1. Fundraising III: Writing Successful Proposals 6 th Annual Club MAC June 15, 2006 Carole V. Rylander, CFRE rylander associates 214.348.9086 carole@rylander-tx.com

2. 2 Topics  Gathering Data  Writing the Proposal  Components of the Proposal  Completing Your Proposal  Proposal Format

3. 3 Gathering Data  Institutional Information  Brief History  Staff & Volunteers  Client Profile  Facilities & Services  Success Stories  Annual Report

4. 4 Gathering Data (cont.)  Use graphics and tables to display your data in concise form and make it clearer and more interesting.

5. 5 After School Program Users by Native Language

6. 6 Where our budget goes -- Dallas County Art News

7. 7 Gathering Data (cont.)  Board Roster with Professional Affiliations, Gender and Ethnicity  Program Brochure/Materials  Newspaper Articles/Publications  501(c)3 IRS Letter(s) of Determination  To document name changes  To show DBAs

8. 8 Gathering Data (cont.)  Financial Information  Most recent monthly balance sheet & revenue statement  Audited financial statement  Organization budget for fiscal year  Program budget for fiscal year  Letters of Recommendation

9. 9 Letters of Recommendation 1.Ask well in advance. 2.Request letters from community stakeholders who will benefit from your project (school superintendents, social service providers, etc.) 3. Offer to provide background material for the letter

10. 10 Letters of Recommendation 4.Write a strong draft that includes the address and the project benefits 5.E-mail/mail draft to community stakeholder for revision & additions 6.Offer to pick up the letter so you can proof it and have it in time.

11. 11 Writing the Proposal Step 1. Are you SURE You Want To Do This? Ask Yourself...  What are we trying to accomplish?  Does this project meet a genuine need?  Is the project a good fit with our mission & strategic plan?

12. 12 Writing the Proposal  Who will write the proposal?  Can we afford to do the project? Is it in our budget?  If funded, can we carry it out?  If we do this project, what other projects will be delayed or cancelled?

13. 13 Writing the Proposal (cont.) Step 2: Do You Have the Internal Management Systems to Monitor the Grant? Ask yourself:

14. 14 Writing the Proposal  Do we have a project manager who can:  Manage the project and oversee new and/or current staff?  Track the project expenses and time spent on the project?  Assure compliance with government regulations?

15. 15 Writing the Proposal (cont.)  Do we have a good accounting system in place that will facilitate:  Timely financial reports?  Comparison of actual to budget?  Cost accounting?  Allocation of administrative, communications, and fund raising expenses to programs/projects?

16. 16 Writing the Proposal (cont.)  If you answered “no” to either of these questions, think again!

17. 17 Writing the Proposal (cont.) Step 3: Start Early! If You Do, You Will Have Time To...  Call the Program Officer and discuss your project.  Talk to organizations like yours that have undertaken similar projects.

18. 18 Writing the Proposal (cont.)  Read & re-read the directions  Send in vital drafts for review, if allowed  Get necessary “sign-offs” from your board & ED/CEO/boss  Handle the unexpected  Delivery problems  Colleagues who miss deadlines

19. 19 Writing the Proposal (cont.)  You will be trying to convince funders who may be strangers & who may have no connection with your organization or your project of the value of your project.

20. 20 Writing the Proposal (cont.)  You must:  Have an idea worthy of their money  Be meeting a genuine need  Have the skills & organization to make your project a success  Have given it thought and know that it is feasible

21. 21 Components of a Proposal  Private Sector Formatting:  There is no one right way to format a proposal!  Choose the format that best responds to funders’ questions & communicates your story  Public Sector Formatting:  Will be prescribed

22. 22 Components of a Proposal  Common Private Sector Formats:  Letter proposal Most informal Three pages or less  Narrative with cover letter More extensive Section headings & appendices

23. 23 Components of a Proposal  Cover Letter or Executive Summary  States amount requested & for what purpose  Brief description of problem, impact, & solution  State what the grant will accomplish in terms of benefit to target clients

24. 24 Components of a Proposal  Introduction / History  Problem / Needs Assessment  Population affected Size Demographics  Hindrances created by the problem  Geographic limitations / boundaries

25. 25 Components of a Proposal  Impact of the Solution on the Problem  Change that could be or is being created by the program  Description of program goals

26. 26 Components of a Proposal  Methodology or Action Plan / Objectives Total clients to be served / benefit to be delivered Level of service / benefit provided thus far Balance of service / benefit yet to be provided  Client population  Geographic limitations  Staffing - professional & volunteer

27. 27 Components of a Proposal  Sustainability  Funding needs (program budget)  Funding secured to date (sources & amounts)  Funding still required

28. 28 Components of a Proposal  Request  States specific dollar amount requested  Identifies program grant will support  Identifies what the grant will accomplish in terms of benefit to target clients

29. 29 Components of a Proposal  Evaluation  Criteria by which the program will be evaluated (related to objectives) Quantitative Qualitative  Describe how evaluation information will be collected

30. 30 Components of a Proposal  Evaluation (cont.)  Funders may ask for criteria by which the grant will be evaluated Related to program objectives, plus What, specifically, will the grant accomplish? Attract matching gifts? Provide lead gift/initial funding? Why is their funding important?

31. 31 Components of a Proposal  Appendices  Letters of recommendation  Program/project newspaper articles  Program/project brochure  Brief organizational history  Annual report  Board roster

32. 32 Components of a Proposal  Appendices (cont.)  Financial information Balance sheet & revenue statement Annual organization budget Project/program budget Audited financial statement  IRS Letter of Determination

33. 33 Components of a Proposal  Handouts:  Packaging the Grant Request  Essential Components of Program Planning and Proposal Writing  Proposal checklist

34. 34 Good Proposal:  Above all else:  Must be written according to the guidelines!  The funding source’s guidelines are your road map to success!  Follow them to the letter!

35. 35 Completing Your Proposal:  Write the executive summary or cover letter last  Make the executive summary or cover letter a concise summary of your talking points  Make the type size comfortable for reading - 12 point is best

36. 36 Completing Your Proposal:  Do not exceed page limits & think no one will notice  Pay attention to instructions:  Double-sided & single-sided pages  Bound or unbound  Allowed attachments

37. 37 Completing Your Proposal:  If page limits or space requirements are too tight for you to make your case:  Determine if appendices are allowed  Use your cover letter to tell your story  Attach letters of recommendation, if allowed

38. 38 Completing Your Proposal:  Proofread  Proofread!!!!  Consider having the application professionally photocopied  Enclose the required supporting materials

39. 39 Completing Your Proposal:  Remove any barriers that make it difficult to understand  Follow the “Grandmother” principle  Recognize that your proposal will not be reviewed if it does not meet guidelines

40. 40 Completing Your Proposal:  Dissemination  Who needs to know about the request?  How will you tell them?

41. 41 Proposal Formats  Title page - Mellon  Table of contents  One-page application - Wray Trust  Letter proposals  Mosher  Los Barrios Unidos

42. 42 Proposal Formats  Narrative proposal  Luce  Narrative proposal with cover letter & appendix page  Fikes  Two-phase proposal with “PPQ”  Abell-Hanger

43. 43 Credits:  The Center for Nonprofit Management, Dallas, TX  Roxann Garcia, HOSTS Corporation  Grants Unlimited, Glenda J. O’Neal, Danville, CA  David Lawson, Norman Beach, FL

44. 44 Thank you!