HOW TO

WRITE
GRANT
PROPOSAL
 A
STEP-BY-STEP
E-GUIDE
BY NAVJIVAN CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT

WWW.NCDINDIA.ORG
OVERVIEW OF THE GRANT WRITING
PROCESS

DETERMINING FUNDING
PRIORITIES

PREPARING A DRAFT GRANT

PROPOSAL

FINDING POTENTIAL FUNDERS

FOR YOUR GRANT PROPOSAL

CONTACTING AND CU LTIVAT ING

POTENTIAL FUNDERS FO R YOUR
GRANT PROPOSAL

PACKAGING THE GRANT

PROPOSAL

RESPONDING TO ACCEPTANCE
OR REJECTION OF YOUR G RA NT
PROPOSAL

Page 03
 OVERVIEW OF THE GRANT WRITING
PROCESS

1) DETERMINING FUNDING PRIORITIES

Your organization should identify, on an annual basis, what

your funding needs are for the near future. You will have all
the programs and activities that you currently operate plus
ideas for new programs or the expansion of existing ones.

Each activity or program will have a​ funding source or

group of sources, such as your current grants, ​a nnual fund,
product sales, admission fees, etc.

At this point, you will identify those plans or projects that

are likely to translate well into grant proposals and start
the process of developing them.

2) PREPARING A DRAFT GRANT PROPOSAL

Before you go much further, put together a draft grant

proposal for one of the projects or programs that you've
identified as a candidate for funding. At this stage, you will
assemble the detailed background information you'll need,
decide who will write the proposal, and draft the key
components of the grant proposal such as:

The executive summary

Statement of need
Project description
Budget
Organizational information

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 OVERVIEW OF THE GRANT WRITING
PROCESS

3) FINDING POTENTIAL FUNDERS FOR YOUR GRANT

PROPOSAL

With a draft of your grant proposal in hand, you can look

for appropriate funders.
Develop a list of criteria so that you can find funders that
fit with your proposal.
You'll want to identify funders that are interested in your
particular location, the program area in which you work
(education, poverty, health), and funders willing to provide
the amount of funds your project will need.
Develop a broad list of potential funders and then winnow
it down to those that best fit with your needs.

4) CONTACTING AND CULTIVATING POTENTIAL

FUNDERS FOR YOUR GRANT PROPOSAL

It is not wise to just start dropping proposals in the mail or

filling out online grant applications. You will save a lot of
time and error if you make a call, or email the foundation
and speak to a program officer.

Briefly, explain your project and ask if it fits with the

foundation's interests. This enquiry might lead to
unexpected information or simply alert you that this
particular foundation is not a good match for your grant
proposal.

You might find out that the foundation's interests are

worth thinking about for a future project and proposal.

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 OVERVIEW OF THE GRANT WRITING
PROCESS

5) PACKAGING THE GRANT PROPOSAL

Once you've determined that your proposal is a match for a

particular funder, tailor your basic proposal to that
funder's priorities.

Make sure you understand the funder's guidelines for grant

proposals and that you follow them. Add a cover letter and
any accompanying documents the funder requests. Make
sure the proposal is accurate and easy-to-read.

6) RESPONDING TO ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF

YOUR GRANT PROPOSAL

If your grant proposal is accepted, take responsibility for

the follow-up. Prompt follow-up will be crucial to your
ongoing relationship with the funder.

Take care of the letter of agreement or contract ASAP.

Have your Trustee or the the head of the organization send
a personal note of thanks. Schedule updates and reports.
Develop a relationship that will endure.

If your grant proposal is rejected, respond graciously. Do

contact the funder to ask if you might try to submit again
with appropriate changes or if they might still be
interested later in a different project.

Never complain. Never call the funder.

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 STANDARD FORMAT OF
PROPOSAL WRITING

SECTION ONE:
SUMMARY

SECTION TWO:
ORGANIZATION
INFORMATION

SECTION THREE:
PROBLEM/NEED/SITUATION
DESCRIPTION

SECTION FOUR: WORK

PLAN/SPECIFIC
ACTIVITIES

SECTION FIVE:
OUTCOMES/IMPACT OF
ACTIVITIES

SECTION SIX: OTHER

FUNDING

SECTION SEVEN:
FUTURE FUNDING

SECTION EIGHT:
EVALUATION

SECTION NINE:
BUDGET

SECTION TEN:
EXPENSES

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 STANDARD FORMAT OF
PROPOSAL WRITING

SECTION I: SUMMARY

1. At the beginning of your proposal, or on a cover sheet, write a

two- or three-sentence summary of the proposal.
2.This summary helps the reader follow your details in the proposal
itself.

