Proposed initiative: Write with certainty about what the grant applicant organization plans to do with the grant or cooperative agreement award. State the intentions simply and directly in one or two sentences.Write something like “The purpose of this request is to secure the necessary financial infusion to conduct extensive research to fulfill the mission of Project R2.A.I.S.E.”
Statement of need: Write with compassion about the problem the grant applicant organization will combat with the awarded funds.Use gripping words to relay the gloom, doom, drama, and trauma of your situation and why your organization needs the requested funds. Be honest, cite hard data that demonstrates your need, and don’t just use anecdotal observations.
Program design/plan of action: Write with the knowledge of demonstrated best practices about the process you’ll implement to solve the problem or need. Incorporate evidence-based practices (proven intervention/prevention best practices models, which you can find on the Internet); by doing so, you demonstrate to the funder that you’re relying on proven research to design your program. You let the funder know that you’ve taken steps to avoid reinventing the wheel. (No funder wants to pay for a clueless process of discovery when the intervention process has been perfected elsewhere.)Goals: In futuristic and global terms, create numbered project goals.Detail where the target population will be when the grant funds have been expended.SMART objectives: These specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound objectives show the funder how you’ll measure the program’s success.Write percentage-driven benchmarks for your target population or program that are achievable within the grant period (including annual benchmarks for multiyear requests).Activities/strategies: Write about the proposed activities, tasks, or strategies you’ll implement to reach your goals.Put this information into table format and shade each row and column differently (but don’t use too many colors).Timeline: Incorporate target dates for your objectives and activities/strategies. Note when the objectives will happen and when the activities will start and end. A timeline presented in a table looks great to readers. This timeline chart or table is often referred to as a Gantt or implementation chart. When the applications indicate required elements in the timeline, be sure to include every required element in your final timeline chart.Shade your rows and columns if the funder allows graphics; otherwise, just include the information in narrative format.Impact on problem: Write about how the grant applicant organization’s proposed action will reduce the problems discussed in the statement of need.Note how similar interventions or preventions in other locales demonstrated impact and resolution of the problem(s).Project significance: Write about the impact the grant applicant organization’s project will have on the target population from a wide viewpoint. Write this section in italics. When you incorporate italics, you’re speaking more directly to the grant reader/decision maker. Project significance can be stated in a brief paragraph.Systemic change: Write about how the program the grant applicant organization plans to develop with funding support will positively change society or improve rigid and antiquated systems.Use futuristic, hopeful language.Performance evaluation plan: Write about who will conduct the performance evaluation, what it will cover, and the timeframe for evaluation activities. Keep in mind that the collection of frequent and unbiased feedback from members of the grant’s target population is critical to an accurate performance evaluation.If the funder’s format allows graphics, create tables that incorporate the previously written SMART objectives (see the earlier bullet) and how they will be measured. Otherwise, present this information in narrative format.Dissemination of evaluation findings: Write about who will receive a copy of the evaluation findings. Dissemination of evaluation materials is important for reporting to current funders and can sway future funding sources when you attach them to grant applications and cooperative agreements.Propose to disseminate findings beyond your local areas. For example, present the findings at a national conference or regional round table where other organizations will benefit from your experiences and results.
Key personnel/staffing: Write with familiarity about the staff, contracted consultants, and volunteers needed to carry out the program or project. For each position, indicate what percentage of the person’s time will be allocated to the project and which budget — cash match, in-kind, or requested — their salary will come from. (Cash match refers to cash your organization has available to allocate to the grant-funded program, when funded.) Format position titles and time allocated to the projects in bold.
Management plan/organizational structure/administration: Write with confidence about who will report to whom and where the built-in assurances of administrative and financial responsibility will be established. Be sure to add your financial staff to the management plan. Funders want to see that your organization has strong financial accounting and stewardship practices in place.Incorporate this information into a narrative paragraph.
Sustainability: Write with accountability about how the grant applicant organization will continue some or most of the grant-funded program components after the initial grantfunding timeframe has ended.Tell funders about the funding plan your board of directors and administrative staff or development office staff have in place. Let them know that you’ll be working hard to identify continuation funding for their starting grant investments.
Adequacy of resources: Write with confirmation about any financial, physical, and personnel resources the grant applicant organization already owns or has access to that can be used for program activities.Use dashes to list the resources.
Making Sure You Have the Mandatory Attachments Before You Start Writing
Virtually all grant applications require a few standard attachments that provide additional information about the grant applicant organization. These attachments follow the grant or cooperative agreement narrative. The following list outlines some of the things you’ll likely attach to your grant request. Keep in mind that each funder has its own instructions on how to order these attachments, so the order here isn’t necessarily standard.
Budget summary/cost summary: Fill in the blanks on a standard worksheet listing line items and expense amounts as required by the grant guidelines or directions. (Head to Chapter 18 for more about budgets and financial stuff.)
Budget detail/budget narrative/cost justification: Write a detailed narrative on each proposed expense.
Up-to-date financial statement: Attach a copy of the grant applicant organization’s most recent financial statement. Whether audited or unaudited, the financial statement should explain any findings of concern.
Proof of tax-exempt status (if applicable): Proof is a copy of the grant applicant organization’s 501(c)(3) letter of nonprofit determination from the IRS, with the date on which a certifying agency recognized the status.
Board of directors with affiliations: This attachment lists the names and board positions of the organization’s governing body along with their position within the community (board of directors, city council members, village trustees, and so on). This document also should mention the lengths of their board terms and amount of time remaining to be served.
Letters of commitment: A letter of commitment comes from a partner organization and states that the partner is committed to providing leveraging assets to your grant-funded program when funded. Partner organizations can commit to providing cash, facilities, technical assistance, equipment, supplies