10 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals

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10 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals Dalya Massachi Use Twitter Hashtag #npweb Special Thanks To Our Sponsors

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Tired of spinning your wheels because you’re not sure what foundations are really looking for? Learn to “sell” your work to funders with a well-crafted grant proposal! We’ll focus on their interests and how best to tell them your story. This webinar is ideal for new grantwriters and features important reminders for the more seasoned among us.

Transcript of 10 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals

Page 1: 10 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals

10 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals

Dalya Massachi

Use Twitter Hashtag #npweb

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Today’s Speaker

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Assisting with chat questions: April Hunt, Nonprofit Webinars

Dalya MassachiWriting for Community Success

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10 TIPS FOR SUCCESSUL

GRANT

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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SUCCESSUL GRANT

PROPO$AL$ Presenter: Dalya F. Massachi

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©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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Reprinted with permission from CompassPoint Nonprofit Services.

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OUTLINE

I. The life cycle of a grant proposal

II. 2P2R Planning System: 4 easy steps

III. Powerful writing techniques

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III. Powerful writing techniques

IV. Spot the weaknesses

V. Bonus handouts (follow-up)

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1. KNOW THE LIFE CYCLE OF A GRANT PROPOSAL

(6-12 months)

You research foundations

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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You research foundations

You begin relationships

You submit an LOI or proposal

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Program Officer reviews your proposal

You answer any outstanding questions

Program Officer advocates for you

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Program Officer advocates for you

Board votes on your proposal

You rejoice OR learn why you lost

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2. USE THE 2P2R SYSTEM

1. Understand your

Purposes.

2. Define your

Priority info.

“Good writing does

not come from fancy

word processors or

expensive typewriters

or special pencils or

hand-crafted quill

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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Priority info.

3. Know your

Readers.

4. Refine your messages.

hand-crafted quill

pens. Good writing

comes from good

thinking.”

–Ann Loring

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UNDERSTAND YOUR SPECIFIC WRITING PURPOSES.

� Inspire the funder with your unique ideas.

� Encourage the view of your organization as a

solid investment.

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solid investment.

� Explain your pressing issue.

� Show that you share goals and values.

� Instill trust in your ability to get the job done.

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YOUR UNIQUENESS:So powerful that it cuts through inertia, gets noticed, and gets people talking about you.

� Under-served clients, location, etc.� Under-served clients, location, etc.

� Outstanding credentials or experience

� Extensive collaborations

� Unusual point of view or approach

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Beyond Breast Cancer is different from other breast cancer organizations in that we focus on quality of life. We acknowledge the challenges and

EXAMPLE: Beyond Breast Cancer

acknowledge the challenges and limitations of living with breast cancer, and we believe that focusing on activities that our clients are able to enjoy cultivates a higher quality of life than might otherwise be possible.

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ASK YOURSELF:

1) What’s inspiring and intriguing about your organization or program?

2) What is the unique value it adds to the community?community?

3) What makes your org a good investment- NOW?

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DEFINE YOUR PRIORITY INFO

�Facts and figures

�Importance of the issue

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�Results you envision

� Solution you propose

�Track record

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ASK YOURSELF:

� What does your work mean for the community: personally, economically, spiritually, emotionally, socially, etc.?

How does your work serve, excite, entertain, or � How does your work serve, excite, entertain, or educate your community?

� “So what?” How does your work lead to something better for the community?

� “What’s in it for US?”

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EXAMPLE: HOMELESS SHELTER

PROGRAMS: You offer homeless families a soup kitchen, warm beds, restrooms, child care, long-term job and housing services

BENEFITS: (the difference you make – so what?)� Higher level of nutrition and stability

� Higher level of employment

� Fewer families living in cars or on streets

� Less desperation, often leading to crime, drug abuse, etc.

� The sense of being a community that cares for everyone

� Lower long-term financial cost to local area©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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KNOW YOUR READERS.

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PROGRAM OFFICERS:

� Foundation gatekeepers

� Have background, concern BUT may be

unfamiliar with your particular slant/niche

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�Are time-pressed

�Want to be inspired

�Have been around, frequently talk to others

�Are people too, with hearts, minds, concerns

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WHAT INFORMATION IS OF MOST INTEREST TO THEM?

� True match with your goals and priorities

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� Program is a high priority for you

� High chance of success: realistic, specific plan

� Clear, measurable impact on a vital community need

-- NOW

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� Beneficiary involvement

� Strategic collaboration/role in the field

�Strong evaluation plan

� Replicable model

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� Replicable model

� Community support ( and in-kind)

� Funded by other foundations

Note: Corporations are looking for how their

investment will benefit them.

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HOW TO FIND OUT MORE?

� Read their publications, websites, grant guidelines.

� Research what they have previously

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� Research what they have previously supported.

