Author: Jayme Sokolow

Grant proposals should go through a five-step writing process:
•  Plan: Think through your proposal section.
•  Organize: Use the grant guidelines as your outlining guide.
•  Write: Write in a free-flowing manner.
•  Examine: Walk away from your writing and review it later while letting others review it too.
•  Revise: Emphasize clarity, conciseness, correctness, and persuasiveness.

One of my previous postings (Plan And Organize Your Proposal Before You Write) discussed Planning and Organizing. This time, I will focus on the third step – writing the first draft of your grant proposal.

These are the steps you should take to write a good first draft.

•  Write the first draft quickly
Work from your notes and worksheet. Write heading and subheadings first and use them as a guide.
Begin with the easiest parts of your sections. (It is extremely rare for a proposal to be written linearly – from first page to last!)
Write quickly.
Do not worry about formatting and errors.

•  Use your outline
Focus on the funder’s hot buttons that you have identified.
Focus on your organization’s solution.
Validate, validate, validate!
Do not make claims you cannot prove.

•  Use paragraphs effectively
Limit your paragraphs to one main idea.
Begin each paragraph with a thesis statement.
Put the most important point first.
Use plenty of bulleted and numbered lists.
Put details at the middle and end of your paragraphs.
Make sure that your paragraphs flow logically.
Use transition sentences as your glue.

If you follow these steps to writing effectively, you should be able to produce a serviceable first draft of your grant proposal … in proper format.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Once you have decided to apply for a federal grant, you must focus your nonprofit organization’s people and resources on the application process, which is likely to take at least a month. However, first you should determine whether you have all the requirements in place to apply.

This financial checklist will define (suggest) the steps you need to take before you can apply for a federal grant.

□  Is your organization incorporated?

□  Has the Internal Revenue Service classified your organization as a tax-exempt entity?

□  Has your Board of Directors formally decided that it is appropriate for you to seek and accept government grants?

□  Is your Board of Directors aware that you intend to apply for a specific federal grant?

□  Are your organization’s financial records audited annually by an independent outside public accountant? Was the most recent auditor’s report a “qualified” report?

□  Have you reviewed the grant guidelines to determine the financial requirements? Can your organization meet them?

□  Is there someone in your organization who can put together the financial components of the grant application – the budget and budget narrative?

□  Is your organization aware of current federal grant policies and procedures that relate to the use of government funds?

□  Do you have the organizational financial policies, procedures, and practices in place to use government grant funds legally and ethically?

□  Is your organization prepared to be audited by a federal agency before a grant is awarded or at the conclusion of the grant period?

There are two basic components of any federal grant. One is programmatic and the other is budgetary. Before you apply for a federal grant, you should ensure that you have the ability to properly manage and disperse federal grant funds.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc., helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Strong proposals depend on good data, and using good graphics in your grant proposals is an effective way to get your data to stand out and be remembered by reviewers.

Make your Data Stand Out
According to Mike Parkinson and Colleen Jolly (referenced in my last posting), there are five steps you should take to make your data more memorable:

Step 1: Provide real numbers.
One of the most convincing ways to sway reviewers is to provide clear, accurate data to support your themes and major points. Because reviewers are busy and easily distracted, you want to turn data into numbers that they can remember without much effort.

Step 2: Turn data into quantitative graphics.
Consolidate your data into bit-size chunks that can be read and understood easily. Examples would be bar charts, area charts, line charts, and pie charts. To see examples of quantitative charts, visit http://www.billiondollargraphics.com

Step 3: Use visual embellishments.
You do not want your bar and pie charts to look like a generic chart rendered in Excel. Use visual embellishments – such as striking colors and pictures – to make your points. For example, if you were using a bar chart to illustrate how your technical solution will save money, you might use stacks of dollars for your bars.

Step 4: Tie the graphics to the text.
Too often proposal graphics have no action captions and are not explicitly tied to the proposal narrative. Your text should reference graphics (“See Step 5 below”) and each graphic should have an action caption that makes a point and ties the graphic to the proposal narrative (i.e., “Our solution will save you 14 percent in year one of the contract”). Your table of contents should list all graphics, and they should be numbered for ease of identification.

Step 5: Use Action Captions
First write the action caption and then develop the graphic based on it. Every graphic should have an action caption that makes a major point. Starting with the action caption will help you create a graphic that communicates something essential to the reviewer.

