Federal and State Government Funding
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PART TWO: HOW TO WRITE A WINNING FEDERAL GRANT PROPOSAL

There is no standard format for a federal grant proposal. Unlike "common" grant application formats, federal agencies require radically different information and response formats. Usually the issuing agency will establish a page limitation for the program narrative. Do not exceed that limit -not even by one measly paragraph! Follow the formatting instructions closely. More and more, proposal packets require that applicants use a certain font, point size, and margin width. Many proposals also require that your proposal be double-spaced.

Read the proposal guidelines very carefully, and if you do not understand any of the questions, contact the grant administrator for clarification. Identify challenging questions and potential stumbling blocks. Try to answer their questions in the order outlined in the guidelines. Some of the information requested may be repetitive, or even contradict itself.

Never assume that your reader is familiar with your program, with the philosophy behind your program, or with the issues that are prevalent in your community. Keep your writing clear, concise, and easy to understand. If funded, your proposal will be a guiding document for new staff who will be hired to implement the grant. Write your proposal so that someone entirely unfamiliar with your organization and ideas could implement the program based on your written plan.

Try to think of a title or acronym for your project. This name will help your proposal flow more smoothly. Compare the following identical sentences:

"The proposed project will provide education and training to 100 college students"

"Project Idea will provide education and training to 100 college students."

Using Project Idea instead of the proposed project makes the language sound more concrete and real.

Keep in mind the target audience that will review your proposal. For instance, I would write a vastly different proposal for a substance abuse treatment to the Department of Justice and than to the Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of the Department of Justice in relationship to substance abuse is oriented toward crime prevention, and its proposal reviewers are likely to be men and women who work in law enforcement. The goal of the Department of Health and Human Services is aligned with improving substance abuse treatment models, and its reviewers are likely to be researchers or staff from treatment programs. While the proposal would essentially be for identical programs, the tone, rationale and methodology would be vastly different in each proposal.

Make the proposal easy to follow for grant reviewers. Begin each response with a subject header in bold letters. When appropriate, use tables to describe various elements of your proposal. For instance, it is much easier to comprehend a table that compares poverty rates and income data in various communities than it is to follow a narrative paragraph with the same information. Sometimes I also create a chart that provides a complete overview of the project.

Proposal Format

Each federal grant requires different information and formats, and proposal questions vary significantly. I have included information that is frequently requested by federal grant applications, but use this material only as a guidepost; always follow federal grant guidelines to the letter! Proposal application kits usually ask a series of questions that they want you to answer. Be sure to answer all of their questions, or the strength of your application will be weakened. Your proposal is rated on a points system, and you will lose points for overlooking or ignoring questions. Some questions may seem repetitive, but do your best to analyze any subtle differences and make sure that you have responded completely. If you do not understand a question, contact the program officer listed in the application packet.

I recommend that you respond to all proposal questions in the order that they are asked. Break your proposal into sections that match the proposal questions. Be as specific as possible, without being too wordy. Don't use acronyms and terminology that the grant reviewers will not understand.

A. Abstract

Most federal proposals begin with an abstract or executive summary, which briefly summarizes the grant application. Usually the abstract is the last narrative portion of your proposal to be written. Include all information that the grant application requires. Typically, the abstract is a summary of your massive proposal crammed into one or two pages. Requested information usually includes substantiation of the project's need, specific activities, outcomes, and evaluation. I have heard that some reviewers of your proposal will only be provided with the abstract and budget information. For that reason, do not underestimate its importance.

B. Needs Statement/Problem Statement

It is critical to develop a strong needs assessment that is clearly linked to the program activities that you are proposing to carry out. Most application kits specifically request certain types of data to document the local need in your community, or to substantiate the approach you are proposing to implement. Avoid using national data that gives you no advantage over other grant applicants. In most cases, you are trying to prove that your community has the highest need for a particular service.

Grantmaking agencies frequently want to know about the community that will receive services, including political and geographical jurisdictions, poverty rates, ethnicity, unemployment, educational levels and other demographics. Identify needs that are related to the problem you will address with program services. For instance, do not include the teen pregnancy rate if you are proposing to provide meals to homebound senior citizens.

Use objective information to verify the need for your programs. Census data, school district test scores, crime data, medical studies, survey data, research studies, and other similar information legitimizes your organization's claim that there is a need. Information can be obtained from your city's planning office, nonprofit research organizations, local universities and colleges, the business or government section of your local library, newspaper articles, and the Internet. In some cases, organizations preparing for a federal grant proposal conduct surveys of their clients or communities. This approach can be valuable, as long as you can convey that the information was obtained legitimately. I sometimes use quotes from recognized local or national authorities to demonstrate need.

