Tips for Submitting a Successful Proposal

Many funders say that up to 80% of grant applications arrive with careless mistakes that could have been easily avoided. Follow these hints to increase your chances of success.

1. MEET DEADLINES
Funders set deadlines for a variety of reasons, one of which is to narrow their wide pool of applicants by automatically rejecting those that arrive late. Get your application in on time.

2. READ DIRECTIONS THOUROUGHLY AND FOLLOW THEM CAREFULLY
Some funders want attachments, others hate them. Some request 10 hard copies of your application, others only accept those submitted online. Some funders have two addresses, and only accept proposals at one of them. All of these details are carefully outlined in their application guidelines so that you can be sure to do the right thing.

3. PLAN AHEAD
Computers crash. Copy machines break down. Project partners forget deadlines. The Post Office loses mail. Traffic accidents bring traffic to a standstill. And Murphy's Law ensures that the less time you have to deal with these problems, the more likely they are to happen. Give yourself enough time to deal with the unexpected. If you work better under pressure, set a false deadline a week before the real deadline.

4. COMPLETE THE APPLICATION
This seems very obvious, but you would be shocked at how many half-finished applications arrive on funders' desks. Enclose all the attachments they ask for and answer all the questions. If you do not know an answer, figure it out. Leaving it blank won't make it go away, but it will make the funder think twice about giving you money.

5. PROOFREAD
Simple typos can leave a bad impression or, even worse, change the meaning of your rant proposal. Having too many typos is like airing your dirty laundry out in pubic. Consonants and bowels getting mixed up can be embarrassing enough to make you want to diet. The last thing you want is to fill the grant review session with slaughter, thanks to all the terrors in your application. Let another applicant do that: maybe the Starvation Army or Untied Way.