Writing a Successful Grant Proposal

Purdue extension

EC-737

Maria I. Marshall

Department of Agricultural Economics

Purdue University

Aaron Johnson

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Oregon State University

Joan Fulton

Department of Agricultural Economics

Purdue University

Audience: Business managers seeking grant

funding to support their business activities

Content: Explains the steps involved in completing

a successful grant proposal and presents specific

examples for new business ventures

Outcome: Readers will understand the necessary

steps in writing a successful grant proposal.

Introduction

For many people, applying for a grant is a mysterious process.

You may have the feeling that those who are successful and

receive grants are either lucky or have “inside connections.”

But grant writing does not have to be mysterious. In most

cases, grants are awarded based on a careful review process

with criteria that everyone has access to.

In this publication, we help you break down the mystery of

preparing a more competitive grant application. In the

following sections, we outline the steps you need to complete.

The examples that we use in this publication are oriented

towards grants to assist new business ventures. But because

the steps to completing a successful grant proposal are the

same for all grants, this publication will be useful even if you

are considering a grant in another area. At the end of the

publication, you will find a series of worksheets to help you

with the process of writing a successful grant proposal.

Ensuring a Good Fit

Let’s face it—when you are applying for a grant you are

asking an agency for money. Agencies generally award

funding to solve problems or address issues that are important

to them. Therefore, to maximize your chance of success, be

sure your proposal indicates you will be addressing a problem

or improving a situation the agency funding the grant thinks

is important.

There are different ways to ensure a good fit between your

proposal and the funding agency. First, you are off to a great

start if your goals are consistent with the agency’s goals. Next,

check the call for proposals (sometimes called “request for

proposals” [RFP] or “notice of funds available” [NOFA]). In

the remainder of this publication we use the phrase “call for

proposals.”

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Check and see if the objectives for this particular grant

coincide with your objectives. Keep in mind that there are

different objectives. For example, sometimes job creation is

the goal, while another time increased regional income is the

focus. While job creation and increased regional income are

related, it is possible to have higher income in the region with

no new jobs. Therefore, it is critical that you identify what

outcomes are important for this agency and this grant proposal

and make sure your proposal addresses these objectives.

So, what do you do if your project is not a good match for a

particular agency and grant? Sometimes, you may be able to

effectively change your proposal to meet the expectations of

the funding agency. But be careful! It is easy to fool yourself

into believing you have made all necessary changes to fit the

call for proposals. However, the people reviewing the proposals

can quickly figure out that you are really trying to “fit a

square peg in a round hole” and place your proposal towards

the bottom of the pile.

Also, be sure to protect your integrity. Determine what your

goals are and what you want to do. Make sure that the

proposal you submit is consistent with your goals. If you have

to adjust your proposal so much that you sacrifice your core

goals and objectives, you will not only have tarnished your

integrity, but you won’t be successful in the long run.

If your proposal is not a good fit for the grant, look for other

funding sources rather than prepare a proposal with little

chance of success. Just because you decide not to develop a

proposal now does not mean that you have given up on your

project. You are simply looking for another funding source

that is a better fit.

Proposal Preparation

Before you begin to write your proposal, there are several steps

you should take to prepare. Although the temptation is strong

to immediately begin writing, your proposal will be much

more effective if you do some “homework” first.

List Goals and Objectives of the

Program

Begin by determining the priority areas of the funding agency.

Carefully examine the call for proposals, because the goals

and objectives of the specific grant are often explicitly listed

there. Also, pay attention to what the granting agency is doing

and what they are saying publicly. Take a look at recent press

releases from the funding agency. Review recent speeches or

public presentations given by leaders from that agency. You

will gain important insight about their priorities.

Of course you don’t have to follow through on every one of the

above suggestions, but gathering background information

from different sources is a useful way to identify the goals of

the program. When you have a clear sense of what the agency

values, you can adapt your proposal accordingly. We have

provided a worksheet to help you capture the agency’s goals

and objectives, and determine how your proposal fits them

(Agency’s Goals worksheet, p. 7).

