November 5, 2024
The Impact Issue #34: How To Craft Winning Proposals
Take your grant proposals to the next level with personalized strategies, narrative techniques, and planning tools. Learn expert tips to craft winning applications.
Hi there, and welcome to The Impact!
Are your grant proposals feeling stale? Are they failing to land funding like they used to?
In this week’s issue, we’ll cover all you need to know to take your proposals to the next level, including tips to guide your personalization, tools to support your planning, and three different narrative techniques.
Pitfalls and Pointers
As a fundraising professional, you probably spend all day thinking about your mission and how to advance it.
But just because you’re an expert in what you do doesn’t mean potential funders are.
⚠️ Pitfall: Assuming Funders Are Experts in Your Organization
As nice as it would be for funders to be well-versed in the nonprofits they support, that’s simply not the case.
When writing a proposal, you should never assume that the funder knows anything about your organization. You don’t want to risk confusing them by using jargon, acronyms, or program-specific language that they’re not familiar with.
💡 Pointer: Personalize Your Proposal to the Reader
When you’re hours-deep into writing a proposal, it can be easy to forget who your audience is. But to have the highest chances of funding success, your application needs to resonate with the specific funder who will be reviewing it.
Here are some strategies you can use:
- Mirror Their Terms: Review the funder’s website, annual reports, and published guidelines for key phrases that you can include in your proposal.
- Add a Personal Touch: Explicitly mention the funder’s past contributions to similar projects. Make it clear that this is a personalized application and that you’ve done your research. It will help you stand out from more generic proposals.
- Hone Your Tone: Use positive and assertive language that conveys confidence (e.g. “We will…” vs. “We hope to…”). Explain your programs clearly by avoiding abstract or vague language.
🥇 Learn more about what separates winning grants from grants that get rejected!
Tech You Should Know
Sometimes a change of perspective can help you identify new avenues for success, both from an organizational and a program perspective.
What:
Creately’s Logic Model templates are tools that help nonprofits plan, manage, and evaluate programs. Their visual approach helps you identify gaps in your workflow and opportunities to improve your outcomes.
How Grant Writers Can Use It:
- Test Program Logic: You can visualize the connections between resources and desired outcomes and identify any barriers to execution.
- Communicate Effectively: Logic models can help you present complex program plans to stakeholders in a clear and concise format so that they can see the connections.
- Track Progress: You can monitor whether activities align with expected outputs and outcomes and customize the model to suit your needs.
- Integrate Into Proposal Development: You can reference your logic model when writing proposals to make sure your ideas are fully (and logically) fleshed out.
Keep in Mind:
- You can get started with some templates for free, but you’ll need to subscribe to collaborate with your team on the platform and access additional features.
✏️ See how Creately’s Logic Model templates can help create new ways of thinking!
Expert Perspectives
🏆 Rachel Cannella on Crafting Winning Proposals
You know you need to craft engaging proposals, but where’s a good place to start?
Instrumentl’s Rachel Cannella shared three different narrative techniques you can use to structure winning proposals that will stand out to funders.
Here’s her expert advice:
- Problem-Solution-Impact Structure leads with defining the issue, why you are qualified to solve it, and how the funder’s support will be critical in achieving the desired outcomes. It includes the following elements:
- Problem: Clearly define the issue your project aims to address.
- Solution: Present a detailed plan of how your project will solve the issue
- Impact: Explain the positive outcomes and broader impacts of your project
- The Storytelling Approach leads with the human element. It engages with a funder to make them want to be a part of the project on an emotional level. It includes:
- Engaging Story: Begin with a story that humanizes the issue and draws the reader in emotionally
- Project Relevance: Relate the story to broader project goals
- Evidence: Use data and testimonials to support the story and strengthen the proposal's credibility
- The Logic Model Narrative is more systematic. It provides a clear framework for how the funding will make a difference, including:
- Inputs: Resources needed for the project
- Activities: Specific actions to be undertaken
- Outputs: Direct results of the activities
- Outcomes: Short and long-term effects of the project
- Impact: Ultimate change or benefit resulting from the project
👉 Discover more tips for crafting winning proposals in the full workshop!
Opportunities Spotlight
📱 Motorola Solutions Foundation Grant
Who It’s For: Nonprofits or schools focused on first responder programming or technology education
Next Deadline: Letter of Inquiry - Feb. 2, 2025; Full proposal - April 19, 2025
Grant Amount: up to $50,000
The Details: The Motorola Solutions Foundation partners with organizations to create safer cities and thriving communities. It prioritizes underrepresented and/or underserved populations, including people of color and women, within technology and engineering education and first-responder programming.
🥕 Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation: Fighting Hunger Grants
Who It’s For: Nonprofits focused on food insecurity
Next Deadline: January 31, 2025
Grant Amount: Up to $10,000
The Details: The Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation is committed to fighting hunger, providing grants to food pantries, food banks, and meal assistance programs for children, families, seniors, and more to help ensure all have access to food and water.
🔍 Explore even more grant opportunities in our robust database!
Networking Nook
💻 Webinar: Behind the Grantmaker’s Curtain: How to Craft a Standout Application with OneCause
Tuesday, November 12th | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Join Dawn Lego from OneCause for a behind-the-scenes look at how funders evaluate applications, what they prioritize, and the common pitfalls to avoid. Whether you're aiming to enhance your grant strategy or apply for the OneCause Cares technology-based grant from OneCause (up to $10,000!), this session will provide you with the tools to craft stronger, more successful proposals.
Save your spot!
To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.
💻 Workshop: Practical AI for Nonprofit Fundraising and Grant Writing
Wednesday, November 20th | 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Join Margit Brazda Poirier, GPC, M.S., Owner and Founder of Grants4Good LLC, for an exciting online event where she'll explore how artificial intelligence can revolutionize nonprofit fundraising and grant writing! Learn practical tips and strategies from an industry expert to boost your organization's success. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to level up your skills and make a difference.
Don’t miss out!
To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.
In Case You Missed It
📼 Video: It’s Not Just You: 3 Ways Your Grant Search Is Being Sabotaged
If you’re not winning as many grants as you planned, there may be things standing in your way that are out of your control. Watch to learn three ways your grant search may be being sabotaged and what you can do about it.
📑 Article: Top 19 Grant Databases for Nonprofits
We evaluated nineteen different grant databases based on their strengths, weaknesses, pricing plans, and more. This comprehensive guide is a great resource for anyone looking to compare the most popular tools on the market.
Knock Your Grant Proposals Out of the Park
You know your nonprofit’s needs like the back of your hand.
Take that and pair it with the funder’s needs to write a grant proposal that shines.
Instrumentl’s robust database can provide giving insights on more than 400,000 funders to help get you started!
100% Free Grant Writing Resources Straight to Your Inbox
