It’s inevitable—at some point in your fundraising career, you will need to write a grant proposal. It may be for a private foundation, the marketing department of a major corporation, or a local community foundation. What they all have in common is giving the funder what they ask for. To do that, we’ll walk through how to figure out what you’re asking for and how to best communicate it; how to research a funder; when to communicate with a potential donor; how to put together the proposal; how to report your results, and funder pet peeves.
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1. February 19, 2010 Grant Proposals Step by Step Alice L.
Ferris, MBA, CFRE GoalBusters LLC www.goalbusters.net
2. February 19, 2010 What do you know about grant writing?
3. February 19, 2010 Agenda Defining your project Identifying
your funder Proposal writing Pet Peeves
4. February 19, 2010 Defining Your Project
5. February 19, 2010 What are you trying to sell? Why is it
important to your organization? How will it contribute to your
mission? How will peoples lives be affected?
6. February 19, 2010 What makes a project attractive to a
funder? Restricted Start up or early stage Limited term for
fundersustainable beyond 2-3 years Clear and measurable impact
7. February 19, 2010 Developing a master proposal Who Where
What When Why How
8. February 19, 2010 Boilerplate materials Mission, Vision,
Values Board list Staff list in project area Audit Form 990 501(c)3
letter Corporate Certificate Organizational or department
budget
9. February 19, 2010 Identifying Your Funder
10. February 19, 2010 Philosophy Don't waste your time or the
funder's time with a frivolous proposal
11. February 19, 2010 Basic research Open or Invitation Only
Deadlines Application process Funding range (sometimes) Areas of
focus Programmatic Geographic Contact information
12. February 19, 2010 Sources for information Foundation Center
Library Grants.gov Google Corporate and Foundation websites
Guidestar.org Donor lists of similar organizations NOZA
(www.nozasearch.com)
13. February 19, 2010 Next level research: Personal Contact To
ask if this is of any interest If you cant find basic information
anywhere else If its a closed foundation but you personally know
someone there If you think your project fits within scope, but
youre not sure If they dont say you CANT call
14. February 19, 2010 Applying for a Grant
15. February 19, 2010 Follow Directions! Determine funder
requirements in research stage Put things in their order
16. February 19, 2010 Types Letter of Intent Full Proposal
Follow Up Proposal
17. February 19, 2010 Letter of Intent Usually one to three
pages Executive Summary of Project Lets funder make initial
evaluation or in the case of more informal funders, can be the only
proposal
18. February 19, 2010 Full Proposal Structure varies from
funder to funder Usually very detailed and involves lots of rules
Sometimes this can be the initial and only contact with a
funder
19. February 19, 2010 Follow Up Proposal Usually at funder's
request Sometimes may be as detailed as a full proposal Huge
variation in structure
20. February 19, 2010 Who needs to be involved CEO or Executive
Director Program director Volunteers sometimes Finance director
YOU
21. February 19, 2010 Make it engaging!
22. February 19, 2010 Classic story structure Introduce your
hero, get him up a tree, throw rocks at him, then get him out of
the tree. Robert McKee, Screenwriting Guru Or George M. Cohan,
depending on where you check
23. February 19, 2010 Classic Story Structure Introduce
Protagonist
24. February 19, 2010 Classic Story Structure Introduce
Protagonist Inciting Incident
25. February 19, 2010 Classic Story Structure Introduce
Protagonist Inciting Incident Identify Obstacles and Barriers
26. February 19, 2010 Classic Story Structure Introduce
Protagonist Inciting Incident Identify Obstacles and Barriers
Propose a solution and make the funder part of it
27. February 19, 2010 Evaluation measures Qualitative
Quantitative How will this impact the community or end user? NOT
how it will impact your organization, necessarily
28. February 19, 2010 Editing Especially important for group
written proposals Get outside input
29. February 19, 2010 Submit and Follow Up Don't be late!
Follow directions Site visits if necessary Okay to call if they say
it's okay to call Okay to ask for feedback once they make
contact
30. February 19, 2010 Proposal Writing Steps Follow directions!
Determine the proposal type Identify the players Gather your facts
and story Set real evaluation measures Save time for editing Submit
to the funder
31. February 19, 2010 Reporting You're not done yet! Budget
time for grant management
32. February 19, 2010 Pet Peeves
33. February 19, 2010 How to turn off a funder All data, no
story Fluffy needs statement Not following instructions All
qualitative evaluation measures Unrealistic budget Bad grammar,
unprofessional presentation One size fits all proposal Late
proposal Trying to circumvent the process
34. February 19, 2010 Questions?
35. February 19, 2010 Thank You! Alice L. Ferris, MBA, CFRE
Partner GoalBusters LLC [email protected]
www.goalbusters.net www.twitter.com/goalbusters