Use Good Informational Design
When you design your graphics, follow Parkinson and Jolly in using these principles of good informational design:
  • Simplify your graphics so that there is one clear message.
  • Use the colors and imagery your customer prefers. Visit their Web site for
    information.
  • Develop a style template for your graphics so that they are consistent
    and have a professional look.
  • Use white space to break up or highlight information.
  • Integrate your graphics with your text so that they convey the same
    message and reinforce each other.
  • Design your graphics to tell a great story about your organization. Keep in
    mind that your reviewers may be visual learners. Your graphics
    may be more important to them than your text.

Good graphics promote understanding and persuasion. Develop effective graphics to visualize your data, and your grant proposals will become more competitive.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies.
Contact Jayme Sokolow.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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In anticipation of THANKSGIVING,
we will not be publishing next week.
The Fundraising Blog returns on Nov 27.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Don’t forget your proposal graphics! They can be, and usually are, important elements of persuasion. But too many grant proposals have poor graphics, too few graphics, or none at all.

Graphics are Important
Graphics are far more than entertaining diversions. We know, from considerable research on the subject, that good proposal graphics (appropriately integrated with the text) can help reviewers more easily understand what you are proposing.

The cliché, that a picture says a thousand words, is correct … for visual AND non-visual learners.

As Mike Parkinson and Colleen Jolly (of the 24 Hour Company) have pointed out, your graphics must be interesting enough to hold your reviewers’ attention and yet must be clear and simple enough to communicate your major points.

According to various studies, good graphics:
• Take 40 percent less time than text to explain complex ideas.
• Improve retention 38 percent.
• Communicate up to 60,000 times faster than text alone.
• Improve learning 200 percent.

Kinds of Graphics to use to help convey your major points:
   Bridge graphics are pictures of a metaphor that depicts the connection between actions, concepts, or entities. It can be used to show transitions, operational flow, and systems integration.
   Chain graphics depict linked sections, concepts, or entities by literally using chains to show the connection between different organizations or activities.
   Conveyor belt graphics are pictures of a repeatable linear process. It effectively shows forward movement as a series of steps.
   Dashboard graphics present multiple metrics in one consolidated picture. It presents a holistic view of related information.

To give you an idea … two commonly used graphics are the Light Bulb, for innovation, and the Lock, for security.

For Further Help, these web sites and books have many ideas for good proposal graphics:
   www.BizGraphicsOnDemand.com
   www.images.google.com
   www.visual-literacy.org
   Edward R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (2001)
   Edward R. Tufte, Visual Explanations (1998)
   Edward R. Tufte, Envisioning Information (1990)
   Michael T. Parkinson, Billion Dollar Graphics: 40 Powerful Ways to Show your Ideas (2006)

Good visuals help reviewers picture your text and good pictures promote improved comprehension and persuasion. Devise good icons, symbols, and pictures for your win themes and you will help reviewers better understand, and more easily accept, the essence of your grant proposal.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies.
Contact Jayme Sokolow.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Much has been written about the core beliefs of great managers and CEOs. Many of those core beliefs can be directly applied to grant proposal managers. There are eight fundamental core beliefs that I think are highly appropriate for nonprofit grant proposal managers to follow.

1. Proposals are an ecosystem, not a battlefield
Developing a grant proposal is not like going to war, and it need not involve conflict and aggravation. Great proposal managers build teams that thrive on cooperation and partnerships, even with competitors. To build such relationships, treat your proposal team members like colleagues. Provide them with direction and support and help them succeed.

2. An organization is a community, not a machine
Members of proposal teams are professionals, not cogs in some impersonal machine. Great proposal managers help inspire team members to help each other and their organization, not treat each other as expendable parts. Proposal development often involves long hours, tough deadlines, and nighttime and weekend work. Within your hectic schedule, be sensitive to team members’ schedule and workload.

3. Management is primarily a form of service, not control
Proposal teams work best when they are not micro-managed. Great grant proposal managers set a general direction, coach and mentor provide team members with needed resources, and help them succeed. When your teammates become stars, you become a star. You can coach and mentor your team by:
• Holding a kick-off meeting to start the proposal effort.
• Conducting a training session at the beginning of the proposal effort to orient everyone, provide direction, and set expectations.
• Having frequent meetings with the team to check progress and provide advice.
• Frequently meeting one-on-one with team members to review their work and provide advice.
• Communicating face-to-face as often as possible.
• Adding “mentoring” and “coaching” to your job description.

