Preparing Successful
Funding Proposals
January 2005
Megan K. Riebe
Director of Development,
WSU Extension
Director, Washington
State 4-H Foundation
What is a Proposal?
• A written document requesting funding
• A portrait of you and your organization
• A description of the problem or need
• A contract
A proposal is a
program representation and a plan
Measure Twice, Cut Once
Otherwise Known as Pre-Planning
“In baiting a mousetrap with cheese, always
leave room for the mouse.”
-- Saki
Know Thy Self
(Attribution: Inscription on the Oracle of Apollo at
Delphi, Greece, 6th century B.C.)
 What are the mission and strategic goals of
your organization?
 What is special or unique about your
organization?
 Who is your community/constituency and
what are its characteristics?
 How does your organization serve this
community?
Know Thy Self
“Grasp the subject, the words will follow.”
--Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC)
• Why is it important that your organization
serve the community in the way it does?
• Why should your organization be
supported?
• Who should support your organization?
Know Thy Project
“Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an
idea is an obstacle.”
-- Ken Hakuta
Know Thy Project
• Can you write a two- or three- sentence
summary of the project?
• What is the problem you are trying to solve?
• What is your general strategy for solving the
problem?
• Why do you need this funding to solve this
problem?
• Why is your organization the best one to do
this work?
Know Thy Project
• How will this project further the mission and
strategic goals of your organization?
• How will this project make a difference to the
community you serve?
• If you actually get the money, do you have the
people, time, resources and motivation to
carry out this project?
“Money often costs too much.”
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Writing Exercise #1
Briefly answer the previous set of
questions for your organization
or project.
15-20 minutes
Show Me the Money!!
“The use of money is all the advantage there
is in having it.”
-- Benjamin Franklin
Types of Funding Sources
• Public
• Governments – local to federal
• Private
• Corporations
• Private Foundations
• Individuals
• Community Groups/Service Clubs
The World of Philanthropic Giving
We are a giving nation: 2003 = $240 BILLION




Individuals
Corporations
Private Foundations
Bequests
QUIZ: Guess the percentages…
TOTAL GIVING, 1962-2002
($ in Billions)
250
200
150
100
50
0
1962
1967
1972
1977
1982
1987
1992
1997
2002
Current dollars
Inflation-adjusted dollars
Inflation-adjusted dollars during recessions
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy/Giving USA 2003
GIVING BY FOUNDATIONS, 1962-2002
•
•
•
The Foundation Center estimated $26.90 billion for grantmaking in 2002
by independent, community, and operating foundations. This is a drop
of 1.2 percent (-2.7 percent adjusted for inflation).
Despite the fact that 2002 was the third straight year of overall decline
in stock prices—and hence of the value of endowments held by many
foundations—foundation giving showed very little change from the
$27.22 billion granted in 2001.
The Foundation Center summarized four trends important to
foundation grantmaking in 2002:
1) Giving by newly active foundations brought additional resources to the field.
2) A continuing high level of new gifts and bequests from donors to existing
foundations reduced losses to foundation endowments despite stock market
performance.
3) Payment of commitments made after the September 11, 2001, attacks boosted
overall foundation payments.
4) Many foundations made an effort to maintain stable levels of giving—or at
least to limit reductions—in the face of government funding cutbacks.
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy/Giving USA 2003
GIVING BY FOUNDATIONS, 1962-2002
($ in Billions)
26.90
15.60
11.08
7.54
13.92
9.31
8.61
5.94
4.17
0.70
1.40
2.00
2.00
1962
1967
1972
1977
8.64
5.89
3.16
5.88
1982
1987
Current dollars
Inflation-adjusted dollars
1992
1997
2002
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy/Giving USA 2003
THE NUMBER OF 501(c)(3) ORGANIZATIONS, 1993-2002
909,574
865,096
819,008
575,690
1993
599,575
1994
626,225
1995
654,186
1996
692,524
1997
733,790
1998
773,934
1999
2000
2001
2002
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy/Giving USA 2003
The World of Private Foundations
• Private (Family/Independent)
• Community
• Corporate
Research
“No student knows his subject:
the most he knows is where
and how to find out the things
he does not know.”
-- Woodrow Wilson
Private Foundation
Information Sources
• Electronic Resources
• Internet
• Publications – Cooperating Collections
• Periodicals
• Networking
• Grantor’s Guidelines
MID-COLUMBIA LIBRARY
Reference Department
1620 South Union Street
Kennewick, WA 99336
(509) 783-7878
KING COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
Redmond Regional Library
Nonprofit & Philanthropy Resource Center
15990 NE 85th
Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 885-1861
SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Fundraising Resource Center
1000 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 386-4636
SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Funding Information Center
906 W. Main Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
(509) 444-5300
TACOMA LIBRARY
University of Washington
1900 Commerce St.
Tacoma, WA 98403-3100
(253) 692-4440
WENATCHEE VALLEY COLLEGE
John A. Brown Library
Funding Information Center
1300 Fifth Street
Wenatchee, WA 98807
(509) 664-2520
What to Research
• Commitment to Your Funding Needs
• Geographic Limitations
• Fields of Interest
• Types of Support
• Size of Awards
• Funding History
• Special Population Groups Funded
• Matching or Cost Sharing Requirements
• Application Deadlines and Procedures
• Rules of Engagement
The Initial Approach
• Personal Visit
• Phone Call
• Letter of Inquiry
• Project Summary
• Full Proposal
Writing (and rewriting….and
rewriting….and rewriting…..)
