14 How to Write Proposals for Grants
Proposal writing is not all that dissimilar to more traditional forms of academic writing. To be successful, proposals must be audience-sensitive, informative, and concise. Like traditional research reports, proposals typically describe a problem, outline its significance, present methods to study or solve the problem, and outline ways to evaluate the success of the proposed plan.
Unlike scholarly essays, however, funded proposals can pay your salary, fund business travel and office expenses, and have your dean knocking on your door to take you out to lunch. Another .ldvantage is that with a few minor revisions you can send one grant Proposal to a dozen different foundations and, if you are lucky, accept funding from all of them.

RESEARCH POSSIBLE FUNDING AGENCIES
With more than 24,000 foundations to choose from and with $10 billion up for grabs, chances are that your interests will dovetail with those of a few foundations. You can probably develop some excellent ideas for grants by reading the guidelines for submitting to these foundations. To determine the best foundations to shoot for, you should check with your institution ‘s development office. Judith Ruderman, a prolific grant writer, encourages scholars to get to know development office personnel: “You would be wise to begin your search for money by learning to navigate the resources of your own campus. Once you and your interests become known to these personnel, they will often direct appropriate notices of funding opportunities to your attention” ( 182).
To develop a sense of grants available, you should also review the books published by the Foundation Center (79 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10003, 1_800_4249836). For example, The Foundation Directory offers information on “the nation’s largest, most influential foundations those that hold at least $1 million in assets or give at least $100,000 in grants each year” (The Foundation Center 2). In addition, The Foundation Directory Part 2 reviews “the next largest set of foundations__those with grant programs between $25,000_$100,000 (The Foundation Center 2). To develop a film sense of audience, you may also want to consult Foundation 1,000 (formerly Source Book Profiles). This reference book explains “which foundations to target in your subject area; whom to contact; what the current program interests are; which nonprofits have already received grants for similar projects and who the officers and staff are (The Foundation Center 4).
When researching possible foundations, you will want to examine what proposals have been funded in the past, how much money was usually awarded, and what application materials are available. Find out whether your institution has received funding from any of the prospective foundations and try to speak with colleagues at your institution and other institutions who submitted winning grant proposals to the prospective sponsor.
Once you have a few prospects in mind, you can run your idea by your institution’s development office personnel. Most universities and colleges require the development office to approve all proposals before they are submitted for review to ensure that competing proposals are not sent to the same foundation and that the proposals fall within the institution’s priorities. Also, foundation personnel tend to be experts in marketing and proposal writing, so you would be wise to draw on their expertise.
After studying a foundation’s proposal guidelines, researching the composition of its board members, and studying its funding history, you may want to call the foundation’s program officer to determine if any hidden agendas are lurking in dark corners. Proceed with caution because some foundations view such calls negatively. The benefits generally outweigh the risks: an informal chat with a program officer can be invaluable. You may learn, for example, that board members dislike qualitative research methods or that a project similar to yours has already been funded at a different institution. You may also want to ask the funding officer about grants that have been funded in the past. If possible, try to get a copy of a few of these grant proposals.
Finally, some experts suggest contacting trustees for prospective foundations. Perhaps this is an acceptable tactic if you are a friend of the trustee or know a friend of a friend. Although this tampering with the decision_making process can and does work, its professionalism is questionable.

UNDERSTAND THAT DECISIONS ABOUT WHOM TO FUND ARE ALWAYS SUBJECTIVE AND OFTEN POLITICAL
Experts in grantsmanship often encourage would_be grant writers to first volunteer their services as evaluators for proposals. One advantage of being a reader for the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, or a similar big_name foundation is that you will see how other bright people write proposals that win funding. Another is that this experience will make your name known within the inner circle. Ideally, proposals are based on their scientific and artistic merit, yet, given the subiective nature of interpretation, it is understandable that knowledge of the author can cloud the judgment of the critics. (This is particularly true when you are competing for on_campus funds.) Also, by being a part of the game, you might get an early start at a new grant cycle on a subject that is new for the agency.

STUDY THE PROPOSAL GUIDELINES AND EVALUATIVE CRITERIA
Little is as important as meticulous examination of the criteria the reviewers will use to judge your proposals. If the funding source aims to help pregnant teenage girls, then you had better be sure that your grant will result in helping this population. If the guidelines call for a one_page description of need for the proposal, then you should not write two pages.

EXAMINE YOUR AUDIENCE AND VOICE
The success of many proposals hinges on the author’s sense of audience. As always, you need to consider the audience’s level of interest and knowledge about your subject. Most grants require you to pay extra attention to this concern. As an author of a scholarly article, you are typically writing as insider_expert to other insiders. In contrast, when writing a grant, you are usually writing as an insider_expert to people who are outsiders and definitely not experts in your field. Thus, you must avoid jargon and simplify your presentation and content.
You may have the greatest difficulty simplifying complex issues without shortchanging them. To determine whether you have successfully simplified your presentation without sacrificing too much accuracy, you may want to pass copies around to experts and nonexperts and ask them the following questions:

1. Can you summarize what I have said?
2. Have I grabbed your interest? What changes can you suggest to make the document more appealing to the foundation readers?
3. Have I established the importance of the project?
4. Do I appear credible, enthusiastic?
5. Does my project seem feasible? Will the methods allow me to achieve the goals?

WRITE AN ACCURATE BUDGET SECTION
If you assume that you will receive less than you request, you may feel the urge to overestimate your expenses. The problem with this approach is that it can give the critics a sense that you will play fast and loose with the foundation’s money. Instead, you should be meticulous in your analysis of how the money will be spent. As shrewd business people, trustees of foundations and their personnel often want to get the biggest bang for the buck__that is, they want to help as many people as possible, dollar for dollar.

BRING OUT THE BIG G UNS
When determining where to award grants, found;itions are understandably concerned with the track record of the proposal writer and that of the writer’s institution. Given their concern that the work be completed as promised, found~tions are usually more inclined to fund an author who has published extensively on a subject or who works for a prestigious institution.
You should not give up hope if you work for a relatively obscure institution or if your publishing record is sparse. First, some foundations have special programs to help junior faculty. Second, you may be eligible for some local funding that national scholars cannot touch. Third, you can bring out the big guns__that is, you can solicit letters of support from well_known scholars who work for prestigious institutions. Naturally, gathering support letters can take considerable leg work, and you will need to get started long before the due date for the proposal.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES
The competition for grants is so fierce that you should not blame yourself if your proposal is rejected, nor should you simply throw it into a bottom drawer. Instead, set your anger and frustration aside and call or wIite the program officer. Ask what the reviewers disliked about your proposal and what suggestions they offered for improving it. Ask for copies of proposals that were funded. You can then use this inforrnation to detemline what revisions are needed and if you should resubmit to this source, or if you should submit the proposal elsewhere. As with the more traditional academic genres, diligence is the successful grant writer’s key to

WORKS CITED

Foundation Center. “Fundraising and Nonprofit Development Publications and Services.” New York: Foundation Center, 1992.
Ruderman, Judith. “How to Find a Find and Catch a Catch: Writing the Winning Grant Proposal.” In Writing and Publishing for Academic Authors. Ed. Joseph M. Moxley. Lanharn, Md.: University Press of America, 1992. 181_204.