The basic components of a grant proposal

Each year hundreds of millions of dollars are given away in grants funding programs - everything from billion-dollar Federal Government programs to small philanthropic foundations or local councils. The first challenge is to find the granting program and the Easy Grants newsletter will help you find the right grant for your group.

Despite the great diversity of the various grants programs and the amazing array of interests and target markets, grant makers really need to be convinced of two things: - that a significant need exists and that the applicant has the capacity to meet the need in a creative and fiscally responsible manner.

More particularly, what do they really want to know?

One of the largest sources of frustration for grant-makers is that so many applicants don't do the basic research to check whether their application fits within sometimes quite tight eligibility guidelines.

Spend time sorting through the available grants to find ones whose target audiences and areas of interest match the project for which you are seeking funding

Most grant applications seek submissions that include the following:

• A description of your organisation
• A case for support
• A description of the proposed project
• A budget

This section of the proposal allows you to establish your credibility and qualifications for funding. It is not the place to write a long-winded history of your organisation but to describe your purposes and long-range goals. The grant evaluators want you to demonstrate how your existing programs were developed to meet identified community needs.

You will need to establish confidence in your organisation's capacity to deliver. This will include short descriptions of the qualifications and experience of key staff in the area for which program funds are being sought and other more general project management competencies.

It is critically important to establish a specific problem or issue in a geographically identifiable area. The dimension of the problem to be addressed should be realistically achievable by your organisation. A small community organisation will not be able to solve the problems of the world.

Subjective impressions will not hold any sway but a simple evocative case study illustrating the issue may capture the imaginations of tired assessment panels.

This should then be backed by accurate data based on objective research. Statistics that are out of date or incorrect will damage your case sometimes irreparably.

Evidence of community support is often required.

A representative of Logan City Council writes, "We require letters of support as part of the grant proposal. Unfortunately many applicants send in letters of support for the organisation rather than the requested letters of support for the project. Every community organisation is valuable to our community, but what the Grant evaluation committee needs to assess is the value of the project for the Community."

This is the section that will explain to potential investors that you have developed a clearly defined, creative, achievable and measurable strategy to address the issue/s previously described.

The overall aims and specific objectives of the program first need to be stated.

An aim or goal is usually an abstract but very succinct description of what your program hopes to achieve.

These objectives should be specific, achievable within a twelve-month time frame, in a distinct geographical location and result in real outcomes that are easily measurable.

The objectives need to be matched with strategies that show how each will be achieved by whom and by when.

This should begin with a rationale for why the particular approach was chosen at this time and for this community.

Grant proposals need a detailed evaluation strategy to measure accomplishment of program objectives.

Foundations and other grant makers require assistance to determine whether a proposed project represents a sensible investment for them.

Ideally provision should be made for an independent outside evaluation of the proposed project.

The required presentation of the program budget can vary from a simple one page statement of income and expenses to a more complex set of budget papers including explanatory notes various items of revenue or expense.

The main thing is to be honest about your proposed expenditure and income as Sam Lipski, Chief Executive of the Pratt Foundation writes, "Be as open as possible about your financial situation eg. your balance sheet, where else you are applying for funds, and how you have arrived at the sum that you are seeking."

If you are successful in securing a grant for your project, don't forget to show your appreciation to your funders and to communicate regularly with them throughout the life of the project and beyond. If they know you have successfully completed a project that continues to provide ongoing, sustainable benefits for the community, how much easier will your next attempt to win funding be?