(Is there enough similarity with your project, yet uniqueness in your specific approach?)

� Call or email to clarify.

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REFINE YOUR MESSAGES.

Match your READERS’ interests

with your writing PRIORITIES.

(This takes time!)

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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(This takes time!)

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POWERFUL WRITING TECHNIQUES

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3. FOCUS ON CLARITY

“The most powerful factors in the world are

clear ideas in the minds of energetic

men [and women] of good will.”— J Arthur Thomson

�You know all about your program, but

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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�You know all about your program, but

your readers don’t. Explain everything!

�Avoid vagueness; talk specifics.

� Use examples, quotes.

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4. TELL STORIES

� Talk about how people have

benefited: results they have seen

and importance.

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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� What are some characteristics of great stories?

� A beginning, middle and end

� Memorable characters

� Interesting setting (time and place)

� Compelling plot or conflict resolution

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5. TAKE CUES FROM THE FUNDER

� Remember to answer all of the funder’s

questions with details.

� Use the funder’s language.

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� Use the funder’s language.

� Use headings and sub-headings with chunks

accessible at a glance.

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6. AVOID JARGON AND UNEXPLAINED ACRONYMS

� Does the term mean the same

thing to them as it does to you?

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� If you must use technical terms or

acronyms, explain them the first time.

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©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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Reprinted with permission from CompassPoint Nonprofit Services.

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7. SHOW, DON’T JUST TELL

� Convey striking details

� Use metaphors and analogies

� Show HOW your solution benefits folks

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� Show HOW your solution benefits folks

� Use word pictures:

NOT “affordable housing and good nutrition”

BUT “safe roof and 3 solid meals a day”

� Compare your topic to a more familiar one.

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EXAMPLEThe Frameworks Institute used stats from U.S. Dept. of Ed’s 2005 study, “Calories In, Calories Out: Food and Exercise in Public Elementary Schools,” and crafted this message:

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“Exercise is something that children need every day. But half of all students attend schools that have reduced their phys ed class to just one or two days per week. Part-time fitness is no more effective than part-time reading or math instruction.”

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8. MAKE YOUR PROPOSAL PLEASING TO THE EYE.

Use:

� white space

� legible font

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� legible font

� numbering

� bullets

� charts

� simple graphics (maps, diagrams, etc.)

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9. CULTIVATE CONCISENESS: LESS IS MORE

“I didn't have time to write a short letter,

so I wrote a long one instead.” —Mark Twain

� Sentences: 14-20 words max.

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� Sentences: 14-20 words max.

� No freeloading words

� KISSS: Keep It Short, Simple, Skimmable

�Average LOI:1-3 pp.; full proposal: 7-10 pp.

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10. PROOFREAD� Check your document for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other slip-ups.

Always read your piece

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� Always read your piece out loud (even if it’s only to yourself). Most people hear words as they read them, so your words should roll off the tongue.

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LET IDEAS GERMINATE."The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon."

—Robert Cormier

� Wait at least 24 hours before starting

to revise.

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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to revise.

� Try keeping a notepad & pen

on your nightstand. This invites

creative ideas to visit you.

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EXERCISE

SPOT THE WEAKNESSES:

Can you identify the problems

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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Can you identify the problems

in this piece?

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EXERCISE(SPOT THE WEAKNESSES)

Dear Program Officer:

We are pleased to submit this brief Letter of

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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We are pleased to submit this brief Letter of

Intent to the Over-the-Top Foundation. We

propose the “Get A Life Project,” which will

have a negligible effect on housing conditions

for low-income women and will probably do

nothing to change their economic status.

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EXERCISE(SPOT THE WEAKNESSES)

We don’t have an innovative bone in our

bodies, so we’re just doing the same old

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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bodies, so we’re just doing the same old

project that we’ve always done, and it’s not

part of any larger plan. In fact, we think there

are already many organizations doing this

work in our town.

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EXERCISE(SPOT THE WEAKNESSES)

Based on no community feedback or

involvement, we believe that our Get A Life

Project will provide much-needed assistance.

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Project will provide much-needed assistance.

It’s not clear how we will do this work, but we

are sure that we’ll come up with something.

To be sure, we definitely will not be

evaluating it.

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EXERCISE(SPOT THE WEAKNESSES)

Our project does not address any of your

priority areas, but we know you will make an

exception because of our good intentions. We

©2011 Dalya F Massachi

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exception because of our good intentions. We

will have to indefinitely rely on your

foundation to sustain our work. Otherwise

will have to close.

Sincerely,

Wanda Grant

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FINAL THOUGHT

"Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the

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games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.”— Kurt Vonnegut

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Your special discount:

www.dfmassachi.net/event.html

2 BONUS HANDOUTS:1) Proposal Checklist

2) Sample Cover Letter

~Both Available on the Same Website!~

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