PROPOSAL 

: The writing process

Prewriting
In the prewriting stage, you will need to identify what to include in your proposal
before starting the rough draft. Follow the proposal or grant application criteria and
guidelines during this process if applicable. 
Idea Map Example  
You are seeking a grant to develop online training for volunteers at your
organization. The grant application requests the following information:

 Describe the project/program you will implement using the grant funds and
include a timeline.
 How will this grant increase the capacity of your organization, either by
introducing new services, working with a community previously unserved, or
increasing staff capacity to work effectively with a community?
 How will this project/program be incorporated into your organization’s regular
activities after the grant period is over?
 How will you measure the effectiveness of this project/program?
Your idea map may look like this.

1- Description
Describe the problem and explain how you will solve it.

Problem to solve: Need to train and deploy volunteers faster and reduce training
costs
Solution: Convert existing face-to-face training to online learning
Key activities:
Develop online training
Create exams to test knowledge
Assign staff to review the content
Assign staff to monitor the online training program

2-Timeline
Identify the dates of key milestones in your project timeline:
 Submit call for proposals to select learning developer (date)
 Hire learning developer (date)
 Develop training prototype (date) 
 Review and revise content (date)
 Train staff to make revisions (date)
 Train staff to support online training program (date)
 Deploy training (date) 
3-Measure

 Number of volunteers trained

 Measure volunteers’ knowledge and skills acquired (through assessments)
 Pilot training and obtain feedback from volunteers in the field

4-Adopt and integrate training

Explain how you will adopt and integrate the training at your organization: 

 Describe promotion strategy and marketing plan (website, materials, emails)

 Identify ways to encourage staff to access online training through the learning
management system 
 Train staff to make changes to the content
 Train staff to support online learners
5- Capacity

Describe what the online training will achieve for the organization:

 Reduce overall training costs by (number)%

 Increase the number of volunteers trained using the same training budget
 Provide training to volunteers at any time and in any location (this was not
possible before with in-person training) 

Proposal Writing Structure

If you do not have a proposal or grant application with specific criteria or guidelines,
you can follow this format to effectively structure your proposal.

Title Page

 Title of Proposal
 Date
 Contact Information

Summary

Describe the current situation, and the following: 

 How you plan to solve the problem

 Why this is the best solution
 The impact (both people and scope)
 Time frame
 Overall cost

The summary should be about 300 words.

Background

This section provides context for people to clearly understand your project/program.
Include the following items, but adjust them based on your audience:

 A brief, simple description or overview of what your organization does

 Description of the problem and how you discovered it
 Combine a small amount of data with a compelling story to engage and inform
the audience
 The extent of the problem including who is affected and the scope 
 A brief description of your solution to the problem

Description of the Project

In this section, outline the details of your project/program in 2-4 pages. Use
headings and subheadings to make it easier to read including the following:
 Objectives

 Specific, short-term objectives for the project/program 

 Bigger, long-term objectives for the community or organization

The Process

 Describe the elements of your project/program so the supporter

understands the details of what you intend to do. 
 Elements of the process might include purchasing materials, training for
staff, training for partners/clients, piloting, follow-up, assistance and
support, and evaluation. 
 Present the elements in the order they will occur.

Evaluation

 Explain how you intend to measure the success of the project/program,

and your expected outcomes. 
 Be realistic with the outcomes you propose. Often organizations will over
promise on expected results, then have to explain why they did not meet
expectations. This can end up sabotaging renewed support from a funder.
If your expected outcomes are small, then you should explain in the
project/program outcomes that you are creating a model that will be
scalable at a later date.

Timeline

 Provide a timeline for the project/program that includes the main elements
from the process. 
 Keep the timeline realistic. 
 Provide a more detailed timeline in the appendices.

Budget 

 Provide a summary budget that identifies the main expenses of the

project/program (include a detailed budget in the appendices).
 Make sure the budget aligns with the description of the project/program.

Appendices

 Detailed timeline
 Detailed budget
 Relevant information about your organization (annual report, financial
statement, etc.)

