Acquiring funds for a project is not always easy. Fortunately, there are hundreds of grants available for funding services. Choosing an appropriate grant that will meet your requirements can be challenging.
There are basic grant writing tips to consider. Many organizations that offer grant is giving guidelines for your proposal, but some leave you wondering where to begin. So we’ve provided a guide about grant writing process to give you an overview. Before writing your grant application:
1. Identify the problem and goal area for which funds will be sought.
2. Research thoroughly for suitable grant opportunities. See additional resources for a list of grant makers or potential funders.
Consider the following types of funders:
- Private foundations
- Corporate foundations
- Government agencies
3. Keep in mind the proposed goal’s fit with the identified funder(s).
- Does the funder make grants that meet your requirements?
- Check the size of grants offered, including minimum and maximum awards. Determine whether you will need to apply for multiple grants and investigate whether this is allowable under the guidelines of each funder.
- Check out the timeline for submission and the funding cycle.
- Check other restrictions and make sure you meet the funder’s requirements. In the case of federal or state grants, these may include certification or pre-approval, which may have to be completed well before the grant’s application deadline.
- Before beginning, determine if you have the needed time, energy, and other resources to prepare an effective grant application.
4. Construct an evaluation plan for the project.
- Identify your criteria or indicators for judging success.
- Determine who will be responsible for collecting data and accessing data sources.
- Make clear of the results you expect to achieve by the end of the funding period.
5. Prepare a budget for the project.
- Consider all forms of potential revenues, as well as all forms of expenses for each year of the proposed project.
- Clearly outline the amount of funding requested for each type of funding sought.
6. Strategize for sustainability of the project.
Funders often want to see a plan for how the project or group will be maintained after the grant period.
- Create a business plan to anticipate what resources will be necessary to sustain the effort and organization.
- Determine specific tactics to be used to sustain the effort.
7. Keep at it.
- Once word has been received from the grant making agency about the funding, debrief with the group to discuss lessons learned and next steps.
- Continue efforts to diversify the types of funding and types of funders that support your work. Be persistent.
Grant writing process requires a lot of work, not all projects get easily funded. Take those rejections into opportunity to learn what you can improve the next time. Submitting a precise grant proposal is the first step to ensure that it is good as it can be.