Step 6: Profiling Your Organization

Grant writers should begin by profiling their organization using demographic information. In a couple short paragraphs explain exactly what it is you or your organization does, as well as why the grantor can trust you or your organization to handle the project and money appropriately. If the proposal is in support of an individual, you may focus on that person’s stellar credit history and budgeting skills. If it is for an organization, you will want to add information showing a track record of successfully achieving goals and a governing body that is more than capable or carrying out the project being outlined.

Ideally you want to portray a pattern of growth and change over time (e.g. graduated high school and sought a college education to improve myself or the non-profit started as a small two-person operation and has now grown to include more than 20 volunteers). It is always best to show people helping people to accomplish something that they could not accomplish without the funding organization’s assistance.

Step 7: The Problem or Needs Statement

This is the main part, or body, of your grant proposal. You want to convince the grantor that your project is vitally important, that your group can accomplish it, that it can be done within the budget parameters, and that no one else is meeting that need. Typically, unless you are applying to a government agency or targeted foundation, you should assume that the reader does not know very much about your organization, the issue, or the problems at hand.

Describe the problem or need in both factual and human interest terms, if possible. Providing sound data demonstrates that your organization is expert in the field. If there are no good data on your issue, consider doing your own research study, even if it is simple and short-term.

Outline your issue in as local a context as possible. If you want to educate people in your county about HIV/AIDS, tell the funder about the epidemic in your county — not in the United States as a whole.

Always describe a problem or need that is about the same size as your solution or target audience. Do not, under any circumstances, draw a dark picture of nuclear war, teen suicide and lethal air pollution if you are planning a modest neighborhood arts program for children. Make sure that the problem and solution are of similar scope and size.

List a precise estimate of how many individuals will be impacted by the funding, their socio-economic and ethnic information, and measurable statistics about their current situation and/or academics. In the first few lines of this section, identify the issue, opportunity or problem in terms of measurable evaluative benefits to your target group. This forms the executive summary section, which should be only one or two paragraphs in length.