1. Secret 21 Triple Your Chances Of Getting Your Grant Funding With a Pre-Proposal Contact

2. Study + 3 Facts In a study of 10,000 federal proposals, the only variable that was strategically significant in separating the funded and rejected proposals was a pre-proposal contact with the funding source. FACT 1 – Your chances increase threefold FACT 2 – Government officials usually welcome a pre-proposal contact. FACT 3 – Private grant sponsors vary in the receptivity to a pre-proposal contact.

3. Why Make A Pre-Proposal Contact? Pre-proposal contacts serve 3 primary purposes: 1.They verify information gathered during your search for a funder. 2.You can gather more information that will help you customize your proposal. 3.You can make a positive first impression.

4. 3 Primary Purposes In Detail 1.Verify the information: Priorities change, deadlines shift, occasionally info in reference books is inaccurate & outdated Pay attention to the name of the contact person 2.Gather more information Funder’s hidden agenda Who will review your proposal Look for clues of what will appeal to reviewers, as well as what you should avoid saying 3.Make a positive 1 st impression Establishing credibility Letting the funder know who you are

5. 4 Steps In Pre-Proposal Contacts 1.Ask for application forms and guidelines. 2.Contact a past grantee. 3.Contact a prior reviewer. 4.Contact the funder representative.

6. Step 1 – Ask for Application Forms If you can’t get forms and guidelines online, ask for them. Government … in person or over phone Private funders …write a letter “LETTER REQUESTING GRANT INFORMATION” Self-addressed, stamped envelop Avoid “Dear Sir” or “To Whom It May Concern” Address letter to specific person Verify spelling

7. Step 1 – Ask for Application Forms Private funders (write a letter) … continued Request list of past grantees and reviewers. If you can’t get past reviewers, ask for age, background and training … how they were selected, role in review process, rating scale with points

8. Step 2 – Contact a Past Grantee Once you have a list of agencies who have received grants in the past … Award Size – smallest, largest, types, size Recipient Type – large/small, common characteristics, geographic preferences Project Director Degrees – Correlation between size of award and degree held by project director Choose 2 Past Grantees Contact past grantee outside geographic area

9. Step 2 – Contact a Past Grantee Did you contact the funder prior to submitting your proposal? Did you contact them by phone, letter or in person? Who was the person most helpful on the funder’s staff? Did you use an outside consultant on the proposal? Did you use an advocate or congress person?

10. Step 2 – Contact a Past Grantee Did you ask the funder to review an abstract of your proposal prior to its submission? If you did, what did they say? Was there a hidden agenda in the applications or guidelines? If ‘yes’, what was it? When did you start the application process? When did you contact the funding source? What resources did you find most useful in preparing your proposal?

11. Step 2 – Contact a Past Grantee Did the funder conduct a site visit of your program before or after the award? If so, find out who came, the age, what they wore, how old they were, the type of person – like were they conservative, moderate or liberal – and did anything surprise you in their visit? How close was the approved budget to the one included in your original application? Who negotiated the budget on the funder’s staff? What would you do differently next time?

12. Step 3 – Contact a Prior Reviewer Many beginning and some expert grant writers shy away from asking … Goal: Learn about actual process used in reviewing proposals like yours. How did you become a reviewer? Where did you review the proposal? At the funder’s office or at your house? Did you use an evaluation form and a point-based scoring system? What were you asked to look for?

13. Step 3 – Contact a Prior Reviewer Continued … Goal: Learn about actual process used in reviewing proposals like yours. After being a reviewer, how would you write a proposal differently? What were the most commonly-made mistakes? Were you given a time limit? How much time did it take on an average to read the proposals? Was there a staff review after the evaluation of proposals?

14. Step 4 – Contact Funder Representative Questions to Ask … After hearing my description, does this idea fall within the current priorities? Since the average award last year was $X,XXX, is this likely to change? What’s the current grant-making budget for this year? How much will be given to continuation grants and how much will be given to new awards? Are you planning to use a special criteria in selecting awards, such as a geographic area or type of organization?

15. Step 4 – Contact Funder Representative Questions to Ask … Is yours one-time-only support or will it allow other funding opportunities? What is the projected application-to-selection ratio? What are the most commonly-made mistakes found in proposals that you received? Have other applicants overlooked anything that you would like to see addressed in a proposal? Would you be willing to review a pre-proposal concept paper of 2 or 3 pages?

16. Step 4 – Contact Funder Representative Questions to Ask … Do you have a previously-funded proposal that you recommend that we take a look at as one that you think is ‘good’ in terms of the format and style that you prefer? How are proposals reviewed? Who are the reviewers? Would you be willing to provide us with a copy of the evaluation form and rating scale that reviewers use? Time Out! Here’s a tip: Use the same font, headers and sub-headers that they used in the evaluation form in your proposal

17. Step 4 – Contact Funder Representative Be prepared to answer questions like … What’s unique about your proposal? What new information will your project tell us? Is this an area that is already heavily funded? What kind of difference will your project make? What’s timely about your project? How will you disseminate the results of your project? What kind of impact will your project have beyond the narrow geographic focus that you serve?

18. In Review … Pre-proposal contacts … increase your chances of being approved threefold 3 Primary Purposes 1.To verify the information 2.To gather more information 3.To make a positive first impression 4 Steps In Pre-Proposal Contact Process 1.Ask for application forms and guidelines 2.Contact a past grantee 3.Contact a prior reviewer 4.Contact the funder representative

19. Secret 21 Triple Your Chances Of Getting Your Grant Funding With a Pre-Proposal Contact