“Your manuscript is both good and
original, but the part that is good is
not original, and the part that is
original is not good.”
-- Samuel Johnson
Follow the Guidelines!
“Traffic signals in New York are just
rough guidelines.”
-- David Letterman (1947 - )
If you don’t fit their Guidelines, don’t
send them a proposal!!
Components of a Proposal
Prior to the Narrative
Letter of Transmittal
 Accompanies the proposal document
 Written in first person
 Addressed to a person with title
 Single spaced, business letter style
 Ideally limited to one page
 Not a summary – hands document from one
person to another
Components of a Proposal
Prior to the Narrative
Cover Sheet
 Data page
 Title of project
 Contact information
 Dates of project activity
 Total project cost
 Amount requested
 Signatures(s)
Components of a Proposal
Prior to the Narrative
Title Page
 Recommend always having one
 Four things on it:
• Name or title of project
• Organization it is being submitted to
• Submitted by
• Date of submission
Components of a Proposal
Prior to the Narrative
Table of Contents
 Necessary if proposal is over 2-3 pages
 Follow guidelines/requirements
 List of figures
 List of tables/graphs
 Attachments
Components of a Proposal
Prior to the Narrative
Summary or Abstract
 Begins the narrative section
 Project dictates if it is needed
 Keep it short and concise – ½ page
 Summarize entire focus, don’t restate
every point
 Include amount requested
 Gain the reader’s attention!
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section
Introduction
 Introduce organization
 History and background
 Mission, vision and philosophy
 Population group served
 Geographic area served
 Overview of programs
 Focus of the project
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section
Need or Problem Statement
 Definition of the condition or situation you want to
change
 Relate needs to people
 Make this very clear
 Prove the need exists - support with facts/statistics
 Leave no doubt in the reader’s mind that a real problem
exists
 Motivate the reader to read further
If the reader leaves this section without understanding the
need fully and clearly, you are in trouble!
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section
Need or Problem Statement
Writing Assignment: Prepare a need
statement suitable for becoming the basis
for a funding request for your organization.
20 minutes writing, 10 minutes discussion
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section
Objectives
 What we will do to meet the need or solve
the problem
 Measurable within the life of the project
Four Types:
 Product
 Program
 Performance
 Behavioral
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section
Methods or Procedures
 How we will accomplish our objectives
Tip: Restate the need/problem in
each section to create flow
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section
• Impact Statement
• Rationale
• Sustainability/Future Funding – how
will you continue this work after the
grant funds are gone?
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section OR Attachment
• Organizational Structure
• Staffing Plan
• Project Timeline & Milestones
 PERT, GANTT
• Facilities Description
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section OR Attachment
Evaluation
 Formative - forward
 Summative – looking back
 Impact - beyond
 Anticedent – peripheral, i.e. model
programs
Components of a Proposal
Narrative Section OR Attachment
Budget
 Clear and easy to read
 Provide justification
 Project dictates presentation
Attachments or Appendices
• Information you want reviewers to access, but
will not distract them while reading the
narrative
• Don’t include anything you do not reference in
the narrative
• Include only information that reinforces the
basic arguments contained in the narrative
Commonly Required Attachments
• IRS 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) Letter
• Listing of Board Members
• Audited Financial Statements
• Operating Budget
• Project Budget
• Listing of Other Funding Sources for the Project
• Letters of Support
• Documentation of Partnerships
Writing Tips
Writing Exercise: Editing Proposal Content
“You become a good writer just as you
become a good joiner: by planing down
your sentences.”
-- Anatole France
Out the door!!
“No more prizes for predicting rain.
Prizes only for building arks.”
-- Anonymous
Proposal Submission
“A professional is a person who can do his
best at a time when he doesn't
particularly feel like it.”
--Alistair Cooke
Follow-up with the granting agency
“One ungrateful man does an injury to
all who stand in need of aid.”
-- Publilius Syrus
Evaluation of the process
“Insanity is doing the same thing over
and over again, but expecting
different results.”
-- Rita Mae Brown
Now what do I do??
“I have never been lost but I was bewildered
once for three days.”
-- Daniel Boone
•
•
Submit the same proposal idea to other
agencies.
Develop new proposal ideas for this same
agency.
Final Pearls of Wisdom
“Do not cast your pearls before swine.”
-- Matthew 7:6
• People give to people – It’s all about relationships
• Proposal development is a process
• Make a fit between the problem and proposal
• Be aware of differences of opinion in professional fields
• Demonstrate competency and success
• Be creative and positive!
Evaluations, Please!!