Example: Jane’s Winery

Jane owns a small winery. Her business currently involves a vine-

yard and wine production. All of her current sales are through

distributors. She would like to open a tasting room and sell her

wine directly to consumers, but she is not sure if there is suf-

ficient consumer demand to be successful. Jane is going to apply

for a grant from a government agency to fund market research

to determine the market feasibility of her business idea.

The call for proposals from the government agency is as follows:

The objective of this research is to identify an array of innova-

tive marketing strategies to increase sales of agricultural and

related products. The research will assess and evaluate the

type, size, and location of market opportunities and enable

the decision maker to develop strategies to gain entry into

these markets. Examples of appropriate topics for research

include, but are not limited to: Assessment and Specifica-

tion of Marketing Opportunities, Development of Marketing

Systems, and Development of Innovative Real-Time Systems.

Because Jane’s project involves the assessment and specification

of the market potential for direct sales of wine from a tasting

room, it is a very good fit for this funding agency. This is further

confirmed after she watches a Webcast of a presentation by the

program administrator and during a brief phone conversation

with the program director. Knowing that her interests align

well with the program, she is now curious as to how well her

proposed idea will score with the proposal reviewers.

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List Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Most grants have specific criteria that the reviewers use for

evaluating all of the proposals. These criteria are often

explicitly stated in the call for proposals. Reviewers are

instructed to evaluate all of the proposals accordingly. In some

instances, the number of points that the reviewers could

potentially assign to each criterion is also listed. Make sure that

your proposal matches the criteria set out by the funding agency.

As you are preparing your proposal, pay careful attention to

these criteria. Put yourself in the position of a reviewer, and

evaluate how well you would rate your proposal according to

each criterion. We have provided a worksheet for you to list

the evaluation criteria and rate your own proposal based on

them (Evaluation Criteria worksheet, p. 8).

Seek Clarification

When you first read the call for proposals, you may have the

feeling that it is filled with jargon, and, if so, you are not

alone. Grant programs often have a set of definitions and

language that are unique to that program. To assist you, there

is usually a list of definitions somewhere in the call for

proposals. After reviewing the list of terms, you may have

questions about terminology, as well as other aspects of the

grant. If so, write them down.

Once you have your questions written down, you are ready to

call or e-mail the contact person at the funding agency. The

name and contact information are usually listed in the call for

proposals. Often, the preferred form of contact (e.g., e-mail or

telephone) is also listed. Naturally, it is a good idea to use the

preferred form of contact. The contact person at the funding

agency will be very pleased to work with you if, when you call,

your questions are well thought out and written down. After

all, the agency wants to award grants to people or organizations

that take preparing the proposal seriously because that is a sign

that you can complete good work and meet their stated goals.

List Tasks to Be Accomplished

Preparing a grant proposal is often an involved process. Begin

by developing a plan of attack. We suggest you generate a list

of tasks and assign different members of your team to

different tasks, along with specific due dates. This will help

you monitor the progress of your grant proposal.

Then begin to execute your plan. In laying out the plan,

consider what things you have control over and what things

Example: Evaluation Criteria for Jane’s Winery

Jane explores how highly her idea will rate with the program

reviewers by having an objective person score her idea based on

the program’s criteria. The call for proposals from the government

agency lists the following evaluation criteria and possible points.

• Feasibility: (0-15 points)

Are the stated objectives logical, and will they lead toward

proving the type, size, and location of the market opportuni-

ties? Does the research plan offer an original and innovative

approach to the problem? Can the research plan reasonably

be completed in the requested grant period?

• Importance of the Problem: (0-15 points)

Does the proposal provide sufficient justification for the

importance of the problem and clearly indicate the anticipated

commercial potential of the proposed research?

• Investigator and Resource Qualifications: (0-10 points)

Is adequate bibliographic information provided to document

that the project director, other key staff, and any consultants

have the appropriate training and experience to carry out the

proposed research plan?

• Budget: (0-3 points)

Is the budget appropriate for the proposed research plan,

and is sufficient budget detail provided to indicate clearly

how the funs would be used?

