Writing a good proposal maybe a good step for getting funding. The proposal must be brief enough to inform the recipient who you are, what you do and why you need the funding but must be comprehensive enough to explain the essential components of your project. Before sending the final version of your proposal I suggest remembering these few things:
- Choose the right organization or recipient of the proposal
- Know and understand what programs and projects they support
- Know what you are asking for and understand the implication of the funding for your organization
The most important sets of papers you should prepare are the cover letter, the table of contents, the executive summary, and the project summary.
You may be wondering why I skipped the letter of inquiry. In this age of the Internet, you may not need an inquiry considering that most funding organizations are publishing their guidelines and requirements in their respective websites.
Let's start with the Executive Summary and the Project Summary. We can deal with the Table of Contents later.
Here are the lists of things to remember when preparing your Executive Summary and Project Summary
Executive Summary
An Executive Summary should contain the following:
- Project Title
- Contact Person
- Applicant Information
- Mission Statement
- Problem Statement
Executive Summary - Checklist
- One page
- A headline for each major topic
- Project Title
- Contact Person and Contact Information of project proponent
- Applicant or Project Proponent's Information
- Mission Statement
- Problem Statement
- Project Summary
- Expected Results
- Applicant's or Project Proponent's Investment
- Funding Requirement
Project Summary
A Project Summary should contain the following:
- Project Summary
- Expected Results
- Our Investment
- Funding Request
The Executive Summary template we follow for the Canadian International Development Agency contains the following:
- Title Page (name of project, name and contact information of the person in CIDA, and name and contact information of our organization)
- Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Project Title
- Contact Person
- Applicant Information
- Mission Statement
- Problem Statement
- Project Summary
- Applicant's Investment
- Funding Requirement
Project Summary - Checklist
- Significant Project Components
- Key Requirements
- List of items that constitutes at least 40% of the value of the total requirement
- The specific components of the project that is tied to the key requirement
- Word count requirement
- Margins
- 12-point, text font (maximum) 11-point (minimum)
You maybe asking: What exactly is the difference between the executive summary and the project summary?
The Executive Summary is an overview or a glimpse of the major components or aspects of the project while the Project Summary contains only information specific to the project or mainly on project activities. The Project Summary is part of the Executive Summary.
Elements of the Problem Statement
The problem statement must have the following:
- A specific, logical and narrative description of the problem
- The description should be back up by statistical and comparative data
- Use data from a study of a local condition or from a local assessment
- Explain historical data or use data to explain a pattern or progression
- End with an emphatic statement of the problem
Problem Statement - Checklist
- Description of the broader issue or problem
- Description of the underlying causes of the broader issue or problem
- Statistical data and citations to support description
- A presentation of statistics that will put the issue in perspective
- Graphical and tabular presentation of facts or data
- Presentation of local study or assessment if available
- A presentation to provide a historical perspective
- Statement of the impact of the problem
The Mission or Objective Statement
The mission or objective statement presents your desired outcome. It must be S-I-M-P-L-E :
- Specific
- Immediate
- Measurable
- Practical
- Logical
- Evaluative
Project Description or Project Summary
Your project summary must be clear and concise. Avoid jargon as much as possible. It does not impress the funding organization and it makes it difficult to evaluate your proposal. Cover as much important activities or elements of the project. If certain components or activities seem unusual or not considered ordinary, take time to explain the necessity of these activities or components to the overall success of the project. If space permits, present concepts in graphical or visual format.
Table of Contents
If you anticipate your proposal to go beyond four (4) pages, a table of contents will be necessary to highlight the most important parts of your proposal.
A table of contents will become even more important in cases where there are so many attachments with each attachment complying with a critical requirement. When describing Appendix A in the table of contents do not write simply as “Appendix A” but write a more complete description like “Appendix A - A Table of Comparative Statistics”.
Newer versions of commercial word-processors like Microsoft© Word© makes it already possible to mark specific and important sections of your proposal so that you can automatically generate and update your table of contents. I suggest learning to use this feature to facilitate the preparation of your table of contents.
Keep the table of contents to less than two (2) pages.
