Researching potential funding sources and developing relationships with funders are two critical elements of successful grantsmanship. But pressing proposal and report deadlines sometimes leave little time for those tasks. The following suggestions from Becky Day-Swain’s article, "The Grant Writer Job Description: Responsible for Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat" (CharityChannel, August 7, 2009), can help you streamline the work of writing proposals so you’ll gain time for those other activities. She recommends preparing:

1. A Master Case Statement with options for the composition of each section. Update this with new narratives for components as needed.
2. A Master Statistic List with a table containing the data funders want. Have this checked and updated for each new proposal.
3. A Master Outcome Report. Update earlier program objectives whenever a new objective is developed.
4. A Master List of Documents and Files. Include both hard copies and digital files of everything requested by funders.
5. A Proposal Development Team. Organize your staff so that all understand their role in the proposal development process.

[The complete article can be accessed only by CharityChannel subscribers.]

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Even experienced proposal writers may feel anxious when deadlines are looming. In "Overcoming Your Grant Writing Fears—Thirteen Needless Worries" (CharityChannel, May 17, 2009), Rebecca Vermillion Shawver deflates some of the most common terrors. Her advice:

1. Don’t fear you’ll look stupid to your co-workers if you don’t get the grant. No one has a perfect record; you will learn from your failures.
2. Don’t worry about which is more important—the need statement or the program description. They’re both essential.
3. Don’t worry about getting less than you ask for. Instead, work with your staff early on to figure out where you can make cuts, if necessary, without sacrificing program goals.
4. Reduce your worries about matching requirements. Show the resources your organization is providing to support the program.
5. To nip anxieties about staff participation, work closely with your colleagues and thank them for their contributions to the proposal development process.
6. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, create a timeline and a systematic process for completing all the necessary steps in a logical order.
7. If you get stuck staring at a blank screen, create either an outline or a fill-in-the-blank form with all the essential proposal elements. This will help you get started.
8. Stymied by short deadlines? If you make frequent funding requests to agencies with short deadlines, develop a draft based on the previous RFP and edit it later to accommodate the changes.
9. Don’t waste energy worrying about being rejected by a funder who looks like a good fit for your program, and don’t waste time writing a proposal that looks like an extreme long shot.
10. Instead of wringing your hands because a funder doesn’t know about your organization, start sending them newsletters, annual reports, media pieces, etc., months before the proposal is due.
11. Don’t be afraid to meet with a funder. Ask a peer from another organization to introduce you, or invite a colleague from your own staff to accompany you to a scheduled meeting.
12. To avoid post-award regrets, make sure your organization’s staff understand what they’ll be obligated to do if you get the grant.
13. Other worries or concerns? Discuss them with colleagues at other organizations and with people in your professional networks.

[The complete article can be accessed only by CharityChannel subscribers.]

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The vast majority of private foundations in the United States are small, unstaffed, and managed by the donors and their families. But they can be good prospects for grants. In August 2009, GuideStar reported on the results of a survey of family foundations. Asked what advice they would give to grantseekers, the foundations responded: Use your board and others connected to your organization to develop relationships with the family members on an informal basis before you develop a proposal or make an official contact. The survey showed that, compared to larger foundations, family foundations are much more likely to make unrestricted grants for general support, if a connection is made, and much less likely to have complex application requirements. Other tips from the survey respondents:

• Communicate by email.
• Be sure your request aligns with the interests of the foundation.
• Your proposal should be long enough to make your purpose clear without going into unnecessary detail.
• Clearly explain your goals, your plans, and how you will measure success.
• Avoid hyperbole and rhetorical flourishes.
• Correct all typos and grammatical errors before submitting your proposal.