4. Proposal team members are colleagues, not children
Team members are not immature, inferior beings who cannot be trusted. Great proposal managers treat their colleagues with the respect due professionals and adults. Proposal development often is a frustrating process, but that is no excuse to yell, belittle, and undermine your colleagues. Patience and restraint will go a long way to building collegial relationships.

5. Motivation comes from something positive, not from fear
Good proposal managers do not strike fear in their teams or manage through threats. Instead, they inspire the team to perform well by forging a culture that thrives on cooperation, support, the sharing of knowledge and resources, and that expects great things from everyone.

6. Change leads to growth, not pain
Change is inevitable and need not be upsetting or threatening. Great grant proposal managers help their proposal teams make the kinds of changes that lead to the submission of winning proposals.

7. IT offers empowerment, not control
IT can be used to monitor proposal teams, but that is not an important function. Great proposal managers use technology to help teammates achieve their goals and build better relationships.

8. Work should be enjoyable, not just toil
Great grant proposal managers try to help teammates work in ways that will lead to satisfaction and even enjoyment. Find ways to enjoy your work and achieve balance in your life. When was the last time you took a long walk in a beautiful park and smelled the flowers?

Great grant proposal managers have great core beliefs, which they use to develop highly competitive proposals. Having a sterling vision is not enough, but successful proposal managers must find ways to use the workplace, their organizations, and team dynamics to accomplish an ambitious goal. And what could be more ambitious than developing a winning grant proposal from scratch?
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies.
Contact Jayme Sokolow.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

What is a sticky idea?
One of the most stimulating books I have read in recent years in one by Chip Heath and Dan Heath called Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (2007). By sticky, the Heath brothers mean that “your ideas are understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact – they change your audience’s opinions or behavior.”

Sticky ideas are important in proposals. If you cannot get reviewers to understand and remember your major themes, your grant proposals are not likely to be successful. Too many grant proposals are LMO (Like Many Others). You need to find ways to stand out in a crowded pack. Sticky ideas will help you do this.

According to the Heaths, there are six basic principles at work in all sticky ideas:

Simplicity
Sticky ideas are stripped down to their essential core. Here is an example from a grant proposal: “Over the past five years, we have received “Excellent” ratings on all of our government grants.”

Unexpectedness
To get people to pay attention to your ideas, you need to challenge people’s expectations. The most basic way to get someone’s attention is to break a pattern by surprise or interest. Curiosity occurs when we feel a gap in our knowledge, and knowledge gaps create interest.

Concreteness
Being concrete helps make ideas clear and memorable. Concrete language helps people understand new concepts – especially novices and those in a hurry, like reviewers. For experts, concreteness helps construct higher, more abstract insights. Here is an example from a grant proposal: “Each year, more than a million children in developing countries die from dehydration. This problem can be prevented at a very low cost. Oral Rehydration Therapy saves children’s lives.”

Credibility
People need to test your ideas to see if they are true. A credible idea makes people believe. Here is an example from a grant proposal: “In the past year, we have successfully catered two State Department dinners at the White House.”

Emotions
People will care about ideas if they can feel something. An emotional idea makes people care. Use associations, appeals to self-interest, and appeals to identity to create empathy.

Stories
People are more likely to act on your ideas if you can tell a great story. Stories are powerful because they provide simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act). A good story makes people act.
The Heaths’ advice has obvious applicability to the content of your grant proposals. By using sticky ideas, you can help overcome problems that commonly plague proposals. You can:
• Get reviewers to pay attention to your message.
• Get reviewers to understand and remember.
• Get reviewers to believe you or agree.
• Get reviewers to care.
• Get reviewers to act.

How Sticky Ideas help Reviewers
Most grant reviewers use fast and frugal mental processes to make decisions about your proposals. Their cognitive resources are limited and they do not have a great deal of time. Consequently, your grant proposals should be designed so that reviewers can evaluate them with as little mental effort as possible. Sticky ideas will help reviewers remember, understand, and believe your proposal, quickly and easily.

You can make your proposals stickier if you simplify your messages, make them concrete, emphasize the most telling details, use interesting and inspiring stories, and stimulate curiosity. The challenge in any proposal is to make your proposal understandable, memorable, and effective.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die will help you accomplish this task. I strongly recommend this book to all proposal professionals.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies.
Contact Jayme Sokolow.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

I Recommend The Guide
One of the many pleasures in attending the recent national conference of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) in Dallas was visiting the Shipley Associates booth. Over the past few decades, Steve Shipley and Shipley Associates have probably done more to advance the proposal profession than any other company. The new Shipley Proposal Guide 4.0 (2011) by Larry Newman exemplifies this contribution.