SECTION II: ORGANIZATION INFORMATION

1. In two or three paragraphs, tell the funder about your

organization and why it can be trusted to use funds effectively.
2.Briefly summarize your organization’s history. State your mission,
whom you serve and your track record of achievement.
3.Clearly describe, or at least list, your programs. If your programs
are many or complex, consider adding an organization chart or
other attachments that explain them.
4. Describe your budget size, where you are located and who runs
the organization and does the work.
5.Add other details that build the credibility of your group.
6.If other groups in your region work on the same issues, explain
how they are different and how you collaborate with them, if you
do.
7.Even if you have received funds from this grantmaker before,
your introduction should be complete.
8.Funders sometimes hire outside reviewers who may not be
familiar with your organization.

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 STANDARD FORMAT OF
PROPOSAL WRITING

SECTION III: PROBLEM/NEED/SITUATION DESCRIPTION

This is where you convince the funder that the issue you want to
tackle is important and show that your organization is an expert on
the issue.
Describe the situation in both factual and human interest terms, if
possible.

SECTION IV: WORK PLAN/SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

Explain what your organization plans to do about the problem.

1.What are your overall goals? You might say: "The goals of this
project are to increase the understanding among middle school
students about the impact of smoking on their health, and to
reduce the number of students who smoke." Then go on to give
details, including:
2.Who is the target audience, and how will you involve them in the
activity? How many people do you intend to serve?
3.How will you ensure that people actually participate in the
program?
4. What are you going to do?

SECTION V: OUTCOMES/IMPACT OF ACTIVITIES

Tell the funder what impact your project will have — what will
change about the situation as a result of your project.

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 STANDARD FORMAT OF
PROPOSAL WRITING

SECTION VI: OTHER FUNDING

Here the funder wants to know if other organizations have

committed funds to the project or been asked to do so. Funders
generally expect you to ask for support from more than one
source. In this section, you can also describe the in-kind
contributions (goods or services instead of cash) that people are
giving to the project.

SECTION VII: FUTURE FUNDING

If you continue this project in the future, how will it be

supported? Most funders don’t want to support the same set of
projects forever. Many funders see their niche as funding
innovation: supporting new approaches to old problems or finding
solutions to new problems. What the funder really wants to see is
that you have a long-term vision and funding plan for the project,
that the project is "sustainable," especially if it is a new activity. If
you don’t have such a plan, start thinking about it — if not for your
funders then for the success of your project or organization.

SECTION VIII: EVALUATION

How will you know whether you achieved the desired impacts? If
you have done a good job of defining them, all you need to do here
is describe the information you will gather to tell you how close you
came. Be sure your evaluation plan is achievable given your
resources. If the evaluation will cost money, be sure to put that
cost in the project budget.

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 STANDARD FORMAT OF
PROPOSAL WRITING

SECTION IX: BUDGET

How much will the project cost? Attach a one- or two-page

budget showing expected expenses and income for the project.

SECTION X: EXPENSES

Divide the expense side into three sections:

Personnel Expenses - Personnel Expenses include the expenses

for all the people who will work on the project.
Direct Project Expenses
Administrative or Overhead Expenses

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 OUTLINE OF PROJECT
PROPOSAL

1 ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER

1.1 ORGANIZATION RELATED

· Name of the Organization

· Head Office Location
· Other implementation locations
· Person to Contact
· Email Id
· Contact Number
· Website
· Registration Under and Registration No
· Tax Exemption Under

1.2 PROJECT RELATED

· Title of the Project

· Location of the Project
· Project Duration
· Project Beneficiaries
· Budget Required
· Budget Requested
· Fund Requirement Interval
· Project Partners (other project partners if any)

Page 12
 OUTLINE OF PROJECT
PROPOSAL
2 SECTION 1. PROJECT SUMMARY (500
WORDS)

What project is all about?

Monitoring and Evaluation
Risk Assessment
What are the identified risk factors?
Who will be impacted and how?
Current Action Items and process in place.
What further actions are necessary?
Past experience (Refer table 1)
Any other information you deem fit in this
category.

3 SECTION 2. DELIVERY &

EFFECTIVENESS (300 WORDS)

Description of the project objectives and the

expected results
Any other information you deem fit in this
category

4 SECTION 3. SUSTAINABLE
METHODOLOGY & OPERATIONAL
CAPACITY (300 WORDS)

Strategies to improve and opportunities for up

scaling
What is the experience of your organisation in
addressing these issues?
Will the activities be undertaken in
collaboration with other implementation
agencies/ government?

