Grant Proposals It doesn’t matter if the business is just an agency, organization, for profit or non-profit they need money to operate. Profit companies focus on getting their funding through revenues and interest-bearing loans. Non-profit companies depend on grants, loans, and public generosity. It is a must to understand that non-profit agencies are businesses too and they also need a way to pay for their expenses. Writing grants is the way an agency finds funding. Either an employee professional grant writer or having administrative personnel to write the proposals, they then submit them for review to potential donors. Writing grants proposals is far from an easy to deal with. There are deadlines, awareness of what programs a funder is looking to invest their time and money into. Details for the application are an important part to writing a grant. Some are short and don’t require much information, while others require detailed description of the program. This is the grant writer’s priority to make sure that it meets requirement and all the information that is needed is there. The primary point to a proposal is that is to get their program out there and to make it clear and honest picture of the organization project for those funding and in general. The writer must convince the review committee that their program is the best to choose. Grant proposals are the entrance to a organization, and creative writing can either win the committee over or break the deal. The information needed to write an effective grant proposal is directly tied to the program planning process. Without a plan which is understandable and reasonable, no grant writer, regardless of their talent, can hope to attain funding. Most of the requirements for a good business plan are the same as they are for grant writing; the difference is that one is written more for the functional, directional, and operational needs of the organization; the other is used to convince others that their money will be well- spent should they choose to invest it. The major attributes for both planning and grant writing include: defining the purpose and importance of the program, describing the service environment and needs addressed, identifying target populations, defining measureable and attainable goals and objectives, scheduling activities and timelines, detailing staffing and management issues, developing an appropriate budget, recognizing an agent’s capacity, and developing an evaluation plan. (Terao & Yuen, 2003) If any one of the pieces to this puzzle (the proposal or plan) is left out, the others will either be haphazard or poorly constructed.
Grant donors want to see a proposal that is clearly written, can be justified with relevant facts and current literature review, in which the goals and objectives are likely to be successful, and that with their donation the target population will be well-served. While it may sound good to plan to make grand changes, it is better to limit the scope of the program to changes that are reasonable. Review committees are quite aware of the needs of their organizations, the requirements set for organizations to receive grant money, and the projects they plan to fund. Applying for grants which directly match the goals of both parties saves stress, time, and the frustration of being rejected.

References
Terao, K., Terao, K.L. & Yuen (2003). Practical Grant Writing and Program Evaluation. Brooks and Cole/Cengage Learning, Florence, KY.