Federal agencies will sometimes make bizarre requests for needs data. If the information is not available, document your efforts to find it and then use parallel or similar data that seems to satisfy the intent of their question. While it may be tempting to do so, do not insult the federal agency by making fun of its ridiculous question.

Be honest. Be creative. For instance, I recently demonstrated high rates of poverty in a community that has a national reputation for its affluence. I documented that residents of that city struggle with a higher cost-of-living-rental rates are 60 percent higher than the statewide average while wages are 12 percent below the regional average. Using statistical income data without explaining these mitigating factors may have raised questions for proposal reviewers.

Although some of the information is related to terrible problems in your community, try to avoid being negative. Your organization is about to propose a solution to this problem, and you want to be seen as a problem-solver, not a whiner. Also, stay away from editorial comments about the need for the project. It makes your proposal less professional, and will be frustrating for reviewers. The example below shows the difference between editorial needs assessment information, and documented data that proves the point.

Weak: Youth in Lincoln County are abusing drugs at a high rate, and putting themselves at risk.

Strong: According to the American Youth Drug and Alcohol Survey, 68% of Lincoln County's 12 th graders have used alcohol within the last month-or 30% higher than the statewide average. As a result, Lincoln County has suffered tragic consequences, with four alcohol-related fatalities involving teens occurring within the past year.

Describe the target population to be served by your proposed program. Is it single parents who are in job training programs? Is it teenagers who are have been suspended from school? Do you have any data on these sub-groups that supports the need for your program?

C. Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives are frequently misunderstood-and sometimes even by the federal agency issuing the grant packet! Many people-even some grantmakers-think goals and objectives are the same, but there is a very important distinction between the two.

Typically, goals are paired with a related objective and are based on issues you described in the needs statement. Goals describe in general terms the intended action and outcomes you hope to accomplish for a specific population. Goals are more related to your vision.

Objectives are specific steps and outcomes that help realize program goals. Action objectives describe the activity strategy utilized to accomplish the goal and how many people will be served within a time period. Outcome objectives are measurable accomplishments that will result from grant activities. Outcome objectives are more frequently requested by federal grantmakers.

Weak:

Goal: To reduce juvenile alcohol use.

Objective: To provide drug prevention education workshops at area high schools.

Strong:

Goal: To reduce teen alcohol use rates in Lincoln County.

Action Objective: In year one of the grant, Project SAFE will establish 12 substance abuse prevention peer groups, targeting 300 high school students who are at-risk for alcohol and drug abuse.

Outcome Objective: Lincoln County teen alcohol use will decline by 30% as measured by the American Drug and Alcohol Survey. Teen driving-under-the-influence (DUI) rates will decline by 40%.

D. Project Design

The project design section is also known as the methodology, project plan, program outline, and many other names. You will describe in detail the specific activities, methods, work plans, techniques and resources that will lead to the achievement of each stated objective. Outline how program participants will be selected. If applicable, demonstrate that your program is providing an innovative approach, though be careful not to claim that you are creating a national model unless you have documented proof.

Describe other agencies that have agreed to collaborate on the project with your organization, and their assigned roles. If new services will be added in subsequent years of the federal grant, describe those services and your rationale for delaying their implementation. Detail how your program will efficiently deliver services. Be sure to include how the program model is innovative or unique.

Weak: The Outpost will stop alcohol abuse by high school students through classes and activities. We will work with nationally-recognized facilitators who are certified by the CEC to lead these activities. We hope to work with the school to provide follow-up activities. The program will purchase textbooks for students. At the end of the year, student grades will increase. We will ask school counselors to enroll youth who they believe will benefit from this program.

Strong: Project SAFE will enroll 150 high school sophomores and 150 high school juniors who have been identified by school officials, police officers, and the Lincoln County Probation Department. Most will have been caught on multiple occasions using alcohol. Some may have used alcohol to the extent that they became hospitalized.

Project SAFE will implement the Color Your Life curriculum to address issues such as aggressive behavior and teen alcohol abuse. This curriculum was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at last June's national conference on risk reduction. Color Your Life curriculum focuses on positive goal setting, peer counseling, and adult role models. Curriculum activities include a weekly risk assessment session, where teens talk frankly in small groups about their own personal risks, and any progress they have made in meeting goals. Recreational and cultural activities will be provided to broaden the experiences of participants, and to retain their interest in the program. (more information would be inserted here to describe these programs in greater depth)

All teens will be linked to adult mentors from the Middle America Community College, Turbo-XMF Software Corporation, the Lincoln County Health Department, and other community organizations and businesses (see letters of commitment in appendix A). Many of the mentors will be individuals who successfully overcame substance abuse problems in their youth. Each mentor will commit to providing two hours each week to activities that incorporate academics, social development, and risk prevention. (more information would be inserted here to describe the content of mentoring programs)

Four weekend retreats will be held throughout the program year. Each retreat will feature presentations by two recognized speakers on issues including self-esteem, conflict resolution, career planning, relationships, goal attainment, and interpersonal relationships.

