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Writing Winning Grant Proposals

By Barry Sweeny, 1998

INDEX:

While the answer to writing a winning proposal is simple and clearly stated below, doing what is needed is NOT easy.

To make the process easier, here are SEVEN strategies that I guarantee will help you learn how to write a winning proposal.


Link your grant proposal to your organization's strategic initiatives plan (SIP). This means that your SIP should have the data that demonstrates the needs exist that you want to address. But more than that, actually quoting your SIP or attaching a copy of a page or two from your SIP to the grant proposal demonstrates several critical things.

The grantor is more inclined to fund you if they perceive your program as worth the investment.



Stick exactly to RFP requirements. The RFP is the formal instructions contained in a Request For Proposals. If the RFP says donít do something,) DONíT do it!

If the RFP says DO something, se sure to do it very well.

If you have any questions about the grantís requirements, contact the grantor and ask for clarification. They do not mind inquiries. It improves the quality of the proposals they receive and that makes their task easier and the use of their money more effective. They WANT you to call, or at least they should.



Volunteer to be a grant reader and then do it.

Visit your Stateís web site or call their office and ask for the grant management division.

Look specifically at the grants for which you wish to apply. Notice who the contact people are for these grants and how to contact them. Call or e-mail or write to these people describing your experience in education, including experience with curriculum projects, strategic improvement and staff development work, explain and your willingness to serve as a grant reader.

Ask them how to apply to serve as a grant reader and then, follow their advice.

When you are actually reading the grants you will probably be trained by them in what to look for, how to score a grant application, etc. That information and the experiences of reading a range of other persons work will help you to see very clearly what your proposal needs to look like, contain, and NOT contain. This could be the best step you'll take to successful grant writing, so do it!



Ask for the criteria for judging grant proposals if it is not provided in the RFP. This is especially important to do if you have not been a grant reader yet.



Look in the RFP and the criteria for the ìhot buttonsî. These are the words that are clearly the labels that reflect key ideas or needs that the grantor wants to be the focus. If the RFP states that the money is to promote the use of technology that is integrated into instruction, use these words throughout your proposal but do not overuse them. Be sure you clearly show that you will do that and that you know what that would look like if done well.



Write the grant in a specific sequence. You absolutely must provide the proposal to them in the order that they specify, but, DO NOT write it in the order they specify.

Usually grants include sections such as:
1. Abstract or Executive Summary
2. Needs that your project will address
3A. Project Goals and 3B. Objectives
4. Project Activities This might also be called the Narrative section
5. Time Lines
6. Persons Responsible
7. Budget
8. Evaluation
9. Assurances (promises about compliance with other related issues)

If that's the order they want, provide it in exactly that order. However...

Keeping those same sections and their numbers, I recommend writing the sections in the following order:
2. Needs
3A. Project Goals
4. Project Activities
5. Time Lines
3B. Objectives
6. Persons Responsible
7. Budget
1. Abstract



Advice about writing each section:

1. Abstract: Be very careful to summarize the main ideas from each section only and to emphasize the logical
links from the data that defines the need, to the goals, to the activities, to the budget.



2. Needs: This is where using and referring to the data in your SIP plan is valuable and can help place your
proposal uppermost in the grant readerís mind. Lock it in that position by providing a brief but clear
data summary that shows a negative pattern that your project expects to change to a more positive
pattern. If possible the data pattern should use at least three years of data.

Also, be very careful what you say here. Be sure that your needs address most of the needs that the grant RFP has targeted. As stated before, if your needs do not significantly overlap the needs targeted by the RFP, do not waste your time applying.


3. Project Goals: Be sure that your goals are measurable. That means that you are using the SIP data pattern as
the baseline or actual current conditions now, and will use the same data at the end of the project to show
a pattern that has improved from the original, pre-project condition. Include in your goal when you
expect to attain the goals. Pay special attention to make the verbs in your goals action-oriented goals that
can be observed. DO NOT use words like ìimproveî or ìenhanceî without defining what that
improvement would look like. Following this advice is critical for placing your project high on the list of
grants to receive the award.

If project ìObjectivesî are required, usually they will follow the Goals section. Think of objectives as
the major benchmarks along the way in the process of doing each of the activities. That is, objectives are
the points at which you expect to be by a certain time, such as each month or each year if the proposal is
a multi-year project. Define these very carefully and be sure they align with the time lines. (That is why I
suggest writing objectives AFTER writing the activities and time lines.



4. Project Activities- These are the steps you will take during your project to create the system that will change
the data pattern to what your goals state is the desired data pattern. Stating it this way is an important
way of separating your proposal from the rest of the hundreds or thousands they will receive. Be careful
not to use lots of jargon or to get too detailed or wordy in this section. If necessary, have several people
edit this section and reduce the redundancies and hyperbole. Be clear, concise, and direct.



5. Time Lines- These are the dates for each of the major steps just defined. DO NOT say ìon-goingî or
ìcontinuousî . That can be perceived as poor management. Define the points at which you will check
for progress and adjust what you are doing to maximize effectiveness while the process is still
underway. You want to have defined clearly how you will monitor that the work is helping you get where
you want to go. Do not let your project be seen as ìgive us the money and we hope it worksî. Also,
doing a good job of monitoring and adjusting will really help you attain your goals.



6. Persons Responsible- This is pretty straight forward, but be specific about the names AND the jobs/roles
they have. Try not to just say ìstaffî even if that is true. Also include a specific person to lead the group
so accountability is clear.



7. Budget- Most grant RFPs will clearly explain what will and will not be approved. Be sure that you
understand and follow these distinctions carefully. If the maximum amount for which you can apply is
(for example) $30,000, do not apply for that exact amount. Apply for an amount that is a few dollars
below that amount, such as $29,820. If you ask for the exact amount your proposal is more likely to be
seen as contrived just to get the money. Asking for a bit less is more likely to give the impression that
you have only asked for an amount that you really need.



8. Evaluation

Many, many proposals die right here.

It has been true in the past that many grants did not actually check if you did the evaluation you described in your proposal. Forget that and do not use that as an excuse to do a poor evaluation design. Money is much more "tight" now days.

Grantors don't just want to get a lot of programs out there, they want effective programs. That means that program evaluation and using data from evaluation to improve the program are crucial.

If you want the money you must show that you will be a good steward of the money and that your project is worth the investment. Here is how to create that conclusion in the grant readerís mind.

A. Define your evaluation model as based on research. A good way to do this is to use a proven program evaluation model that is based on expert knowledge & research. Don't try to get too creative at this step. Save it for your program.

B. Design an evaluation process which distinguishes between ASSESSMENT (the way you will be collecting relevant data) and EVALUATION (the way you will analyze the data for patterns that help you monitor and improve progress and determine the extent to which you were successful). Do both of these.

C. Assess at points along the way during the process (formative) so you can adjust and improve the effectiveness of the activities. ALSO, assess at the end of the project (summative) the extent to which you met your goals.

D. Finally, describe what you will do at the end of the grant (and be sure to do it.) At the end of the project write a conclusion about the data collected (patterns?) and the extent to which you accomplished what was intended. Do not worry if you did not achieve all you hoped. Be realistic. The grantor will be. Finally, describe what the most critical lessons were that you have learned regarding management of such a project and making the project achieve itís goals. Send the grantor a copy of these, whether it was requested or not.


Good luck!

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