This book is an essential weapon for anyone looking for funding in the extremely competitive grantseeking world. It explains how and why to approach both public and private sponsors with not just information, but persuasion, for the best chance for success. How do you present the right balance of logic, emotion, and relationship-awareness to make a persuasive proposal? What is THE most important thing to do before submitting a proposal to increase your odds for funding success? What portion of the proposal must be stressed even when it has a low point value assigned to it in the reviewer's evaluation form? How can a site visit make or break the fate of a meticulously prepared application? Models of Proposal Planning & Writing: Second Edition answers all these critical questions and more for grantseekers, documenting how to write a proposal that will persuade a sponsor to invest in your projects and organization—and just as importantly, explaining why a properly persuasive application puts forth a seamless argument that stands the test of reason, addresses psychological concerns, and connects your project to the values of the sponsor. The book's comprehensive annotations provide practical information that walks readers step-by-step through a logical, integrated process of planning and writing persuasive proposals.

No matter whether you are approaching public or private sponsors, this thorough and detailed step-by-step guide will enable you to plan and write winning proposals. Grantseeking is always a competitive process. As organizational needs outstrip resources, groups turn to grants as a means of strengthening their financial footing while pursuing their missions. This book draws on the authors' three decades of grantseeking experiences in writing successful proposals, conducting grant workshops nationwide, reviewing government and foundation proposals, and critiquing application guidelines for grantmakers to lead readers through the process of planning and writing successful proposals. The authors first provide practical strategies for project planning, including identifying sponsors, matching grantseeker needs to sponsor priorities, and qualifying prospects through pre-proposal contacts. The authors then guide users systematically through proposal writing, including introducing a template for letter proposals to private foundations and corporations, describing the primary elements of government proposals, and providing tips for constructing a realistic budget. This advice as well as the key questions to answer before you begin writing; actual proposals that were declined, with rejection reasons; and complete sample letter proposals comprised in this volume will help both beginning and experienced grantseekers to better plan and develop fundable projects. Discusses resources to identify the tens of thousands of grantmakers that award more than $350 billion in philanthropic funds annually Provides a time-tested template to write proposals for private foundations and corporations, with samples to illustrate how the template can be used in different grant writing situations Features new examples of and strategies for increasing the overall quality and competitiveness of grant applications Addresses sponsors' increased attention to evaluation and their desire to move beyond counting participants and activities to measuring a project's impact Looks at different types of sustainability and interrelationships among grant proposal narratives, logic models, and budgets Offers new strategies for engineering and reverse engineering budgets to help maintain alignment between costs and activities and insulate against potential requests for budget reductions

This book is an essential weapon for anyone looking for funding in the extremely competitive grantseeking world. It explains how and why to approach both public and private sponsors with not just information, but persuasion, for the best chance for success. How do you present the right balance of logic, emotion, and relationship-awareness to make a persuasive proposal? What is THE most important thing to do before submitting a proposal to increase your odds for funding success? What portion of the proposal must be stressed even when it has a low point value assigned to it in the reviewer's evaluation form? How can a site visit make or break the fate of a meticulously prepared application? Models of Proposal Planning & Writing: Second Edition answers all these critical questions and more for grantseekers, documenting how to write a proposal that will persuade a sponsor to invest in your projects and organization-and just as importantly, explaining why a properly persuasive application puts forth a seamless argument that stands the test of reason, addresses psychological concerns, and connects your project to the values of the sponsor. The book's comprehensive annotations provide practical information that walks readers step-by-step through a logical, integrated process of planning and writing persuasive proposals. Provides a detailed discussion of pre-proposal contacts that identifies the questions that help to qualify potential funding sources and enable readers to fine-tune proposals so they more closely match sponsors' logical and psychological needs, priorities, and "hot buttons" Supplies comprehensive analyses of the key features that made successful proposals persuasive, including verbatim reviewer comments and sponsor grant award notification letters Incorporates new content and features in this updated edition, such as model proposals covering a broader range of health, education, and social service topics; easier-to-read annotations; expanded information on budgets and budget narratives; and a logic model that can be adapted for project-planning purposes An essential resource for anyone seeking funding for economic development (e.g., city planning, land use, urban revitalization); education, such as for libraries, day care programs, public and private schools, and colleges and universities; first responder services; government agencies; health care; philanthropic organizations; social services; fine or performing arts; and religious or other special interest groups