Page 13
 OUTLINE OF PROJECT
PROPOSAL

5 SECTION 4. BUDGET REQUIREMENT

(DETAILED)

Describe Budget requirement in describing

utilization of fund in different phases
Budget requirement (Refer table 2)

Tabl e 1: Past Experi en c e

PARTICULARS YES/ NO

Have you completed a similar project before?

Have you implemented any other project? If yes, please mention details
below.

Project Name

Project Scope – Targeted group

Project Area – Where was it implemented

Project Budget

Project Outcome

Project Funded by

Brief Description of the project ( not more than 100 words)

Page 14
 OUTLINE OF PROJECT
PROPOSAL
Tabl e 2: Detai l ed Budget

COST PER YEAR 3

SR. HEAD OF UNIT OF UNIT COST YEAR 1 COST YEAR 2 COST
QUANTITY MONTH QUANTITY COST
NO EXPENSES MEASURE INR INR INR
INR INR

Page 15
 OUTLINE OF PROJECT
PROPOSAL
Tabl e 3: Attachments

SR. NO. PARTICULARS YES/NO PAGE NO.

1 Registration Certificate

Memorandum of Association & Article of

2
Association or Trust Deed

3 PAN Card of Trust

4 Last Three Year Audit Report +Income Tax Return

5 Last Three Year Annual Activities Report

6 List of Management Committee/Governing Board

7 List of Employee

8 List of Project Staff/team

9 Organization Bank Account Details

10 12A/80G(5)/FCRA Certificate if Available

11 Last 3 Years FCRA Return if Applicable

12 NGO Darpan Registration if Available

13 CSR Registration if Available

14 GST Registration if available

15 GEM Registration if available

Last Three Year Grant Order/Work Order/Project

16
Completion Certificate if available

List of Major Donor/CSR/Government

17
Agencies/International Agency if available

Certificate of Appreciation/Awards/Accolades/
18
Press Notes if Available

Page 16
 NCD WORKSHOP SERIES
MANAGING NON PROFIT 2.0
(Design Your Development Matrix)

DATE: DATE:
19 November 2022, Saturday 20 November 2022, Sunday

TIME: TIME:
09:30 AM to 05:00PM (IST) 09:30 AM to 05:00PM (IST)

VENUE: VENUE:
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Towers , Kempe Gowda Road ( K G Road ), Opp. 18, Madame Cama Road, Fort,
Maneka Theatre, Near Mysore Bank Circle, Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400 001
Bangalore – 560009. Karnataka

DATE:
DATE:
04 December 2022 Sunday
03 December 2022 Saturday

TIME:
TIME:
08:30 AM to 04:30PM (IST)
09:30 AM to 05:00PM (IST)

VENUE:
VENUE:
THE PEARL HOTEL
INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE
35-Z Radha Madhav Dutta Garden Lane,
10, Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi
(Opposite Saltlake Stadium On Em
110003
Bypass), Opp 5 No. Vip Gate On Em
Bypass Kolkata – 700010 West Bengal

LEARNING INVESTMENT:
Rs. 3000/-Per Participant
(Fee includes Morning Break Fast, Lunch, High Tea, E-Material & Certificate of Participation)

Group Discount Available. Women Participant will get 20% discount.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The workshop will be useful for all the staff and management of
Associations/NGOs/ Educational Institutes/Social Enterprises/FPOs etc.

CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Page 17
 NCD FREE WORKSHOP SERIES
SOCIAL ENTERPRENEURSHIP: MIND TO MARKET
Nation Wide Outreach Programme

TOPIC: TOPIC:
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DATE: DATE:
19 November 2022, Saturday 03 December 2022, Saturday

TIME: TIME:
17:00 to 18:30 16:45 to 18:30

SPEAKER: SPEAKER:
Shri Nixon Joseph Prof. Sanjay Vanani
CEO, CLT INDIA, Bangalore Founder & CEO
Ex. President, SBI Foundation NCD

VENUE: VENUE:
HOTEL BANGALORE GATE INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE
Bangalore, Karnataka New Delhi

TOPIC: Speaker:
Social Entrepreneurship: Mind to Market Prof. Sanjay Vanani
Founder & CEO
DATE: NCD
04 December 2022 Sunday
VENUE:
TIME: THE PEARL HOTEL
16:15 to 18:00 Kolkata, West Bengal

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The workshop will be useful for all the staff and management of
Associations/NGOs/ Educational Institutes/Social Enterprises/FPOs etc.

CLICK HERE FOR FREE REGISTRATION CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Page 17
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