Help writing winning grant proposals

Are you looking to raise money for your animal rescue agency? Or find significant research dollars for your health-related charity? No matter what your mission, there’s a foundation waiting for you to apply for a grant.

This article will help you write winning grant proposals.

While the grant writing process may seem like a chore when you first undertake it, the work you put into thinking, planning, and writing your proposal will pay off many times over as you apply for multiple grants.

In fact, one of the secrets to writing successful grant proposals is creating standard material that stays consistent across all your applications. For example, your organization’s history and mission usually don’t change. Take the time to create these sections once, and you’ll simply cut and paste for multiple applications.

There are three steps to preparing a winning grant proposal:

ask others for help – Perhaps a board member or volunteer has experience writing grants. Or your organization may have money in the budget to hire a freelance grant writer or consultant. Of course, many times this is not the case. Maybe your community has a local resource that offers courses, like a Community Foundation or even your local college.

use a database – It is true that data is vitally important to the health of all non-profit agencies. Keeping your donor records in good standing shows foundations that you are worthy of funding. It is also good practice to record all of your contacts with Foundation leaders and board members. A good rule of thumb is if you get hit by a truck today, could someone pick up where you left off tomorrow? Your mission is important and deserves this level of detail.

Build your support case – The case statement is the most important aspect of a winning grant proposal. It must be convincing, clear and full of passion. But don’t get carried away by emotion alone, it must be measurable. Funders want to know what is needed, why their agency is perfectly aligned to meet the need, and how lives will be affected. It must be interesting and must be updated regularly. Don’t let your case statement become stale. It is the soul of your mission.

If writing grants seems overwhelming, go ahead and get some extra help. A class at your local community college or community foundation can help you get up to speed quickly. The work you do in class could actually form the body of your first grant proposal.

Or you could kickstart your efforts and take an online course or download an eBook like the Grant Proposal Toolkit. Volunteers and professionals have successfully used it to complete their first grant proposals in five days.

I have been a professional fundraiser for over a decade and I know that any template or material I can get my hands on works wonders and helps me get the job done with confidence.

You may find that, with a little help, you have a talent for writing grant proposals. There’s nothing like that first paycheck to make you a believer.