6+ Sample Grant Project Proposal

What Is a Grant Project Proposal?

First of all, what does a grant mean? To put it simply, a grant refers to a quantity of money, usually a financial reward or assistance, that is given by the government or another organization for the purpose of funding a project, usually ones that are requested by charitable organizations. Even though the grantee is not required to reimburse the money after a certain period of time, there are some cases wherein grantees of abandoned projects are required to repay the money since there was no end product being realized.

What is a grant project proposal? It simply refers to a proposal document that is a request for funding for a non-profit or for-profit initiative. Although grant submissions are hardly a safe bet or a solution to a financial issue, they do play a part in assisting most organizations. On the surface, grant proposals appear to help solely the organization or individual entrepreneur in need of funds, but that is not usually the case. Despite the fact that grant submissions are connected with charity organizations, most charities attempt not to rely entirely on grants since they are time-bound and limited in scope.

Important Parts of a Grant Project Proposal

Here are the important types of information that you should include when you draft a grant project proposal:

Cover Page. This is the first important part of writing a grant project proposal, and is usually the first thing you see, as it is the cover page. Most funders want a certain structure for the cover page and certain forms are usually provided in order to summarize essential project facts. The project title, project cost, funds asked from the sponsor, and basic information such as names, addresses, and contact numbers are often given on the cover page.Abstract/Summary. In this section, it is critical to be specific regarding what you want to achieve and how you intend to utilize the funds if you receive them. It may appear strange to place the summary before the rest of the proposal, but this is where it all comes down when you submit your plan. You’ll write this summary statement last – after you’ve got everything else – but it is also important to keep the other sections clean and succinct in mind. Then all you have to do for the summary is utilize short, concise snippets.Table of Contents. This is the part of the grant project proposal wherein all the important elements and divisions, as well as listings of pictures, tables, and appendices for the reviewer’s convenience are clearly covered.Introduction. Writing a good grant application introduction is extremely crucial since it sets the tone for the rest of the submission. The introduction of the project grant proposal defines the project’s aims, schedule, and enough history to offer reviewers who may not be specialists in the topic and may not have a framework of common knowledge.Needs Statement. The needs component of the project grant proposal must be a thorough examination of the subject area, but it should not be a plea for general funding. When writing, describe the needs of your project, area, or neighborhood without dwelling on poverty. Instead, concentrate on why your group should be financed to carry out this critical mission. Create such an enticing argument that no one will be able to resist backing your action plan.Goals. When writing this part of the grant project proposal, be specific as to what you hope to achieve as you develop ideas for a proposal. The ideas that you come up with will be written in this part. Also, ensure that the goals you’ve written down are very easy but also crucial that they should be attained. To be sponsored, your purpose or goals must be important. These should demonstrate that the plan is clear, important to society, and will have a significant influence on how the community is managed and administered.Objectives. The project grant proposal’s objectives section will detail how you anticipate the project to achieve the targets. The objectives must be in line with both the needs and the aims. In writing this section, clearly define the strategies you and your colleagues will utilize to achieve each goal. Furthermore, ensure that you have quantifiable objectives to monitor how you will know whether the project is meeting its objectives. Provide specific benchmarks which will be utilized to measure performance.Review of Literature. The grant proposal’s review of literature section contains descriptions of work done by others, giving evaluators the idea of how this study would build on what has previously been done by others. The review of literature section will also emphasize how the proposed initiative differs and is distinct from previous efforts.Narrative. This part of the project grant proposal is the action plan that will guarantee the success of the project: what you’ll do, how you’ll do it, where you’ll do it, and who will do what. When writing this part, it should be done in a straightforward yet concise manner. It is also helpful to include specifics and examples to demonstrate that your proposal is a likely winner. This section’s clarity and compelling description will convince the grant reader that this is an essential proposal to finance.Budget. In this section of the grant project proposal, go through the specifics of your strategy and how much money you will need to complete each component. Make a budget for the money you’ll need to do everything you need to accomplish. Also,  compose a budget story in addition to your budget list. Use this to fully explain all of the components listed to demonstrate that every dime is essential to ensure success. You should list your spending in an easy-to-read fashion and ensure that each budget item is properly defined.Personnel. This section of the grant project proposal is crucial since who offers to perform a project is as significant as what is presented. This is due to the fact that a grant can be considered an investment. Reviewers must be persuaded that the project team is competent. Proper education and training, having a scientific track record, particular expertise in the field, an acceptable percentage of effort devoted, and the employment of consultants to address gaps in employee competence are examples of evidence supporting a team’s capability of successfully performing the task.Evaluation. The evaluation is the natural conclusion to the proposal and gives a clear statement to the sponsor that the project has been thoroughly thought over and that the primary investigator is pleased that the stated goals have been met. A well-developed assessment process can result in better-articulated project objectives. It is also critical that you do not conduct the assessment yourself. Hiring outside assessors demonstrates how dedicated you are to analyzing if your approach was successful.Dissemination. This part of the project grant proposal talks about how you will inform the larger community about the ultimate results of your project. Funders are interested in the long-term impact of your initiative. The more individuals who benefit from your initiative, the more intriguing and important it is to the backer of the project.

