The Application

All interviewees agreed that the application was one of the most important components of the grantseeking process.

Here are some tips from the interviewees for preparing a stellar application:

• Match your goals to the priorities of the funder. This was unanimously chosen as the most important component of a grant proposal. Funders want to see how the work that your organization is doing directly relates to their mission and/or objectives.
• Demonstrate a need. Funders need to see evidence of a legitimate need being addressed by your organization.  They want to see how the organization is measuring the need and working with the community to find a solution.
• Tell stories of impact. Illustrate how your organization has had a genuine impact in the community using data, statistics, personal stories, and pictures.
• Align proposed program and budget. Funders take extra time while examining budgets. This is one of the major priorities in reviewing grant applications. As a result, it is very important the grantmakers perceive the budget to match the proposed program. Make sure that your budgets are detailed and specific. Leave no room for confusion.
• Create systems for monitoring and evaluation. Does your organization have systems in place to monitor and evaluate programs? Funders want to see evidence of these systems and look for clear, concrete plans for monitoring and evaluating the proposed program.
• Make sure it all adds up.  Interviewees said that while reviewing grant proposals, they look to see if the proposal flows well. Does the proposed program serve to meet the organization’s goal? Do the monitoring and evaluation strategies determine if the program met its goals? Make sure that the grant proposal is one conclusive argument, that funders should support your work financially. 

New to grant proposal writing? Check out a great online resource with more tips for writing a winning proposal.

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