Writing a grant application is not the same as writing any other essay. It needs to follow a specific order depending on how the grant maker wants to have your proposal structured. Each of the agencies under the 26 federal grant-making agencies, for example, has their own set of guidelines when they release their Notices of Funding Availability or Request for Applications for cooperative agreement applicants.
The same thing goes for grant applicants seeking for funding from foundations and private entities. The proposal must be written in the form required by the grant-giving body. As the grant applicant, you must ensure that all the parts are answered completely and thoroughly to increase your chances of getting awarded.
Generally, these are the parts of a grant application for federal and private sector applications. As stated earlier, you might encounter differences depending on who is giving the grant but these are the most common parts:
- Executive Summary. Also called an abstract, this encapsulates the reason why you’re asking for a grant, the goals that you intend to accomplish, and how the grant money is going to be spent.
- Purpose of the Grant. This is usually composed of various parts. Here, you will have the statement of needs or a description of the problems that you aim to address; a description of the goals of the project; and a timetable for implementation. This also includes the program design or methodology which outlines how the project is going to be carried out and the description of the personnel and other staff who will perform the day-to-day tasks required in the project.
- Evaluation Plan. This part outlines the plans by which the success (or failure) of the project is going to be evaluated or measured.
- Organization Information. This includes a brief history of the organization asking for the grant; a short statement of the mission and goals; and a description of the current programs and accomplishments to give the grantors an idea of its capabilities.
- Sustainability Statement. Basically, this section details how you intend to sustain or continue with the operations of the program after the grant period (provided that you were awarded the grant) ends.
- Budget. In this part, you give an itemized budget where the funding will go. This usually includes such items as the salary of personnel, rent, equipment and supplies, maintenance, marketing, and other costs. Some organizations will ask you to justify your budget on a separate sheet.
We have mentioned above that anyone can apply for a grant. Actually, a grant applicant can apply in behalf of a nonprofit organization; an independent school district; institutions of higher education; a for profit business or for profit organizations; and an international nongovernmental organization or NGO. Other eligible applicants include state, county, or city governments; Native American tribal governments; and individuals, although there are only a few of these grants.
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