Now and then people come up with brilliant ideas but lack the financial backing to see them through. Some Institutions are ready to back these ideas with necessary monetary funds along with educational and technological support.
But to approach those institutions, a person needs to narrate his/her story properly; what's the idea, how to accomplish it, the support required and what would be the gain. In other words, the person needs to come up with an example grant proposal that benefits both parties.
That's what are the examples of successful Grant Proposals and this article describes the methods, the DOs and DON'Ts & the overall concept of Grant Proposal. Also, these grant proposal templates could be found in CocoDoc easily.
What is a Grant Proposal Template?
A Grant Proposal template gives you a general understanding of how to write the proposal for the grant. Ideally, the grant proposal cover letter sample needs to be written in a formal manner documenting the required information.
Here are a few details about the Grant Proposal template you need to know.
How to Write a Grant Proposal?
Certain formats can be followed to write the grant proposal (funding request template). But in general, only a few sections need to be created. They are;
Cover Page
Project Title
Summary or Abstract
Table of Contents
Brief Introduction
Objectives of the Project
Description of the Project
Plan of Action
Manpower
Budget
Active Support
Evaluation
Dissemination
Why Should Your Organization Get the Grant?
A Good Story
Mention the Answers They Want to Hear
- What does this non-profit organization do?
- How has it impacted society?
- What sets your organization apart from the rest and makes it unique to deserve the grant?
- What is the plan to spend the grant proposal approved?
Simple Straightforward Language
Brief Description of the Organization
Short Description of Your Proposal
Why the Benefactors should Grant Your Proposal
Impacts Your Organization Can Make
How Passionate You Are About This Project
The Cover page usually describes the overall contents of the grant application template.
A Catchy Name as a Project Title goes a long way to attract grantees' attention towards the project.
The Abstract needs to be drafted carefully as the grantees often refer to this section to annotate a funded project in their portfolio.
It's nothing but a list of contents and where they are.
Like the Abstract portion, the Introduction reflects the goals of the project, the timeline and some background information to generalize the concept to the reviewers.
There's a fundamental difference between the goals and objectives of a project.
The goal describes the generalised outcome of a project or what is expected from a project as an outcome.
But Objectives are more precise and short term achievements during the project itself. While writing this section of the proposal, try to follow the S.M.A.R.T. approach (Specific, Measurable, Allocable, Reasonable & Time Sensitive) of writing.
Here all the details are revealed. The long term objective of the project or the shorter Objectives. A clear timeline needs to be set up here that could work as a reference for those objects.
A connection needs to be established here between the methods & approaches being attempted and the impact they have on the objectives and the goals.
Plan of Action describes the methods or approaches that are being considered to fulfil the goals or to achieve the objectives in a detailed version with its pros and cons.
This section describes the manual effort required to see the project through and the quality of the team to be considered.
Here comes the most important part of the whole grant proposal sample. It's mostly calculations, spreadsheets, diagrams to visualize the costs associated with the project.
It'd be better to present the budget as line items showing in detail each area of work where funding would be required. It's called Budget Narrative.
In this section, the presenter needs to declare any ongoing fund or support for the project.
The Logical conclusion is being represented here. It shows to the sponsors how well thought out this project is and how it would be beneficial for them to extend the financial support.
Generally, the sponsors and general people expect to know the overall impact, the outcome of the project in society even after the project has been seen through. This section covers that.
How to Write a Grant Proposal for Non-Profit Organizations?
Writing a Grant Proposal for a non-profit organization is a bit difficult from that of a regular research-based Grant Proposal. Apart from the sections mentioned under the grant proposal, certain steps need to be followed to make a great pitch for your non-profit organisation.
This the first thing you need to ask yourself, why your organization should get the grant. And mention the same reasons while writing the grant proposal template. The benefactors should understand how your organisation meets the guidelines.
A good story goes a long way to help you achieve your goals or grant approval in this case. Write an amazing story about your non-profit organization and showcase the impact it has made on people and society as a whole.
The storyline adds a humanitarian perspective to your appeal. You could mention a detailed description of the services being provided to society and how people are benefiting from this.
You could add a few excerpts from your interviews with people being benefited from your organisation. The more powerful the story is, the better your chances are for a grant.
When you attend the grant proposal meeting you might face a few questions from the approval committee like,
You need to answer them in front of the committee but you could write the questions and answers in your grant proposal template itself explaining the same things.
Provide a solid plan of action on how you are going to spend the money or how you would sustain the organization once the grant money is spent.
Also, make sure you include details about the social impact your organization has created and what could they do next towards benefiting society more and more.
Write the letter of inquiry for grant in a simple yet strong language that showcases your self-confidence and trust in your organization to keep doing the right thing for society and underprivileged people.
How to Write a Cover Letter for Grant Proposal?
Like any other application, a grant cover letter would be most befitting for a grant proposal. It's imperative to make a self-introduction and an introduction to your grant proposal to those who will make the decision.
It gives you an edge and makes a good impression.
While writing the grant cover letter follow the below points for a better impact. You can easily find samples and templates in CocoDoc.
Describe briefly your organization and what they stand for. Mention the field of work as well.
Describe the grant examples you want to make and what it can do, how it will impact, what would be the overall cost and manpower required to see the project through.
This is an important part, so phrase the sentences carefully. You need to convince the benefactors why your organization would be most suitable to receive the grant money and how the work you do is unique in many ways than the rest.
Mention what your organization is doing now, where it is lacking money to improve and how it will impact more lives when the grant application template gets approved.
Most importantly write the cover letter for the grant proposal positively and passionately to show your love and dedication for the project. It gives a positive vibe to the benefactors and gives you an edge over others.
Conclusion
Now that you are aware of the sample Grant Proposal, you could write a solid grant request letter yourself. But always remember, your argument needs to be strong and convincing to get approval from the committee.
Be passionate and honest with your argument. Also in case, you need templates for a grant proposal, you can always visit CocoDoc where this and many other forms and templates are available free of cost.
You don't have to stand in line to get forms or to submit them. Just choose the grant writing template from CocoDoc, download it, fill it up, sign, scan and upload. That's it. You're done.
