Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
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First thoughts:
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What do you wish to accomplish with the aid of the funds you request?
• Why is it important to attain your objectives?
•
Who will benefit from your work?
How will they benefit?
•
What are your qualifications for this project?

Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
Finding the right foundation:
Begin by expressing, in two double-spaced pages, a summary of your project –its objectives and merits.
Research foundation missions and identify candidates who would appear to be interested in your objectives
Call program officers, report your summary, gain their responses

Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
Once you have identified a foundation receptive to reviewing your proposal:
– Secure proposal guidelines from the foundation, read
them and adhere to them rigorously (Font, margins, maximum number of pages, budget, order of topics,
submittal deadline and address, number of copies, etc.)

Developing Persuasive Grant Proposals
Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
– The proposal –the heart of the matter:
Cover letter -Who are you? What organization do you represent? Why are you writing?
Project summary --One page description of the problem you propose to solve, your solution, the level of funding you seek, your qualifications and those of your organization to solve the problem.
Project context --Define the problem and the need for a solution. Justify the value of your solution. Describe the benefits of your work.

Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
The proposal –the heart of the matter:
Project design
History of earlier work by others to solve the problem.
Evidence you have gathered that motivates your approach to the problem.
Detailed description of the specific steps you will take to solve the problem.
Clear description of how the specific steps respond to particular aspects of the problem or of the need you have identified.
Evidence of collaboration with other people or organizations who also wish to solve the problem.

Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
The proposal –the heart of the matter:
– Evaluation plan
Select particular project objectives and choose methods for measuring progress toward these objectives during the project and at the end of the enterprise.
When possible, use numerical measures of project effectiveness
(e.g., populations of participants, quantity of resources deployed, impact of the resources on the participants.)
Describe how you will use evolving assessment of the project to guide revision of your work.

Developing Persuasive Grant Proposals
Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
The proposal –the heart of the matter:
– Dissemination plan
How will you alert others to the value of your findings? Publication in journals, development of web pages, talks at national meetings are the traditional answers, but foundations are often not satisfied with these answers.
Collaboration with people at other institutions, people who are invested in your project, and who can observe its operations in their context, offer a dynamic basis for spreading the word about the value of your design and accomplishments.

Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
The proposal –the heart of the matter:
–
The Budget:
Provides a dollar-based description of your project.
Distributes costs so they reconcile closely with the emphases within your proposal. Each cost should connect specifically to particular operations of the project and exhibit reasonable cost-benefit properties.
Reports matching funds and other resources that your organization will provide for your project, and show how each match will increase the effectiveness of the foundation’s grant.
Reports reliable estimates of all costs and cost categories for the project.

Developing Persuasive Grant Proposals
Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
The proposal –the heart of the matter:
–
Recommendations for content and style:
Report the problem, explore your solution, be concise, and help your reader grasp your initiative –early on.
Write clearly in language that the non-specialist can understand.
Convey your concerns and strategies; be brief and specific.
Minimize boilerplate.
Support your claims with evidence.
Make the narrative compact; place supporting evidence (tables, charts, etc.) in an appendix.
Assure correct spelling, grammar, and clear organization of the proposal.

Developing Persuasive Grant Proposals
Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
The proposal –the heart of the matter:
– Recommendations for preparation:
Start early, write a draft of the proposal, wait a week, then read your draft.
Revise.
Ask a friend, a colleague, or the SRO to read the proposal and gain their response.
Revise.
Prepare to submit the proposal -- by way of the SRO.

Developing Persuasive Grant Proposals
Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
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Sponsored Research Office
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
Last thoughts (on this topic)
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Alert the SRO to your project and plans for proposal development.
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Work with the SRO to assure effective communications with all other
College offices who need to know of your project and of the foundations you plan to pursue.
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Inform the SRO of the foundation you plan to approach before you submit a proposal.
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Work with the SRO to acquire College support (matching funds, cost sharing, dedicated resources, etc) of your externally funded project.
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Report, by way of the SRO, the essentials of your project to a College database that stores information on all faculty proposals for external funding.
RPDS
7.17.2006