 

Training is another integral part of Project SAFE. Seven teachers and counselors from each high school will attend a series of three intensive trainings on recognizing alcohol abuse and helping teens seek help for an alcohol-related problem. These staff members will lead small group trainings for non-attending teachers and counselors. Workshop topics will include warning signs of alcohol abuse, strategies for reaching out to students, and working with families to seek treatment. Teachers will role play intervention-based strategies developed by Dr. Harry Samson, President of the Teen Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center.

Be sure that you link all activities described in the project plan to the budget. A common mistake is describing a specific service or program, and not budgeting for that initiative!

Timeline and Implementation Schedule

This section includes a timeline of activities, detailing how your agency will be ready to implement the program from the moment you receive an award letter. Identify critical activities, time frames and responsibilities to implement the grant within the first 60 days after the award. Show when you expect major program functions to be operational, when specific training activities will occur, steering committees will be established, and other milestones. Most grant funds are time-limited, meaning that if you are unable to implement your program within the proposed time period, funds will be returned to the federal government.

Day 1-10: Publicize job openings, and form interview teams. Establish office space at Lincoln Central High School.

Day 11-30: Make contacts with grant partners and hold initial meetings by day 30. Coordinate with the Lincoln County Health Department to establish curriculum leaders. Coordinate with school counselors and Lincoln County Probation Department to recruit youth.

Day 31-50: Establish office space. Hire staff, and begin staff training. Begin and intensify job development efforts. Purchase computers, fax machine, and desks.

Day 45: Both student and interagency advisory teams begin meeting.

Day 51-60: Hold initial orientation sessions for participants. Establish weekly curriculum and peer group meetings.

Day 75: Implement mentoring program.

Days 90: First quarterly retreat. Interim evaluation

(This timeline would continue with activities throughout the first grant year, and possibly for subsequent grant years)

Some proposals will require an implementation schedule showing the number of participants enrolled in each quarter of the grant, and number of individuals participating in different types of activities. This format is requested particularly to evaluate outcomes of employment programs that enroll participants for a limited time period.

Quarterly Implementation Schedule: Northwest Employment Program

The program activities section is your turn to prove that you are responding to the need, and building upon solutions to remedy the problem or issue. When you finish writing this section, make sure these areas are linked together.

Data collection

Reviewers are interested in how your organization is going to track participants, program milestones, and accomplishments by individuals. Describe the types of data that will be collected, how it will be collected, what instruments will be utilized, how data will be analyzed, and how and when it will be reported. Who will be responsible for collecting this information, and how will it be used to improve the effectiveness of the project? Will you establish databases or other automated tracking systems to collect and tabulate information?

 

E. Quality of Management Plan

As mentioned earlier, federal agencies award funds to organizations that can demonstrate experience implementing and administering large projects and grants. This section is your opportunity to prove that your agency has what it takes to successfully implement and manage a federal grant.

You will be required to discuss what systems will be in place to carry out administration and grant management responsibilities. Reviewers are particularly interested in seeing clearly defined responsibilities for accomplishing project tasks. If possible, create a chart that lists each staff member and his or her responsibilities.

Develop an organizational chart to demonstrate how staff will be managed. Designate one staff member as project director; this person will ultimately be responsible for grant management, reports, and oversight. Be sure to describe the program director's experience overseeing major initiatives. Describe other program staff members, their responsibilities, qualifications and experience. You may be required to provide job descriptions and required qualifications for staff not yet hired. Some grants require you to outline your plan for recruiting staff members from minority groups and other traditionally underrepresented groups.

Outline any steering committees or advisory boards that will be formed to manage the project, and discuss who will be represented on those groups, their responsibilities, and the frequency of meetings. Sometimes you will be asked to establish an advisory board representative of the clients being served, the target community, or other service agencies.

Describe how program managers and steering committees will obtain feedback during the implementation of the grant, and procedures for making changes to the program model. If other organizations are central to carrying out the project's activities, discuss their qualifications in similar detail.

Describe how the organization has carried out similar services and major program initiatives. Include information about any milestones, accomplishments or awards that are relevant. Discuss how your institution is set up to manage funds, and outline how you have managed major grants in the past. The federal government is also very interested in how your organization will sustain the program after grant funding expires-either by institutionalizing program services or raising other funds. How will you sustain the promised outcomes in future years without federal funding? Discuss your track record in continuing federal or state programs after grant funding went away, and strategies for the particular program you have proposed.