• Commercial Potential: (0-5 points)

Does the proposal provide sufficient explanation of the

commercial potential for the project?

Jane fills out the Evaluation Criteria form, detailing how her proj-

ect fits the scoring criteria of the program. She believes—and

the person helping her critique her proposal confirms—that

her only weak area is the “Importance of the Problem,” which is

not clearly defined. Therefore, she has decided to rewrite that

section of the proposal.

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you don’t. In addition, pay attention to those things that must

be done before you can complete subsequent tasks. Put the

tasks in the proper order, and start gathering the external

items sooner rather than later. Remember that in most cases

due dates for grant proposals are final. If your proposal is late,

it will be eliminated no matter how good it is. Good planning

is key to on-time delivery.

Writing the Proposal

Many funding sources are highly competitive and only fund a

small percentage of applications. A top-quality proposal, one

that gets funded, delivers a logical and consistent message

that matches the evaluation criteria laid out in the call for

proposals, involves a team that is well qualified for the

proposed work and has a positive track record, and includes a

budget that is appropriate for the work proposed.

The text that you write is the “guts” of your proposal. A top-

quality proposal contains a message that is easily understood

and believable. This message must be convincing to the

reviewers. Keep in mind that reviewers are often reviewing

many proposals and that one way to make it easier for a

reviewer to go through your proposal is to present your

information in a consistent format. When the funding agency

suggests a format in the call for proposals, follow it. Some-

times you can find a template for a particular grant on the

Internet. If you do use a template, make sure you check for

completeness, because, after all, you are the one responsible

for what you submit. In the following sections, we cover four

keys to success in writing proposals in more detail.

Priority Problem

By this point, you should know that the project that you are

proposing addresses a problem that is a priority with the

funding agency. As noted earlier, you are asking this agency

for money, and the agency wants to direct money towards

problems that they deem important. Make sure that the text of

your proposal is written so that the reviewers can easily see

how your project addresses the agency’s priority.

Partnerships

One person cannot do everything or be all things to all people.

Therefore, you need partnerships to complete most projects,

and developing linkages with appropriate partners can be a

key to success. Identify the weaknesses in your team, and seek

new team members to fill those “holes.” Sometimes, partners

bring matching funds, and it is important to document that

in your proposal. Other times, partners bring essential

technical expertise, and you can demonstrate that by describing

the activities your partners will take leadership on. Also, make

sure a letter of support from each partner is provided that

explicitly states his or her intended contribution.

When you write your proposal, you need to demonstrate to the

reviewers that you have all of the components in place. You

also want to highlight how the team will be able to work

successfully together. For example, by highlighting the

success of previous work, you can demonstrate that your team

is action-oriented and will make sure to deliver on deadlines.

To demonstrate that you have the necessary expertise on your

team, you may want to insert a section that highlights the

main skills and experience of each team member and identify

how that team member will contribute to meeting the

objectives of the project.

Draft, Review, Edit, and Repeat

There are some things you can do to make your proposal

easier for the reviewers to read. A happy reviewer is usually a

more positive reviewer. Make appropriate use of headings and

sub-headings. When possible, ensure that your headings and

sub-headings correspond to the sections identified in the call

for proposals. This makes it easier for the reviewers to find

specific sections. It is often helpful to support your text with

facts and figures. Make sure that your data is current, and cite

the sources for facts and figures. Failure to do so can cause

the reviewer to question your ability and integrity.

Your first draft will not yield a proposal that is easy to read.

You need to plan on writing and rewriting your proposal

several times. Each round of editing moves the proposal one

step closer to a proposal that is easy to read. During the

process, be sure to get feedback from others who are not afraid

to be totally candid with you. Wouldn’t you rather have your

feelings hurt a bit during the writing and rewriting process

than not get selected for funding because your proposal was

weak? You may also want to get assistance from an editor who

has experience putting proposals together.

There are many different things that you have to do when

writing a grant, and it would be easy to get caught up in

doing all of those and leave the actual writing of the text until

the last minute. This is not a wise use of time. Usually,

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reviewers spend the majority of their time evaluating the

written text, so make sure your text is well written. Well-

written text is free from spelling and typographical errors. It

flows easily and is a pleasure to read.

