Make the difference between having and not having in your organization.

1. Tired of having to cut your budget because you didn't get all the Grant money you wanted?
2. Do your new Programs rely on you getting Grant Funding?

Grant writing for nonprofits can be a daunting task

Strict deadlines, a wide variety of formats, and individual preferences can create havoc at the grant writer’s desk. A busy, diligent grant writer can fall prey to the boiler plate syndrome or become overwhelmed by the constant barrage of organizational needs. Successful grant writers understand the need for creating a well thought out grants calendar and adhering faithfully to the organization’s mission. Crafting a grant proposal to meet a particular funder’s interests, even though it drifts from the organization’s mission, can be tempting; but should always be avoided. Here are some suggestions from funders on how to make your grant proposals more successful.

Three Tips from a Santa Barbara Nonprofit Foundation

Recently a leading community foundation in Santa Barbara shared three basic tips for nonprofits to remember when preparing grant proposals:

1. The need. Clearly describe the need your project will meet in the community.
    
2. Differentiation. Tell how your organization’s work is different from other nonprofits.
    
3. Make a difference. State how this grant will make a difference in the community.

Improve Your Foundation Grant Proposal

Pamela Grow from pamelasgrantwritingblog.com offers three ways of improving your foundation grant proposals:

1. Eliminate jargon.  Every industry has its own jargon—nonprofits are no different. Eliminate all internally used acronyms and jargon. Tell your story simply, from your heart.
    
2. Objective reviewer. After you finish writing a grant proposal, send it to a friend or colleague who doesn’t know anything about your nonprofit. If that person can understand it and become inspired, you will know its good.
    
3. Remember the 12/12/12 rule. Imagine yourself in the shoes of a program officer.  It’s midnight and she’s been working for 12 hours straight, reviewing grant proposals.  Yours is the twelfth one in the stack.  How are you going to get her attention?  How are you get her to fall in love with your organization’s mission?  The key lies in the story you tell. Pamela recommends the book, Storytelling for Grantseekers.

Avoid these Common Grant Writing Mistakes

Joanne Fritz from Nonprofit.About.com suggests all grant writers have a copy of Marvin Teitel's book, Winning Foundation Grants: A Foundation CEO Reveals The Secrets You Need to Know on their bookshelf. Teitel gives us the view from the other side of the desk as the ED of a foundation who has seen thousands of proposals over the years. He says that there are five common mistakes that proposal writers make:

1. Talking more about problems than solutions. A proposal is not a pamphlet that educates and mobilizes the public. Your proposal must show that you are familiar with the issue you're dealing with, but must, first and foremost, focus on what you’re are going to do about the problem or need.
    
2. Addressing specific problems with general solutions. A successful proposal provides a clear picture of what your organization will do to address the issue at hand. Don't just wax eloquent about the problem - provide specific details about the actions you will take to address the problem. Teitel says that a lack of concrete action might be because the writer is insufficiently aware of what's being done by her organization. Or, it could mean that the group needs to go back to their strategic planning before they try to raise funds.
    
3. Using buzzwords and jargon. Teitel says, "Some proposal writers confuse density with erudition." What one needs is simple prose that "tells a story or paints a picture." Avoid vague claims, trendy language, and obscure terms - they won't impress the funder and may actually cause him to dislike your proposal.
    
4. Budgets that don't make sense. Teitel says that, surprisingly, quite a number of proposals arrive with math errors that undermine the organization's credibility. He points out that, “...the budget should not only add up, it also has to support the logic of the proposal's narrative.”
    
5. Repeating exact phrases from the funder's guidelines. Just pasting phrases from the funder's guidelines into your proposal will not result in funding. All good proposals should fit the foundation's guidelines, but telling how and why they fit is what is important. Cutting and pasting just says that you've read the funder's website.