Grantwriting

Virtually all foundation grant proposals require a budget, especially if you are asking for money for a specific project. A well-crafted budget demonstrates:

New fundraisers often find themselves surprised at how often they must employ writing skills on the job. To cultivate and solicit donors, we need to write proposals, letters, emails and other communication pieces.For many of us, there is nothing quite so frightening as the blank page. When it comes time to write, we find it difficult to find the right words, put them in the right order or convey the right message.

Does your proposal send the message: “Our organization is lazy”?Sometimes our proposals make the wrong impression.

You probably already know that there are certain elements that should be included in a proposal to a grant-making foundation such as a clear project description, evaluation methods and a budget.But the best grant writers know that there are some things to avoid as well:

It’s 3:00 in the afternoon. The mail is picked up from your office at 4:30. A proposal to a foundation must be mailed today. Your computer screen is blank. Does this sound familiar?

A letter of inquiry is a proposal in miniature that some foundations require as the first step in the grantmaking process.