1. By
David Sylvester

2.  Pre-Grant Writing check list
◦ Meet all of the grants requirements
◦ Summary statement
 Brief paragraph
 Who you are, what your project is, money needed
◦ Create an outline
 Describe each point of your proposal
 Expand on each point as needed
◦ Go back and make sure that the grant funder
matches the funds you need
 Re-check the requirements

4.  Form Grant Committee
◦ Get a group of colleagues together to work on the
project as a team
 Two, or more, eyes are better than one
 Brainstorm
◦ Get ideas on paper
 Decide on Goals
◦ Have clear goals and a plan on how you will meet
those goals

5.  Lets the granter know what you are looking for or
what you need at a glance
 Very Similar to a Cover Letter
◦ At a glance goals and objectives
 Short and Sweet
◦ Can be as short as a few sentences but no longer than
one page
 Be Complete
◦ Concise and to the point goals that are clearly stated
 Time to impress
◦ Should be . . .
 Well written, concise, and intriguing so that the grant
reviewer will want to keep reading

6.  Meat of your proposal
◦ Where you convince the granter on why you need these funds
or resources
 State what you propose to do is right and why your
organization is the right one to do it
◦ Assume reader does not know about the issue/problem
 Explain what the problem is and how it is important
 Show them research done to search for possible solutions
◦ The need statement must include stories and data, and
be matched to the interests of the granting organization.
 Goal is to convince the funder that this project solves
an important societal problem, and that the funder
should be completely interested in supporting it.

7.  Explain what your organization plans to do
about the problem
◦ Spells out what you hope to accomplish and specific
outcomes or results from your project
 Goals
◦ General or broad outcomes
 Objectives
◦ Specific steps you will take to achieve those
outcomes

8.  Section where you will walk the grantor by the
hand through EXACTLY HOW you will the
goals and objectives from the previous slide
◦ This section must be very detailed and go into every
aspect and step of the project’s process until
completion
 Include a timeline along with a who will do what when
 Provide Logic Model
 Simple Chart of the key elements of the project
 Inputs-What is needed to complete the project
 Outputs-What will be produced
 Outcomes-What will be gained
 Impacts-How it will effect the community at large

9.  Funder’s want to know that their money is
going to actually do something so one must
decide in the grant writing process how they
will evaluate the impact of their project.
◦ Include what records you will keep or data you will
collect and how you will use that data
 If this process costs money make sure to include that
cost in your budget
 Many organizations hire outside firms to do this data
collection

10.  Most funders do not like to be the only
source of funds so. . .
◦ Show the grantor that you have committed funds
from other sources
◦ Also show the in kind contributions you expect
 Like, a meeting space or any equipment
 Any and all sources you may have gotten funds from
 Like
 Fundraisers
 Other Grantors
 Private investors
 Etc.

11.  A few paragraphs explaining your organization
◦ Explain what your organization does
◦ Why it can be trusted to use the resources responsibly
and effectively
 History of your organization
◦ State its mission
◦ The population it serves
◦ Provide overview of past projects and accomplishments
◦ Describe/list other programs
 Be Complete and describe everything about
yourself

12.  How much will the project cost as a whole
◦ Explains the money your organization will need and
how it is going to be used to the grantor
 Needs to include expected expenses and income
expenses
 Expected expenses are. . .
 Personnel expenses
 Direct project expenses
 Administrative or overhead expenses
 Income Expenses are. . .
 Earned income
 Contributed income

13.  Where you show the grantor all of the
additional work, research, and documentation
that your organization is trust-worthy
◦ Need such things as
 IRS letter showing your organization is tax-exempt
 List of your board of directors and their affiliations
 Financial statement from your last fiscal year
 Budget for your current fiscal year
 Budget for your next fiscal year if it is upcoming
 Anything else that the grantor requires you to show or
prove within the requirements

14.  This is the first thing that the grantor will see and
read about your organization so make it
professional but eye catching
◦ This is simply a brief summary and quick and concise
needs statement on why your organization needs these
funds
◦ Also is a brief and concise statement about your
organization and what it has done and what it wants to
do
 This is the thing that will grab the grantor and
make them want to continue reading
 Should be completed last so you know exactly
what you want and can state it in a paragraph or
two

15.  The final process to writing a grant is putting it
all together
◦ First the grant should be proof read and gone over so
that there are no grammatical or analytical mistakes
 Need to make sure that you have provided and answered
everything that is required for the grantor
◦ Next a Cover Letter and Cover sheet should be added
with your organizations CEO’s signature on both
◦ Does not need to be placed into a fancy binder but
should be held together as one piece in some form
◦ Make a copy of the grant for personal files
◦ Mail it to the grantor

16.  After mailing the grant application wait a little
while and check in how the application is doing
by contacting the grantor
◦ Ask if it was received and complete
 Keep the grantor informed
◦ Mail or contact the grantor if your organization has
accomplished anything new or has been sited in a news
article
 Be patient and wait
◦ The application process can take sometime so be patient
and you will be notified if you have received the grant
 Good Luck!