Things Not to Do (In My Opinion)

Ralph Nelsen, CEC

  1. Don't expect a committee to WRITE a good proposal! A committee is probably necessary to PLAN and DEVELOP a winning grant application, but, in the interests of continuity and "smoothness," the actual writing is best done by a single person.

  2. Don't expect your proposal writer to "find time" for the job. Successful grants are rarely written in a person's spare time. You just can't compete with the "grants pros" when you are writing in snatches between hall duty, meeting with an angry parent, preparing for a school accreditation team, or correcting a hundred English term papers, or planning the spring Field Day festivities. So, I will advise, if you can't provide the writer (and other developers, too, in fact) with adequate released time, don't bother.

  3. Don't expect news about available grant programs to fall from the sky. If your school or agency expects to be successful in proposal competitions on a regular basis, you''' just have to carve out enough time for a designated GSF (grant source finder) to review funding newsletters, check on government agency publications, surf the Internet, and make lots of "homework" phone calls.

  4. Speaking of publications, don't expect to bring in a lot of outside funding without putting up some "risk money" of your own. Remember the old expression, "it takes money to make money." Your GSF has to have a modest budget for grants newsletter subscriptions, telephone "fact finding expeditions," and often for airline ticket, hotel rooms, and hamburgers when a face-to-face visit to a potential funder seems appropriate.

  5. Don't be late! If the deadline for a proposal is April 20, make sure you know if that means the application package must ARRIVE at the funding agency on April 20 or if you only have to have it POSTMARKED on April 20. And, by the way, always send in your application by CERTIFIED mail and hang on to the post office receipt like it is gold!

  6. Don't forget that the competition will probably be fierce and that "Every little thing counts." For this reason, it is just about imperative that you use top flight hardware and software--- flexible word-processing and desktop publishing programs, laser printers or high quality color ink jet printers, etc. Like it or not, "neatness counts" and you should pay a whole lot of attention to the "cosmetics" of proposal production.


    1. Don't invent your own proposal format! Follow the regulations and guidelines TO THE LETTER. Those who review your application will almost always be following a score sheet that precisely parallels the or of the criteria listed in the guidelines. They HATE it when the proposal writer makes them dig though pages to find something that really should be in a precise place. (Sometimes they don't even bother to look.) So, as strange and illogical as it might seem to you, follow the guidelines when outlining your document.

    2. In the occasional instance that an agency does not specify a format for you to follow, use this one:

      1. Overview

      2. Needs (Problems to be addressed and how they were identified)

      3. Goals (What you want to do about the problem?)

      4. Plan of Operation (How you are going to go about doing what you want to do?)

        1. Target Audience (including recruitment and selection)

        2. Timeline

        3. Activities

        4. Resources Required

      5. Personnel (Who is going to do the job?)

      6. Evaluation (How will you know if and how well you have met your goals?)

      7. Dissemination (How are you going to share your accomplishments with others?)

      8. Budget (What is it going to cost to solve the problem?)


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