Developing the Budget

The budget is a critical piece of any grant proposal. In

preparing your budget, be careful to satisfy all criteria laid out

in the call for proposals. Some items (e.g., capital items) are

not allowable expenses. Often, a maximum budget value is

identified in the call for proposals. Make sure that your budget

requests are reasonable and calculated/estimated (as opposed

to guessed). Reviewers can sense when numbers are made up.

Keep in mind that the reviewers of your proposal understand

that it costs money to make things happen, so you don’t need

to apologize when you include costs that are fair.

There are different ways that you will communicate your

budget in your proposal. The funding agency may provide a

specific budget form for you to complete. You will most likely

also need to write a budget narrative that is included in the text

of the proposal. Keep the budget narrative succinct and to the

point, providing just enough information to build credibility.

Pulling It All Together

By now, you know that there will be several components to

your grant proposal. For some components, you will have to

simply fill in the blanks on different forms. For others, you

will have to write a narrative to explain your ideas. Pay

careful attention to the components that you are responsible

for but have no control over, such as letters of support and

partnership commitments. These are critical to your success,

but you are dependant on others for them. Be aware of

deadlines, and notify others of deadlines when you ask for

outside assistance.

Documents

The call for proposals usually gives detailed instructions

about the packet you need to put together as your submission.

It is important to get this packet correct. Some granting

agencies are very strict, and applications that are missing

even one element or contain an incomplete element will not

be considered for funding. Don’t put yourself into the position

of having done all the work to prepare a great proposal but,

because you missed submitting one component (e.g., budget

narrative), having your proposal moved to the “Incomplete

proposal, do not consider further” pile.

Your application packet will include items like a cover page, a

table of contents, project narrative, budget and budget

narrative, reference list, and bios/resumes of key personnel.

The grant announcement will identify which components are

required. Keep in mind that the program administrators often

take this list and generate a checklist that they and the

reviewers use to sort through and rank hundreds of proposals.

Also, your instructions may include requirements on the

number of copies of the application you need to submit. Once

again, be sure and deliver exactly what they ask for.

Matching Funds

Some grants require matching funds, and those grants

usually require verification of funds available. There are often

instructions on how to provide that verification. If you have

further questions, this is something you can add to your list of

questions to ask the program contact person.

Letters of Support

Letters of support and partnership commitments are critical to

your success, but you are dependant on others for them. Note

that it is your job to solicit and submit any letters of support.

You can even go so far as to draft the letter for people so that

all they have to do is edit the letter and print it on their

letterhead. The Letters of Support Plan worksheet (p. 9)will

help you keep track of the letters you want to include in your

proposal.

Meet the Deadline

Generating your own checklist helps you understand all of the

components necessary for a complete grant proposal package.

The Application Package Checklist (p. 10) will help you

develop your list.

Regardless of the tasks you need to complete, start by develop-

ing a plan of work, and begin to execute it. Consider what

things you have control over and what things you don’t. Put

the tasks in sequential order, and start gathering the external

items as soon as possible. Remember that the final deadline is

final. When you put your plan together, back schedule from

the final deadline, and determine your own deadlines for

specific tasks. The responsibility of meeting the final deadline

is entirely yours.

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Remember, some deadlines refer to a postmark, while others

refer to physical delivery, and still others involve electronic

submission. Pay close attention to both the date and time of

the deadline. Once, a group of researchers worked on a grant

application for over a year. When they submitted it a blizzard

hit, and their packet was stuck on a FedEx truck in a snow

bank. They missed their chance for that year. Don’t take

chances, and, if possible, get the application in early.

Example: Plan of Work for Jane’s Winery

Now the real work begins. Jane knows she will need a marketing researcher and a project director. State University has a couple of agri-

cultural marketing professors in the Applied Economics department, and one happens to specialize in on-farm retail. The professor has

agreed to help. Jane can take advantage of the off season to fill the role of project director. So she schedules a meeting to plan their pro-

posal. At their meeting, they developed the timeline below, complete with tasks and who is responsible. Of course, all of their plans are

targeted to be completed one week before the due date of the program, leaving room for one last external review and providing some slack.

