5.1 Introduction

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

 

The most intense part of grant development is writing the proposal. The previous chapters introduced rhetoric, requirements, and readiness. Now, it is time for the ‘rubber to meet the road.’ Chapter 5 illustrates the components of a grant proposal and amplifies the importance of concise writing. It will include a detailed look at various components of the proposal, crafting a budget, and examples of case studies from successful proposals. In the appendix, there will be resources for checking grammar and how to use artificial intelligence (AI) to check the elements of the proposal and revise a working draft.

5.2 Components of a Grant Proposal

Writing a grant proposal is a structured process. It requires clearly presenting a project in a concise manner to a possible funder. The narrative should be authentic and highlight a problem in the community. A problem that aligns with the funder’s mission and can be measured with clear deliverables.

Introduction to the Grant Proposal

The introduction of the proposal shares the purpose of the project and the reason for seeking funding. In a concise manner, the introduction will summarize the project’s purpose, goals, and objectives, and will include the target audience and anticipated impact. Along with these details, it is important to demonstrate how the project aligns with the funder’s mission or interests and highlight any relevant experience.

Background Information

Provide historical information about your nonprofit for similar projects that have been completed, if possible. If no similar projects can be found, include information about any past projects that were completed successfully. Explain their impact on the target population and take time to illustrate the positive outcomes of the projects.

Describe the Need or Problem

The funders need a clear understanding of the need or the problem that your proposal is trying to address. Utilizing current statistics, data, and experiential examples help to clearly define the problem at hand. Provide details about your project and include enough that help reinforce the need for the project. Fully describe what your project will accomplish and how you will do it. Grant writers need to demonstrate a sense of urgency by explaining how or why the issue is important now.

Each need or problem affects a specific population that stands to benefit from relief or funding. Identify your target audience and geographic region. Ask yourself, who is my project serving, what is it accomplishing, and where is it occurring? It is up to the grant writer to be able to build a desirable storyline that speaks to the funder and the needs of the community. Drawing a clear picture of how lives will be impacted or changed with the funds that are granted to the people in the community through the project, helps the funders connect emotionally. If using an example of another community that was helped in a similar way, the claims must be supported with credible sources taken from past grants in similar areas.

Finally, when describing the problem, experienced grant writers are able to illustrate how the existing efforts are not enough. They are able to show where the gaps are and how the grant funding will fill those gaps.

Methodology

The methodology section of a grant proposal explains the plan to conduct the project. This section is detailed and includes a timeline with milestones. In a concise manner it describes specific actions, activities, and strategies that will be included. This is also a great time to address interventions that will be made, if any, and key personnel that will be directly involved in the activities funded by the grant. Savvy writers will list qualifications that the staff have and resources that are needed in regard to technology, facilities, and partnerships.

A Wisconsin grant writer and educator from Northwood Technical College, Maryann Ledin, shares other key sections that deserve attention:

• Project objectives: Explain the milestones that will be accomplished throughout the project, overall goals, and any other objectives that your project has. Provide quantitative statements for each, as appropriate.
• Project timeline: Include a project start date and a project end date. Include dates in between the start and end that align with the activities that were included in your Project Objectives section. This will explain or show what you plan to accomplish in a quick glance.
• Key staff: Include the key staff that will be completing each of your activities, goals, outcomes, and milestones in your project. List each staff member separately and include information explaining their role in the project.
• Project outcomes: Explain what will be solved, created, or ongoing at the end of the project timeline. What is the expected overall impact on the target population and geographic region that you are serving? Provide quantitative statements that can be measured at the completion of your project. Tie this section back to your project description, but do not confuse them with your project objectives. This section must address what your project will look like at completion and address project sustainability.

A final item that funders find important is scalability: the ability to take what is done at a small level and scale it up. They like to be able to see a clear vision of how other communities, organizations, or institutions can build something similar in their areas. Be sure not to leave out how the project itself can grow as well!

Evaluation and Dissemination

The proposal must include how the success of the proposed outcomes and objectives will be measured after the performance period. The reviewers need to be able to easily see what the goals of the project are and how to measure progress. To track progress, qualitative and quantitative data collection are imperative. It will be important to be able to show how the grant project lead will conduct pre- and post-assessments.

A grant proposal should include tentative or estimated outcomes, though actual outcomes may be hard to articulate. Creating or hiring an evaluation team is a necessity to ensure the project is meeting milestones. In the most successful grants, the focus is on the project outcomes of the grant on a regular basis; checking progress and making appropriate so adjustments can be made, as needed throughout the grant’s period of performance.

Consider how the findings or outcomes of the project will be disseminated after the project. In many cases, the evaluation team will complete this portion of the grant. When the grant term is complete, the evaluation team should have a full report ready to be presented to stakeholders, professionals, other organizations, and the public. Some grants are successful enough for national recognition, taking the actions and results of the grant to a new level, scaling it up. Reporting outcomes through conferences, webinars, social media, and the news make it possible for others to utilize the findings from the grant to improve their projects, as well.

5.3 The Compelling Narrative

As mentioned in Chapter 1, rhetoric makes all of the difference in the world when it comes to grant writing. Writers must take into account the audience. Preparing to write the narrative means getting to know the funder or granter and project partners, if relevant. To build a compelling narrative, the writer should create a situation that will make the reader empathize with the problem from the beginning. This can be accomplished by rhetorical language, using voices from the community (ethos) combined with current data (logos). Language should mirror and align with the values of the funder. It should flow and be easy to read and understand. Special jargon is best left out of the narrative.

Each section should build on the previous one, guiding the reader through the thought process with formatting (using headers and bullets) that makes it easy to follow. The use of concrete details such as numbers, timelines, staff responsibilities and roles, and resources help with visualization of the project. Breaking up the narrative with tables and bullets gives the reader’s eyes a slight break, as well.

Finally, finding the balance between facts and emotion in a proposal can be challenging but critical. When writing the narrative, be specific and real. Be professional, yet human. Be confident, but humble and authentic. Writers can be passionate, but they need to also be grounded. Be ambitious but use plans that can work.

5.4 Crafting a Detailed Budget

Assignment Idea! 

Imagine that you are responsible for attaining the funding for a new engagement area for a children’s museum. Using the examples below, create a detailed budget based on the project activity and what its probable needs might be. Similar to the grant checklist, feel free to create a table, use Canva, or use a Word template. Be creative!

Below are three different examples of budget tables from hypothetic grants.

Example 1: Small Foundation Grant

Grant: Local Arts Foundation – Community Mural Project

Grant amount requested: $15,000

Example 2: Federal Government Grant

Grant: USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program

Grant amount requested: $200,000

Example 3: Nonprofit Health Grant

Grant: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – Health Communities Initiative

Grant amount requested: $500,000

5.5 Examples of Successful Proposals

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) – Sample Applications:^[1] NIAID offers a comprehensive collection of sample grant applications and a summary of statements from funded research projects. These samples span across various grant types and have won career development awards.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) – Sample Grant Applications:^[2] NIDCD provides examples of successful grant applications and summary statements for research project grants (R01) and exploratory/developmental research grants (R21). These samples can guide applicants in preparing competitive proposals.

GrantStation – Award-Winning Grant Proposals:^[3] GrantStation showcases a selection of award-winning grant proposals recognized for their effectiveness and adherence to sound grant writing principles. These examples span various sectors and are available to GrantStation members.

Learning Activities