Elements of a Proposal
• All proposals share common elements
• Effective proposals:
– Are organized so that the ideas flow from each other and are easy to understand
– Follow convention about grammar, spelling and punctuation
– Have a style that suits the subject and the funder
– Follow the funder’s guidelines for format
Common Elements of Proposals
• Executive summary/Introduction
• Organization information
• Statement of need/challenge
• Description of project/organization to include:
– Details on workings of project
– Goals and objectives
– Activities to reach objectives
– Staff information: job descriptions, bio’s, resumes/CVs
– Evaluation information
– Explanation of how project will be sustained in the future/post grant
– Budget
– Attachments
Executive Summary
• Used to screen proposals
• Mini version of proposal with info on organization, problem, solution, and amount requested
• ASK FOR THE MONEY
• Relates the grant request to funder’s interests
• Best to write last
Organization Information
• Mission statement
• History
• Accomplishments/activities
• Sometimes divided into 2 separate sections
Statement of Need/Problem
• Is a description of the problem you’re trying to solve in your project/org.
• Documents why the funder should give you a grant
• Need is not YOUR need (i.e. more staff, new building), but larger, social need (more people needing services, etc.)
• Presents facts/evidence/statistics
• Description of problem should have three parts:
– Context of the problem—define problem so others can understand it, identify with it, and recognize how important it is
– Justification—explain why the problem is important to solve and define scope (size, impact etc.) of problem
– What aspect you want to solve—if problem is a large social issue, your project most likely only addresses a portion of it.
Description of Project/Purpose of Grant
• Details!
• Goals vs. Objectives
– Goal: conceptual/abstract
– Objective: measurable outcome
– Example
• Goal: After school program will help children improve their reading skills
• Objective: After school reading program will assist 50 children improve their reading scores by one grade level as demonstrated on standardized reading tests after participating in the program for 6 months.
• Activities to reach goal/objective—DETAILS!
– What exactly will you do?
– Who will do it?
– Where will you do it?
– How often/how much time?
– What resources will you use?
– Why those resources?
– What will you provide?
HOW do those activities relate to the objectives and goals?
Staff Information
• Goal is to show expertise/ability to carry out project and reach goals
• Biographies
• Attached resumes or CVs
Evaluation
• With goals and objectives in mind, how will you DEFINE success?
• Then how will you MEASURE success?
• Sometimes scientific, sometimes less formal
• Reporting
• How will you USE that data?
Sustainability
• No funder wants to support you forever
• How will project continue after grant period?
– Will it become self-supporting?
– Will it require additional grant support?
– Will it become part of regular org. budget and covered by other grants/revenue?
The Budget
• Tells your story in numbers
• Demonstrates how much the project will cost
• Shows funders exactly what they will support/where their money will go
• Serves as a plan for how your organization will operate the project
• 2 kinds—overall project and request budget
• May require a separate form from funder
• Sometimes requires a budget narrative (justification)
Attachments
• Financials:
– Budgets
– List of largest funders/grants
– Audit for last year/2
• Others:
– 501c3 letter
– W-9
– 990
– Board List
– Annual report
– Letters of support
– Anything else the funder wants!
0 Komentar untuk "TOPIC: PROPOSALs"