How to Write a Federal Grant Proposal

Winning a federal grant is not easy when people from all across the country apply for this each year. To help you out, here is how you do it.

The proposal is made of many parts and when this is put together, it should be able to give the reader an idea of what you want, how this is to be achieved, how much will it cost and what are the short and long term objectives.

Before you apply for a federal grant, you must already have an idea as to what you are proposing as this will help you figure out what is your need statement.

The need statement is the starting point of writing a grant proposal because this is what the funders will be looking at when they decide whether to grant this to you or not. When it is being written, focus on the people you serve and not your organization, use statistical facts and expert testimony, avoid circular reasoning and it must be easy for the reader to understand.

After the need statement, you have to write down what are your goals and objectives. By stating this in quantifiable terms, you have an idea who in the community will be best served and what your organization hopes to accomplish.

For the reader to be convinced that such goals and objectives can be met, you have to show what methods you will be using to make this happen. When this section is being written, you have to explain why such methods were chosen and if such activities are feasible.

After these actions are taken, you have to answer the question which is how are you able to evaluate the project you are proposing. It should answer whether your hypothesis was right, were the objectives were met, did you make a significant impact at all, what was the feedback of the people and what changes need to be made to make it more successful in the future.

In the end, the big question will be how much are you asking for in your proposal. If this is a direct federal grant, you may be able to get a huge sum. This is less likely for the pass through grant since you only get a small slice of the pie.

It would be nice if you have funding from other sources so the government will see that you are asking other organizations for their help and support.

In every grant proposal, you must never forget to talk about your organization and what does it do exactly. This is what distinguishes you from other organizations out there and if you have had successful accomplishments in the past, it would be nice to bring them up as these are plus points in the eyes of the reader.

Once you are finished putting the most important parts of the grant proposal, it is time to put it together. If it consist of a lot of pages, better put in a table of contents.

The grant proposal must be reviewed before it is submitted so that you will have time to make those finishing touches. When it is ready, send it and hope that after all your hard work, you will be able to win the federal grant.