As mentioned previously,
almost every grant making body incorporates its own criteria into the grant
proposal application. The sheer variety of formats can be mind boggling but
once you understand the general guidelines within which most funding agencies
base their review processes on, you realize that there are only a few
dimensions to which most grant proposals conform.
Some grant proposal
guidelines follow boiler plate formats and use pre-generated forms which make
completing the grant application somewhat easier in that it becomes an exercise
(sort of) of filling in the blanks.
However, the following sub-divisions form
the nexus of most grant proposal headings and subjects:
- Summary or an Executive Summary: the
proposal should begin with a brief summary or executive summary of the
project or program and should be included on the cover sheet or at the
beginning of the proposal. It should state clearly the name of institution
or organization, what the project is and how much is being requested
- Organization or Institution Information: this is the section where you introduce your
organization, its corporate structure; i.e. non profit, etc…, what its
primary activities are, its mission, what community or population is
served or will benefit, and the historical achievement of the entity.
Inform the grant making body of your organization’s budget, who
owns/manages the organization, industry affiliations, and briefly make the
case why your organization can be trusted to appropriately manage and
utilize the grant award that is being requested
- Problem/Program/Project Description: this is the section where you describe in detail
the program or project that is the target of the funding request. Be
descriptive but be concise. This is not the place to be Earnest Hemingway
but make it interesting and clearly indicate how the project or program
aligns with the stated mission and objectives of the awarding agency.
Also, do not assume that the awarding agency staff, reviewers and board
have the same level of expertise and familiarity with your project or
program as you do
- Project Plan/Timeline: outline the project/program goals and the
objectives supporting those goals. Include a mockup graphic of the project
outline or timeline with approximate kill dates, deadlines, and
milestones. This will inform the reviewers that you and your organization
are prepared to complete the project or program successfully at the outset
rather than waiting for funding to just start the planning phase.
- The Outcome & Impact Analysis: inform
the funding agency what the final result is expected to be of the project.
For example, in a research related project the outcome will be the
conclusion of the research; i.e. was the hypothesis confirmed of
disproved.
- Other Funding Sources: this
details whether your project is depending on multiple grant awards and
additional sources of funding in order to be completed. The funding
organization can gain a better perspective on the success of your project
or program based on the percentage of funding need its award is expected
to fulfill
- Future or Ongoing Funding: since most funding agencies are not interested
in adopting an ongoing funding need they are interested in reviewing
program expectations regarding future funding needs. This informs the
funding agency how you have planned for the long-term sustainability of a
project or program
- Evaluation Metrics: this section informs the funding agency how
you intend to determine actual project success. Simply spending the money
on the stated activities does not actually ensure that the project or
program proved successful relative to its objectives
- Project/Program Budget: this
is one of the most important sections of the grant proposal because it
relates to specific uses of the funds being requested in the proposal. In
general, the budget should consist of the following section:
1) personnel
expense
2) direct project/program expenses
3)
administrative/overhead expenses.
Additionally, the budget should account
for expected revenues as well including the grant funding being sought
- Appendix/Supplementary Documentation: this section can include a wide variety of
material depending on the type of grant, the funding agency’s
requirements, as well as your own organization type and structure.
However, typically most grant proposals should include the following
documentation:
1) IRS corporate classification or IRS declaration of tax
exempt status,
2) list of the board of directors and professional
affiliations,
3) complete financial statements for the last fiscal period,
4) a current budget,
5) an project or pro forma budget for the following
year, and
6) resumes or CVs of responsible individuals related to the
project or program