There are many excellent proposal guides available today, but I believe that the Shipley Proposal Guide is the best. I have kept earlier editions close to my desk. This one will be no exception.

Although this book is designed for companies, I strongly recommend that it be used by nonprofit organizations too. Most of Newman’s advice equally applies to grant proposals to government agencies.

Guide Contents
According to Larry Newman, the new guide has three aims:
(1) Help win competitive business more effectively, efficiently, and consistently;
(2) Offer clear and practical advice to business professionals about proposal development; and,
(3) Provide best-practice guidelines.

The Guide will help you and your nonprofit organization to:
• Align your proposals with the government agency’s evaluation criteria.
• Use a disciplined development process that emphasizes up-front planning.
• Schedule proposal development steps and maintain fidelity to the schedule.
• Orient your strategy to the government agency’s perspective.
• Focus your effort by writing an early executive summary.
• Apply proven process and management processes to proposal development.
• Write to the government agency.
• Use color reviews to control your development process and improve your proposals.

The Guide accomplishes these goals clearly by dividing the proposal development process into six topics: document design, proposal management, pricing and costing, process design, proposal writing, and sales and capture management. Within these six topics are over fifty subtopics that are each presented in a few pages. Two of these topics are described below.

Example 1: Executive Summaries
Under the topic “proposal management” there are six pages devoted to the all-important topic of “executive summaries.” The section begins with a strong, forthright statement: “Executive Summaries are the most important pages in a proposal. They set the tone for individual evaluators and are often the only pages read by the decision makers.”

The rest of the section breaks the development of good executive summaries into eight steps: (1) always include an executive summary; (2) maintain a customer focus; (3) build on your existing process and strategy; (4) organize the content to be clear and persuasive; (5) expand the four-box model template into a single- or multiple-page draft; (6) develop based on best-in-class practices; (7) follow sound writing guidelines; and (8) follow a defined process when preparing on short notice.

Each of these eight steps in clearly explained and illustrated with examples, pictures, charts, and tables. At the back of the Guide, there are three model executive summaries that will help anyone envision their own executive summaries for particular proposals.

Example 2: Gobbledygook
Under the topic “proposal writing,” there are about two pages devoted to “gobbledygook.” First, the word is defined and illustrated. Then Newman recommends two antidotes to proposal gobbledygook: (1) use specific words; and (2) avoid long, complex, and convoluted phrases.

Both antidotes are presented with all-too-familiar examples. There is even a table of common gobbledygook with its antidotes. “Activate” should be replaced by “start” while “heterogeneous” should be replaced by “different.”

The entries on executive summaries and gobbledygook are typical of the Guide. Everything is presented very logically and briefly with plenty of bad and good examples. These entries are a pleasure to read and easy to follow.

I strongly recommend the Shipley Proposal Guide 4.0. It can be ordered online at ShipleyWins.com. This book is indispensable. For NPOs, it will improve your government grant proposals, and for proposal professionals, it will advance your career.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies.
Contact Jayme Sokolow.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Because words are so important in federal grant proposals, your proposal narrative should avoid clichés – words/phrases that have been worn out and have lost their meaning and effectiveness … especially the latter.

Clichés distract reviewers from the core of your proposal. They also waste the reviewer’s time, which can be very frustrating. Eliminating clichés, therefore, will help make your prose more persuasive, effective, and easier to read.

These are just a few of my “favorite” clichés:

Best of breed
If you are not selling puppies, why claim that you solution is the “best of breed?” The phrase comes from the world of show dogs.

Utilize
Sports announcers frequently use the word “utilize.” That is a compelling reason to drop it.

Well-seasoned
Managers who are “well-seasoned” probably have been consuming too much pepper and nutmeg.

Hit the ground running
Are you training for the Olympics or trying to get a grant?

Leverage, World Class, Uniquely Qualified
This is how you write an hour before the deadline. Quite simply, these words are meaningless.

Such words and phrases, which could be multiplied forever, are examples of wordiness, a lack of precision, and the inability to discuss topics of substance. Studiously avoid imprecise language that makes you appear unfocused and inept.

Clichés are the kinds of words that organizations frequently use to cover up problems, difficulties, or a lack of qualifications. That alone is a good reason to avoid them.

