How will you quantify this? What records and information will you maintain to track progress? How accessible will this information be to your funders?

Budget How much is this going to cost? Provide the entire budget, not just what you’re asking for in this grant. Describe funds and assistance from all sources. Describe existing resources, and any support from universities, corporate donations, community support, etc. Provide as much detail as possible for each budget item. Be specific with numbers – don’t round off a known figure of $5915.00 to $6000, or even to $5900.

Budget (cont) Don’t pad your budget. You may be competing with other applicants. Good reviewers research current costs for goods and services. Include any relevant financial statements. Explain where you will seek funding, should your project exceed the proposed funding or grant period.

Any questions?