You Can Do It

Applying for a grant can seem like a mysterious process. Begin

by using the worksheets and ideas from this publication to

break down the mystery. If you are willing to put in the time

and work, you can write a successful grant proposal.

Task Responsible Due Completed

Review the Call for Proposals Jane and Professor January 1

Evaluate Agency’s Goals using the Worksheet Jane January 10

Complete the Evaluation Criteria Worksheet Jane and Professor January 15

Develop the Application Package Checklist Jane January 15

Identify appropriate partners Jane and Professor January 20

Contact partners and ask for their interest and secure commitment

for letters of support

Jane and Professor January 22

Prepare your questions for the Contact person at the agency Jane January 30

Make contact and obtain answers to your questions Jane January 31

Revise worksheets as relevant with this new information Jane February 5

Draft, Review, Edit and Repeat Jane and Professor March 15

Develop Budget Jane and Professor March 20

Collect Letters of Support from Partners Jane March 1

Finalize Text Jane and Professor March 30

Complete all forms Jane April 1

Make copies of final proposal Jane April 5

Submit proposal at least 3 working days before the April 15

deadline using a courier service.

Jane April 10

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Granting Agency’s Goals

Where and When You

Found Out About This Goal

Describe How Your Proposal Contributes to This Goal

EXAMPLE: Help independent agricultural

producers enter into value-added activities

Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 43 /

Monday, March 7, 2005 / Notices

Our family farm (independent producer) will investigate the feasibility of

creating a vegetable puree processing business (value-added activity).

Agency’s Goals

In this worksheet, list the goals of the granting organization. These goals may be explicitly listed in the call for proposals, may be inter-

twined in the narrative, or you may have determined them from other sources. Be as specific as possible. Then, identify where and when

you found out about this goal. If you need to go back at a later time, this information will be useful. In the final column, note how your

proposal will fulfill each goal. By targeting your proposal to correspond to the priorities of the funding agency, you will increase your

chances of having a successful proposal.

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Evaluation Criteria Points Describe How Your Proposal Matches This Criteria Rating

EXAMPLE: Project Leadership 0-10 pts

Project leader has 10 yrs of operations management experience,

overseeing 5 expansion projects totaling $12.5 million dollars.

Evaluation Criteria

In this table, complete the first column by listing the evaluation criteria of the grant program. If the agency lists the points or percentages

that will be used in scoring, fill those values in the second column. In the third column, describe how your project fulfills these criteria. In

the last column, you have the opportunity to put yourself in the role of the reviewer and evaluate how well your proposal will rate accord-

ing to each evaluation criteria. You may also have someone else critique your proposal. Use a rating of 1-10, where 1 is low and 10 is high

in the last column.

Refine Ideas: As you write and revise your proposal, pay close attention to how you can position your proposal to earn the largest number

of potential points.

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Organization & Contact Information Objective

Letter

Requested

Letter

Received

EXAMPLE: State University

Pledge to assign Prof. Ling to conduct

a market survey.

10/31/06 12/3/06

Letters of Support Plan

In this table, list the organizations or individuals who will write you a letter of support. For each letter of support, identify how that orga-

nization or individual will support the objectives and purpose of your proposal. In the third column, note the date when you requested the

letter, and in the final column, note the date when you received the letter.

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Item Who Is Responsible Due Date Completed

10.

11.

12.

Total Application Package Due Date: Date Submitted:

Application Package Checklist

In the first column of this table, list the components of the application package you must submit. Some of these components will be

forms, some will be parts of the text (e.g., Table of Contents, Introduction), some will be support items (e.g., Letters of Support), and

some will be further information (e.g., Budget Narrative). In the second column, indicate who from your team is responsible for the

completion of the particular item. Fill in dates in the third column to help you plan for the sequential aspect of completing your applica-

tion. Finally, the last column acts as the check to make sure you have a proposal that is indeed complete.

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Notes

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www.agecon.purdue.edu/newventures

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