Choose Effective Wording

– some simple rules to help you avoid mind-numbing clichés in your grant proposal prose:

• Focus on what’s most important to your reviewers, and avoid unnecessary or overly long set-ups.
• Be as specific as possible while avoiding pompous words and phrases.
• Eliminate redundant words.
• Use the correct word in context.

Here are two examples of how you can turn your clichés into good prose. Clichés are in bold.

Before: The Jones building is the shining jewel in our downtown.
After: The Jones building is an outstanding example of early nineteenth-century classical style architecture in downtown Centerville.

Before: The J. D. Smith Center is widely admired as a fiscally responsible family planning organization.
After: The J. D. Smith Center received a #1 rating from Charity Navigator for “outstanding financial management” for the fourth year in a row.

If you use clichés, reviewers may conclude that you are not likely to communicate clearly and effectively on your proposed project because you cannot communicate clearly in your proposal. Avoid clichés, and your proposal will be more persuasive.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.

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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Why are Executive Summaries so Important?

Some federal grant guidelines require an Executive Summary or Project Summary. Some Project Summaries have page limitations and strict rules about their content.

However, if the Executive Summary is open-ended you have an opportunity to introduce your narrative and provide a roadmap for reviewers. If your Executive Summary is not compelling and persuasive, reviewers may not pay much attention to the rest of your proposal.

A great Executive Summary should:
• Connect your project to the federal agency’s mission or goals.
• Identify the federal agency’s need.
• Connect your project directly to the federal agency’s need.
• Explain why you are superbly qualified to carry out your proposed project.
• Preview how your proposal narrative is organized.

Despite the importance of the Executive or Project Summary, they often are weak introductions to the proposal narrative.

Avoid these four common mistakes to produce a great Executive Summary.

Mistake #1: Not paying enough attention to your Executive Summary
Too many Executive Summaries invariably begin with the sentence “We are pleased to submit this proposal to xxx and look forward to your review.” They often are very general and they focus on your organization, not the federal agency. These kinds of Executive Summaries are guaranteed to put reviewers to sleep and convince them that they should not read your proposal carefully.

Pay careful attention to your Executive Summary because reviewers will pay careful attention to it too.

Mistake #2: Doing your Executive Summary at the last minute
If you write your Executive Summary at the last minute, you will not have enough time to create a good one. I do not recommend that you do your Executive Summary at the beginning of the proposal cycle, but you need time to think, polish, and refine. This cannot be done at 2 A.M. the morning the proposal is due.

Begin working on your Executive Summary once you have an almost complete first draft of the proposal narrative.

Mistake #3: Not addressing your federal agency’s needs
Too many Executive Summaries focus on your organization to the exclusion of almost everything else.

Answer two important questions in your Executive Summary: Why am I applying? What am I offering the federal agency?

Mistake #4: Not being focused and structured.
Bad Executive Summaries are not only dry and boring, but often they are unfocused and unstructured. Unfortunately, this may be a prelude to the rest of the narrative.

Your Executive Summary is a short sales pitch. Your challenge is to demonstrate in just a page or two that you have something special to offer a government agency.

Structure your Executive Summary by following the order of the evaluation criteria in the grant guidelines and be very clear and straightforward. This is a good place for bulleted and numbered lists, call-out boxes, and great visuals. Tell the reviewers what your organization has to offer and explain why you have the best solution to the need that has been identified in the grant guidelines.

The Executive Summary is too important a part of your proposal narrative to treat lightly. Use it to hook your readers and engage them in the rest of your grant proposal with a compelling story.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

My previous posting discussed the planning and organizing processes. This time, we will address steps three and four – writing, reviewing and rewriting.

Write the first draft quickly
• Work from your notes and worksheet.
• Write heading and subheadings first and use them as a guide.
• Begin with the easiest parts of your sections. No proposal is ever written linearly, from first page to last!
• Write quickly, without concern for formatting, grammar, syntax and spelling.

Use your outline
• Focus on the funder’s hot buttons that you have identified.
• Focus on your organization’s solution.
• Validate, validate, validate! Do not make claims you cannot prove.

Use paragraphs effectively
• Limit your paragraphs to one main idea.
• Begin each paragraph with a thesis statement.
• Put the most important point first.
• Use plenty of bulleted and numbered lists.
• Put details at the middle and end of your paragraphs.
• Make sure that your paragraphs flow logically.
• Use transition sentences as your glue.

Following these steps, you should be able to produce a serviceable first draft of your grant proposal.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.