Grant proposals win you free money, so do it right
Today, there are many sources for free money, more typically called grants, and the key to getting a grant is writing a grant proposal. You can hire a professional, but if you're like most small businesses, you just don't have the money for one. That's why you need the grant, to get money to afford such professionals. Fortunately, a grant proposal does not have to be written by a professional grant writer. If you paid attention to your English composition instructor in high school or your freshman year of college, and you've mastered that level, you're already equipped to write a proposal yourself. You just need to follow the rules of good composition and you're sure to succeed.
You'll succeed in getting free money from the government as a grant if your proposal satisfies the government's requirements for anyone who would receive a grant. This means that your proposal will meet the government's own goals: education of the people, the promotion of small businesses, the furtherance of political integration to name a few. That's why your grant proposal states in both the Executive Summary, the first section of your proposal, and the Statement of Need section the existence of a need that has a lot of room for satisfying solutions, one of which will be the project you're proposing. In the Executive Summary portion you briefly state the social, political, or educational need that the government has already emphasized, and the particular need that give rise to your project, to the solution to that need that you're proposing. This should be a genuine need, one that is real, that is called for, that is a demand. You are not creating a need, like a salesman who creates a need that really isn't there. You will have carefully analyzed this need how else can you develop a solution, your project and will fully disclose the specifics of that need in the Needs section of your proposal. By the time the reader finished reading that section, he will be wanting a solution himself. Good salesmanship requires you to arouse a need, and in these two sections you will have your opportunity. Don't waste it.
Having explicated the need, you'll then indicate in the grant proposal Executive Summary a very brief description of your solution and, following the Needs section, a detailed presentation of your project. In the project description section you're going to present a description of the project, each point answering to the needs you have already aroused. You'll show how your project will result in a total solution (though perhaps not exhaustive) to the need. Remember, your project is a solution, not a dream. It must be possible.
Then, briefly in the grant proposal summary and with details in the section, Budget, you'll very specifically assign a dollar amount you require to pay for each requirement of the project. This will include facilities, personnel, professional costs, and any other cost that must be borne. Here, you're telling them exactly how you intend to spend the money they grant. Be specific, be exhaustive. You're not going to have a chance to ask them again with another grant proposal. This is it.
You'll have one last chance, both in the summary and in the section, Organization, to tell the reader why you or your organization can make this project happen. Here, qualifications and experience apply. Tell them only what is relevant and why you or your organization can be trusted to see the project through. Don't brag, be true.
Your proposal will conclude with a conclusion section. You've argued your case, now you summarize again, this time with the reader fully informed. Get you major points out there once again and conclude with confidence.
In addition to these sections, you are expected to layout the means by which you will be evaluating your progress. Here, you schedule out milestones.
A grant proposal is an exercise in composition. Stick to the principles of good composition and you'll succeed in getting the grant that will start you or your company on the road of success.
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