Six Steps to Receiving Financial Support from both public or private funding groups
Prepare to Write Grant Proposals
How to Prepare an Effective Grant or Donor Request
If you are new to writing grant proposals, this brief guide on how to prepare a proposal for a foundation grant or a request for funding from a private or corporate donor to support a project or goal should improve your chances of success.
A summary of steps that need to be taken before a proposal or request for financial support can be made, includes six areas that need to be addressed. This information can be gathered from the project planner and/or project committee.
· The need the project will fill and how this will be accomplished
· The date the project will begin and the tentative completion date
· The location of the project
· The people who will benefit and how will it help the beneficiaries
· The benchmarks that will be set to determine the project’s progress and which evaluation method will be used to measure its success
· Your organization’s qualifications to carry out the project and reach its goal
Stating the need and how the project will fill it introduces the grantor to the problem that exists and the method that will be used to solve it. The greater the need and the more people it benefits, the more likely it will be funded. It also helps the grantor to determine whether the request meets its guidelines.
The timeline is important, as the grant request will need to meet certain deadlines. Some foundations only grant funds once or twice a year and will not approve a grant for expenses incurred before the proposal was submitted.
The location of the project and the target group need to be within the funders’ granting area. Many foundations grant funds for projects within a locality or a state.
The foundation guidelines may limit grants to certain groups or localities and requests for support need to be directed to those organization that approve grants in your area of concern. The more desperate the need and the more people it will help, the more likely the request for money will be approved.
Benchmarks to measure the project’s progress and an evaluation method to measure its impact on the intended beneficiaries when completed indicate that the project is well planned and will likely be successful.
A history of your organization and a list of board members (every non-profit is governed by a board), including curricula vitae or qualifications of people doing the work involved in reaching their goal, will complete the preliminary information needed to write and submit a grant proposal or donor request.
Advising a foundation about other requests for funds assures the board that its organization is not the only one being approached to fund the project. The more sources contacted for funds indicate there is community support for the project.
After this information is gathered, the budget for the project must be developed. Funds that have been acquired or are pending must be included as income items. Then a list of anticipated expenses will be added.
These guidelines should be followed whether a non-profit seeks funds through grants or through private and corporate donors
One of the most important steps a grant writer must take in requesting financial support for your project is to build a relationship with the donor(s) before the need becomes urgent. An inquiry to a potential funding source requesting its guidelines and requirements is a good place to begin a business relationship. A local donor should be contacted in person by the group’s fundraiser.
