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14 Tips For Writing Winning Grant Proposals

  1. Never write a proposal if you have not first fully developed the project. Otherwise, you have nothing to write about.

  2. There is no such thing as a fill-in-the-blank proposal that can be just mailed to a list of potential funders.

  3. Have multiple, fully-developed projects on the shelf, ready for proposal writing and you will always be able to meet proposal deadlines.

  4. Each grant maker should receive a different, highly personalized proposal, fitting "to the letter" whatever guidelines s/he requires.

  5. Write persuasively - you're selling a concept. You're not writing a term paper.

  6. Remember the reader, above all. Write so the reader, any reader, from any profession, can read your proposal.

  7. No jargon. No "bureaucrap." Simple, clear, concise sentences.

  8. Writing is easy. It's about 20% of the issue in grants acquisition. It's only hard if you have nothing to say!

  9. Never, ever cheat on margins, pages, words - on anything. After all, if you will cheat on the proposal, then what in the world will you do with the money!

  10. No matter what you've been told, don't shotgun - don't write one proposal and then mail it out to a bunch of potential funders.

  11. When developing a budget, list every penny it will take to run the project, including support staff, copying charges, postage, memberships, telephone charges, meeting costs, and all "hidden" expenses.

  12. No grantmaker will fund every cent of a project. Put together an itemized list for the part of the overall budget you're requesting from the funder and use it to fill out the grant maker's summary forms.

  13. Grant makers will help you. Call them and ask questions - but be sure you've done your homework first and that you're not asking a question already answered in their literature.

  14. There's no trick to grant seeking. Planning the project out thoroughly is the single best thing you can do to insure a good proposal.
Last Update - 5/8/08