Different Examples of Grants

Listed and discussed below are some of the different types of grants that exist:

How to Write a Project Grant Proposal

After thorough research and planning, your organization has now arrived at the point where it needs to kickstart its operations. The problem is, where would you acquire funds? Well, to acquire them, writing a project grant proposal would be a start. With that being said, here are the steps to follow when writing one.

  • 1. Writing the Cover Letter

    As this is what the readers will notice first when the proposal is submitted, it is important that this should be done properly in order to make a good impression. Your cover letter is the ideal opportunity to attract the funder’s interest and get him/her going for the rest of the proposal. It also provides the best opportunity to draw the reader’s attention to your project proposal. When writing this portion of the proposal, it is critical to keep everything brief and straightforward, to tell the readers what you truly need for the project, and to establish a link between the possible sponsor and your idea.

  • 2. Summarize the Project and Needs

    Every project grant proposal needs to start with a summary. This is practically a synopsis of the proposal, which includes your organization, your market segment, and your project goals. When writing this part of the proposal, it is important to introduce your organization to the potential sponsors and explain how you will spend the funds. It is also important to get to the point quickly while being factual in the process. As it is only a summary, it is important to not give away too much information in this section.

  • 3. Introduction and Needs Statement

    After providing a brief summary, now is the time to write the introduction of your proposal and the corresponding needs statement. In introducing your organization, you must demonstrate that it has the capacity and ability to accomplish all deliverables, not just from an execution standpoint, but also from a legal, safety, and quality one. In writing the needs statement, extensive research is recommended. The research process includes the history of the problem in your community and explanations as to why this project might make a big difference. The key here is also to highlight urgency.

  • 4. Goals and Objectives

    After providing the introduction and needs statement of the proposal, get straight to explaining the goals and objectives of the project grant proposal. One thing to remember in this step is that you should write the details concerning the desired outcome of the project and how the success of it is going to be measured. In writing this section, keep in mind that the objectives should be SMART. What does it mean? It simply means that it should be Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. This section will also detail important information concerning the benefits that the beneficiary of the grant will be able to see.

  • 5. Methodology

    The methodology part of the project grant proposal serves to explain how the goals and objectives that were stated in the previous parts are going to be achieved. A critical element to remember or demonstrate in this area is that the potential sponsor must realize that the methods written down are rational, cost-effective, and researched properly.

  • 6. Write the Evaluation Section

    After outlining the methodology section of the grant proposal, the evaluation section comes next. All funders will search for evaluations, thus this is one of the most critical aspects in creating a grant proposal. An evaluation may be highly costly, as it requires admission and exit criteria as well as carefully focused in-scope operations. All out-of-scope assessment tasks must be stated, as this phase has a high potential for budget overruns.

FAQs

Are there word count limits for writing a grant?

The answer totally depends on the potential grantor or sponsor. If a grantor has a set word count or character restriction on their proposal sections, you won’t be able to include anything more than what they demand. The challenge may come while attempting to limit your material. Also, if they have a flexible word restriction for any reason, you will need to become acquainted with the word count tool in your writing application.

What if my project grant proposal is rejected?

There are many things you can do, depending on how it was rejected. You should not resubmit if your proposal was denied due to a faulty idea or because you submitted it to the incorrect potential sponsor. However, if you were denied due to flaws in some of your initiatives, lack of examples of the initiatives you’ve mentioned, or a poor rating, you should consult with the sponsor about what needs to be changed and reapply as soon as feasible.

Who should be on the project grant writing team?

The personnel that should be included in a grant writing team are the key administrators and the content experts. They are especially important since they possess the ability and the authority to make the right decisions concerning the project. Auxiliary personnel that can also be included in the team include designers, editors, statisticians, etc.

One thing to keep in mind, when you need to write a project grant proposal, is that the projects that are to be funded by the potential sponsors must have a clear vision of showing tangible results otherwise the grant is not going to be given. The last thing that you would want to do is to present a grant proposal to the sponsor and the latter reject the proposal since every reason not to fund the project is stated there. When you’re writing a project grant proposal of your own, you can scour for examples here that may prove to be a great help.