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A new survey of corporate giving staff by the LBG Research Institute shows that most corporations and almost half of corporate foundations reduced their charitable giving budgets in 2009. Highlights of the survey report "Making the Most of What We Have: Corporate Giving in the New Economy" appear in "Report Helps Nonprofits Craft Corporate Goals" (Federal and Foundation Assistance Monitor, September 2, 2009). Eighty-four percent of the corporations surveyed said they would encourage more employee volunteerism and that they’ve already seen an increase in the proportion of employees who volunteer their time. About a third of the respondents said they are seeking new nonprofit partners to better match corporate goals. Slightly more than half said they’ll be paying more attention to measurability and to nonprofit accountability. The LBG Research Institute predicts that, over the long run, corporations will continue to become more strategic and deliberate in their giving.

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To most program planners, research proposals appear to be a breed unto themselves, with a structure and lingo all their own. And most grantseekers who write proposals for program support may believe that research grants are either beyond their reach or irrelevant to their concerns.

Research, however, isn’t the exclusive province of scientists and academicians. In fact, almost every form of program planning involves some element of research. The evaluation processes of many grant-funded programs, for example, reflect a "research" perspective in tracking what did or did not work. Complex federal program grants often include some aspects of research grants, calling for considerable data collection and analysis. The federal government may also require grantees to participate in a common data collection system that allows the funding agency to carry out its own research into program effectiveness.

True research grants do demand a more rigorous analysis of quantitative values than most proposal writers may be accustomed to. They also require the compilation of more statistical data and more hard evidence. Knowledge of what others are doing, as reflected by citations from peer-reviewed journals instead of the popular press, is essential.

Nonetheless, the principal difference between research proposals and program proposals is a matter of focus and intent rather than structure or logic. Simply put, when the primary purpose of a grant is to learn something rather than to meet client needs or address a community problem, it is a research proposal and an appropriate format is needed. Thus, social service providers might use a research approach, if not a research format, for preparing a feasibility study. Local governments might use it to pursue a neighborhood needs assessment. Or a performing arts group might use it to propose a study to determine the relationship between audience preferences and market forces.

Funders themselves sometimes blur the distinction between research activities and program activities, and some government grantmakers support program activities with grants that look like they are directed toward research. Several competitions within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, follow a Public Health Service grant format which was created for research but which has morphed into a quasi-programmatic format. One clue is that when the points allotted for the outcomes and the evaluation combined equal at least 30% of the total points awarded, the grant competition is likely to require a strong research orientation.

Applying the principles of writing strong research proposals can help enhance many program proposals. This is especially true when dealing with the evaluation section of a proposal. It is always important to look at the evaluation process and ask:

• Does our evaluation plan really tell us what we want to know?
• Are there variables beyond our control that will affect our results?
• When we get to the end of this process, what will we know that we didn’t know before?
• Is there other information we can collect that will help us do a better job of serving our clients and prepare us for developing future programs?

Clearly measurable outcomes, careful data collection processes, and appropriate analysis will bolster a reviewer’s confidence—not just in your ability to evaluate a program, but in your ability to conduct it as well.

The research approach also has implications for writing the problem discussion and for designing a method. A problem discussion is always stronger when it is supported by well-researched data and when it reflects a thoughtful interpretation of that data. A program that is developed with an awareness of contexts, models, and precedents has far greater appeal than one that appears to have been developed in a vacuum.

Similarly, applying research done by others when designing a method leads to a stronger program plan. Citing examples of other programs, and recognizing what has made them successful or unsuccessful, gives assurance that the proposed project is realistic and that it is likely to produce the desired results.

Charles R. (Chuck) Putney is a trainer for The Grantsmanship Center. He will co-lead the December 1-3, 2009, Research Proposal Workshop in Seattle, Washington. Chuck developed this workshop in 2002 in collaboration with staff of Sigma Xi, the Science Research Society. This article is excerpted from "Understanding Research Proposals," one of a series of five articles in The Grantsmanship Center’s newest publication, Adapting the Program Planning & Proposal Writing™ Model. The complete article examines each component of a research proposal in detail.

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