F. Adequacy of Resources

Federal agencies are interested in the financial and in-kind resources your agency will provide to the project. Are you contributing any hard dollars for project activities? Will your organization provide facilities and equipment to support program activities? Will your office and program space be adequate and accessible for your clients? If you plan to rent a facility, how will you identify this space? In some cases, grant implementation is delayed because a grantee cannot find adequate program space in the targeted community. Explain any resources (staff, supplies, facilities) that other institutions or organizations are contributing. If they have agreed to provide a resource, ask for a letter of commitment documenting their contribution.

If a substantial number of volunteers will be providing assistance, outline commitments already made by volunteers or outside institutions, or how you plan to recruit volunteers. Identify other resources you plan to leverage if funds become available. These may include publicly-accessible scholarship funds or monies available through the Department of Social Services. Sometimes you are asked to describe the extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the number of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and benefits.

G. Evaluation

The federal government is very interested in the results of your program. A good evaluation plan is critical in order to demonstrate your willingness to be held accountable for activities and outcomes you listed in the proposal. A weak evaluation design might communicate that you are not sure that your program will work, or that you are not capable of conducting an effective evaluation. Evaluation strategy should be linked to your objectives and projected performance outcomes.

There are three key types of evaluation frequently requested in grant applications.

A qualitative evaluation demonstrates that your clients are satisfied with the service that was provided, and that the program was of high quality. Client surveys and interviews focused on customer satisfaction can best demonstrate the delivery of quality services.

Weak: Kids in Lincoln County will be happier with their own lives.

Strong: On course evaluation forms, 90% of Lincoln County high school students participating in Project SAFE will rate core alcohol abuse prevention curriculum as "very good" or "exceptional."

A quantitative evaluation demonstrates that you served a targeted number of clients for each service. You promise to serve a certain number of people during a fixed time period, and describe how this information will be tracked.

Weak : Most of the students at Lincoln High School will participate in Project SAFE.

Strong: 150 sophomores and 150 juniors at Lincoln High School will participate in the complete three month alcohol abuse education curriculum. All 150 sophomores will participate in retreats, and be linked to mentors. An estimated 50 juniors will attend the two week national youth conference.

An outcome evaluation demonstrates behavioral and attitudinal changes among the people served. In addition to the evaluation baselines established by your objectives, you will also establish other measurable outcomes that will be achieved during the project. What measurable improvements resulted in the lives of participants, the community, specific systems or institutions? Pre- and post-tests are sometimes used to examine changes in knowledge or attitudes by participants. In addition, factors such as school grades, test scores, surveys, employment, substance use, and other factors can be compared before and after the grant program. The factors that you evaluate should be parallel to the issues you identified in the needs statement.

Weak : Fewer high school students at Lincoln High will use alcohol after Project SAFE.

Strong: Lincoln County teen alcohol use will decline by 20% as measured by the American Drug and Alcohol Survey. Teen driving-under-the-influence (DUI) rates will decline by 30%. In-house suspensions related to alcohol use will drop by 75%. 90% of students will increase their self-esteem as measured by the Teen Self Esteem Barometer instrument created by Dr. Maureen Smith at Central State University. Police statistics provided by Lincoln County sheriff's office for alcohol-related and DUI teen arrests.

Establish outcome estimates, and be careful not to inflate your projections. If you are funded, the success of your program will be evaluated based upon these projections. Surveys, test scores, statistical indicators and evaluation instruments developed by respected academic institutions are valid tools. Federal grants are made for a period of three to five years to provide grantees with a chance to implement a program that will have a measurable impact on the problem that was identified in their proposal.

You will also be asked to describe how evaluation data will be used on an interim basis to make modifications to your program. Will the information be provided to your advisory board? How will they use the data?

When possible, budget the needed funds to hire an outside evaluator. Using an evaluator not affiliated with your agency will lend legitimacy to the results, and demonstrate that you are confident the program will attain stated evaluation outcomes. In some cases, the federal grantmaking agency has its own evaluation infrastructure-paid evaluators or review teams who conduct an evaluation of your program. In either case, be sure that your evaluation baselines are attainable and realistic.

If you are funded, you will usually be required to submit quarterly and annual evaluation reports to the government. If your project is unable to attain results for a legitimate reason, you will be able to explain any variances in those reports. However, if you have wildly overstated what your project is going to achieve, the federal agency may designate your agency as being at-risk for losing your funding.

H. attachments

Many grant applications will require that you include various attachments and other forms. Take these attachments seriously. If allowable, you can provide your own supporting information that builds the case for your proposal. But do not overload reviewers with attachment information.

Letters of Support/Commitment

Many federal grants require that your organization collaborate with other agencies. Usually, grant reviewers are interested in letters of commitment that detail what other groups will provide to the grant project if it is funded. In other cases, federal agencies are interested in gauging the support for your program from other organizations, state and federal agencies, and elected officials. Click here to continue