Posts from — October 2009

We often receive questions about grants and grant writing. To best serve our friends with questions and our readers, we will post these questions and our answers on a regular basis (as best we can!). If you have a question about grants, grant writing and/or grant seeking, please email us using the contact page on the blog.

Our question this week is as follows:

Can I use a grant template to help me write proposals?

Using a grant template can save a lot of time when assembling proposals and filling out grant applications. So the short answer to the question would be “yes.” However there are some important things to keep in mind when using a template or boilerplate when preparing grant proposals.

There is a common set of information that is needed for most, if not all, grant proposals – a description of your program, the needs you are addressing, your qualifications or credentials (or those of your organization), a list of your board members, your contact information, etc. Most of that kind of information will be “static” or will not vary from proposal to proposal. So much of that can be boilerplated, allowing you to cut and paste as needed.

If you are paying attention to the funders’ missions and application requirements, you will find that they can vary from funder to funder, even for organizations funding projects in the same interest areas. An outdoor classroom project for an elementary class may have appeal to both an environmental group and a local corporate sponsor. Each will have a distinct mission that they are trying to accomplish through their own grant programs, thus you will need to tailor your proposal so that it properly aligns with each funder’s interests.

Having your template on hand gives you the foundation layer of your proposal making your proposal process quicker and shorter. You can make minor changes as needed for each proposal or add on to the template if the guidelines require you to give more detailed information. Therefore you should never use your template like a cookie cutter, where each proposal looks and reads the same as any other that you have written. Generic statements about your program are a sure turn-off for funders and will most likely lead to a rejected proposal.

So, again, yes, using a template is a good idea, but don’t use it like a rubber stamp. Consider it the starting point for your proposals.