Drafting, Revising, Editing

Drafting
The drafting stage is where you will start to organize your ideas to tell the story you
want to tell. To start, take the ideas from your idea map and assemble them as a
response to each grant application element. Do not worry about writing complete
sentences or using correct grammar at this point. Make sure the information is
organized so that it flows well, and you have included all important details from the
idea map.

Revising

The revising stage is rewriting or rearranging sentences to make sense and making
changes and improvements to word choice in the rough draft. Start this process by
reading through your first draft and transforming pieces of information into full
sentences. Next, review what you wrote and add, arrange, remove, and replace
text accordingly. Look out for these aspects during your revision.

Click the plus sign to learn more.

1-Organization 

 Does the information flow?  

 Is it easy for someone without knowledge of the project/program to follow? 

2-Active Statements 

Is the grant proposal written in active voice with short, strong active statements?  

Example: “The online training will be delivered to 135 volunteers.”  

Better option: “We will train 135 volunteers using online learning.” 

3-Word Choice 

Do you use the same words over and over again? If so, consider changing some of
them. 
4-Jargon 

Do you use jargon in the grant?  

Example: “Volunteers will be onboarded to their assignment.”  

Better option: “Volunteers will begin their volunteer assignment.” 

5-Details 

Details are important to help the funder and reader understand the project/program. 

Example: “Volunteers will complete the online training.”  

Better option: “Volunteers will complete the online training using computers,

tablets, or smartphones.”  

Editing

Editing is an important stage in the writing process and is best done by a

professional. If professional editing is not an option, try to find someone with strong
writing skills to edit for you or the author.

Check your document for the following information:

 Repetition

 Clarity

 Grammar

 Punctuation

 Spelling

 Typos

 Data: Make sure your data statements are correct. If you are using someone
else’s research, make sure you indicate where the data came from in your
proposal.

Creating the Final Draft

After you have completed the editing stage, have others read your proposal before
finalizing your draft. Reviews should include:

 Everyone responsible for implementing the project/program.

  Two or three people who are familiar with your organization, but do not know
every detail or are not directly involved in the project/program.

After others provide feedback, you will likely need to repeat the drafting, revising,
and editing phases of the writing process. When the document is ready, create your
final draft.

Proposal Writing Mistakes

1- Not following instructions

Most grant proposals or applications have instructions, criteria that must be met, and
a list of questions to answer. Many applications are denied because they did not
follow instructions, show how they met the criteria, or answer the questions. Make
sure you follow the instructions, meet the criteria, and answer all of the questions.

2- Budget does not match the narrative.

 If your proposal includes staff doing something they have never done before, but
your budget does not include a line item for staff training, that is a mismatch. If you
say you will work with 250 new people from the community, but your budget only
covers items for 50 people, that is a mismatch. Always review your budget to make
sure amounts are consistent throughout the proposal and that it accurately reflects
the scope of the work you will do.
3-Target group is not clearly defined.

 Vague statements such as “We will work with local populations that are not
currently reached by other organizations.” is too generic. Clearly define your target
group based on demographics, geographic area, and other factors that will explain
the context, specific needs, and situation. Show how your proposal addresses the
target group’s specific needs and overcomes barriers or current challenges.

4- Lack of a plan.

 Many times, a clear plan is missing in the proposal that shows how you will use the
funding to achieve objectives and results. “We will use this funding to develop an
online training, train disaster relief volunteers, and then they will be deployed when
needed.” is not a proper plan. What is missing is how you will develop the online
training and measure its effectiveness, how you will recruit the volunteers who will
take the training, how you will verify they are ready to volunteer, and how you will
deploy them when they are needed.

5- Funders fund solutions to problems, not activity. 

Recognize that funders do not fund people or items, they fund solutions to problems.
The problem you are solving should begin with the description of your project and
should wrap up with your project/program summary. It should be clear how each
activity you describe in your proposal will address the problem you are trying to
solve.