Most nonprofits are aware that we have a much more competitive grantseeking environment than ten years ago, and have started to discover critique as cost effective way of writing better grants. There is more competition today for fewer dollars when looking at government contracts and foundation grants. Many foundations cut back on their grantmaking during the Fiscal Crisis, and others have become more focused. With the federal, state and local government, we are finding some significant cutbacks, averaging about 12% per year at the state level.

However, you can improve your odds, so that you agency continues to get the funding it needs. Here are some suggestions for making your grants stronger and more compelling.

Let’s assume you have already done your grants research, and are applying only for those grants that represent a good potential match between your mission and programs and the priorities of the funder.  Then, as you begin writing, here some things you might do:

1. Summarize the request for proposal (RFP) and its requirements for your agency stakeholders.
2. Pull together a small team of agency managers and other stakeholders to discuss the proposal as soon as possible. Discuss the impact of programs, your strong points, and what you want to emphasize in your proposal. Get different people in the agency to pull together needed materials, such as budget, board list, 501(c)3 IRS letter, outcomes and other materials. (Ideally, you will have a grants file with those materials.)
3. Write the proposal draft, and invite comment from the same stakeholders. Make sure that people provide comments in relation to the requirements of the RFP. So, those reviewing the proposal would need to have a summary of the RFP requirements as well as the proposal draft. Provide the reviewers with a checklist, if you can, much like state proposal reviewers use to grade a proposal. This will help with final edits.
4. If possible, try to get copies of funded proposals. For state and some other government offices, proposals that were funded are a matter of public record and can be ordered or reviewed onsite. This provides excellent insight into the types of activities that are seen as most “fundable,” as well as successful proposal layout, content and language.
5. Have a professional review and critique your proposal. Often, it takes only an hour, or a few hours at most. And, the feedback from a professional highly skilled in proposal writing and winning awards can sometimes make the difference between something that was almost funded, and a funded program.

Nonprofits Online has a proposal critique service that is extremely effective and affordable. Anne Hays Egan has a small team of highly skilled experts available to critique your draft prior to submission. Check the “PROPOSAL CRITIQUE” box on the sidebar of her website: Nonprofits Online

Grant Critique

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1. What Works: Questions & Answers
2. What Your Board Absolutely Must Do Now
3. Why Donors Are More Important Than Ever to Nonprofits
4. What to do NOW to Build Strength
5. Why Donors Are Needed Now

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