PROPOSAL

WRITING

Objectives
To understand the concept of Proposal

Writing.
Steps to Proposal Development.
To explore the elements included in Proposals.

What is a Proposal
A proposal is a persuasive

presentation for the receipt of

resources in the form of a grant.
It is an agency marketing tool
It represents what an agency intends to do in a

community and provide an image to the funding

agency.
Assess the nature of the problem and develop
solutions.

What is a Grant?
A sum of money given to an agency or
individual to address a problem or need in the
community.

Example: Friends of Jamaica USA provided:

-Two grants to the University of the West Indies - Mona for three
scholarships in 2001-2002 and four scholarships in 2003-2004
-A grant to a rural farming cooperative for crop conversion, training and
support of a school.

http://

www.jamaicans.com/helpjamaica/nonprofitprofiles/friendsjamaica.shtml02-2003.

Steps to Proposal
Development
Understand the problem
Brainstorm solutions
Identify solutions
Describe expected results and benefits
Determine tasks to accomplish solutions
Estimate resources needed
Reassess viability of solutions
Identify measurement of outcomes

Elements of A Proposal
Cover Page
Title Page
Executive Summary
Statement of Need/Needs Assessment
Project Description: Objectives

Activities
Evaluation
Budget
Applicant Capability
Future Funding Plans
Community Support

Cover page
PROPOSAL COVER PAGE
(For sponsors that do not specify a prescribed form or format. Funding agencies have
prescribed formats in some cases.

SUBMITTED TO: ______________________

APPLICANT: ___________________________
_________________________________________
PROJECT TITLE: ___________________________
PROJECT DIRECTOR/
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: _______________
__________________________________________
FUNDS REQUESTED: $_________________
PROJECT PERIOD: ______________________________
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE:
___________________________ _______
Marsha Salabie (February 11, 2010)
Contracts Administrator
Telephone: (123) 273-6437

Executive Summary
This is design to provide the reader with a

snapshot of what is to follow. It summarizes all the

key information to convince the reader that this
project should be considered for support.

Executive Summary
The executive summary should include:
o Problem
A brief statement of the problem or need
your agency has recognized and is prepared
to address.
o Solution
A short description of the project, including
what will take place and how many people
will benefit from the program, how and
where it will operate, for how long, and who
will staff it.

Executive Summary
o

Funding Requirements
An explanation of the amount of grant
money required for the project and what
your plans are for funding it in the future.

Organization and its expertise

A brief statement of the name, history,
purpose, and activities of your agency and
its capacity to carry out this proposal.

Statement of Need/
Needs Statement
The most important part of the Proposal
The need statement has two purposes:
1. To explain how your needs meet the funders

interests and priorities

2. To establish the specific problem the
proposal will address

Statement of Need/
Needs Statement
Once you have stated your specific need you

then need to prove that need

Proof of need can take a number of forms:
1. Numerical data (police records)
2. Comparison between the records for the
current year
with those for the previous years to show an
increase in the problem

Statement of Need/
Needs Statement
Example : Clients with A characteristics and

background live in B conditions/ environments

and have C problems that are caused by D.
Clients are blocked from solving these
problems because of E. This problem is
related to the other problems F and have G
short and long- term impact if not addressed.
The impact of their needs and problems on
the community is H. Others have addressed
their needs/ problems by having I. The result
of their interventions have been J. The most
promising strategy for intervention now is K.

Project Description :
Objectives
These are the intent of the project
They indicate what it will achieve and the

time it will need to reach its goals.

Objectives should be concise, specific,

measurable and related directly to the need.

Project Description :
Objectives
Example: If the need is to reduce drug use

among students in the high school, the

objective should indicate how much the
project will reduce drug use in the school, in
what time frame and how it will measure
results .

Project Description :
Activities
Outlines the project activities (commonly

called the methodology section)

Describes the specific activities that will take
place to achieve the objectives.(Timeline)
Explains how the project will reach its
objectives
Should focus on those aspects of the project
that will resolve or prevent the problems
identified

Evaluation
Highlights whether the project was of benefit.
Measureable plans to determine project

success.
Evaluate results of the project and successes
of the project.
Explains the measurement procedures to
determine if goals and objectives were met.

Budget
The project description provides the picture of

your proposal in words. The budget further

refines that picture with numbers.
The budget should reflect the costs of the

items and the activities described in the

project narrative
The relationship between the budget and the

project description should be so tight that a

reader can determine what the project is by

Budget
The Budget should include a description of

the following:
Personnel- List each staff title separately,
explaining salaries based on the percentage
of time each person is assigned to the project
Travel- Staff may have to travel for training or
conferences
Equipment- Cost of equipment that will be
used to carry out the project.

Applicant Capability
Demonstrate applicant past performance.
Ability to accomplish proposed project.
Describes Agency structure including Board of

Directors, Staff and volunteers.

Future Funding Plans :

Sustainability
Plans for continuation beyond funding period
Establishes sustainability.

Community Support
Reflects the nature of support for the

proposed project from:

-Other service providers
-Clients
-Potential service recipients
-Community leaders