Grants for Nonprofits – There’s no question about the importance of funding for any organization, especially for nonprofits organizations. One of the most reliable sources of funding besides donation is grants. All grants start with a proposal, and a good proposal means a better chance to land that financial aid to your organization. Today we’re going to discuss about creating a successful proposal for grants for nonprofits, including the dos and don’t.
There are three core tips you need to pay attention to when you are trying to write a grant proposal for nonprofit organization:
- Clearly address the need of your project, and how it is important for the community
- Clearly show that you have a different approach compared to similar nonprofit organizations
- Clearly explain about how the grant will make a difference in the community.
With these three basic rules ingrained to our mind, it is time to create that grant proposal. There are several ways to achieve a successful grant proposal for nonprofits. Here are the guidelines for improving the proposal:
Help Finding Grants for Nonprofits
Proposal Tips for Grants for Nonprofits
ALWAYS write from the heart. The most successful grant proposals are the ones that is inspiring and touching. You don’t want to use jargons and acronyms. Just tell the story in a simple manner.
Create a grant proposal that can grab attention, and make people fall in love with the mission you’re carrying. To do this, you should write the proposal as if it is the last proposal of the day that’s going to be read by a tired program officer.
Describing the problem is important, but the solution is even more so. Therefore, don’t over write about the problem. Instead, focus your energy to explain about the solution your organization offers for the problem.
Grant officers are looking for nonprofits organizations that know what they are doing. This means that you should always avoid providing a general solution for a specific problem. You should clearly explain the specific methods that will be done in order to resolve the need or problem. This is a very common mistake done by many grant writers.
Budgeting section is also important. Always do double check about the budgets calculation. Creating a nonsense budget (and also some wrong calculations and illogical budgeting) seems to be common mistakes in many grant proposals. It is important to note that your organization’s reputation and credibility is at hand.
Last but not least, always have people to review your proposal before you send them. You can ask opinions from your friends, or even from strangers to see a real objective opinion. If the readers weren’t able to understand the proposal, rewrite it again and again.
Creating a good proposal for nonprofits grants can be a bit tiring indeed. However, rest assured that the meticulous work will not go to waste. By taking your time to create a touching and inspiring proposal, you also increase your success chance in landing the financial need which your organization need.
References :
- Grants – http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/grants/
- Nonprofit Kinect – http://www.nonprofitkinect.org/
- Images: blog.90octane.com, jumpstartouryouth.org
