12 PRINCIPALS OF A GREAT GRANT PROPOSAL

Questions for the Grantseeker to Answer...
1. ARE YOU TRYING A NEW APPROACH?
After all, if all of the world's problems could be solved by tried and true methods, there would be no problems. Are you proposing the same old stuff, or do you infuse your proposal with creativity, and perhaps a spark of genius that will meet the new challenges of today and tomorrow?

2. DO YOU HAVE EXPERTISE, BUT KNOW WHERE TO GET HELP?
The most successful organizations are those which combine a lot of know-how, AND a recognition of their weaknesses, with willingness to fill them in.

3. ARE YOU DETERMINED TO DO THE PROJECT NO MATTER WHAT?
Nothing is more chilling than to hear an applicant say, "If you won't fund it, this project will die." If the Bay Area Community Foundation were the only Foundation in the world, this might make sense, but given the fact that there are 50,000 or so in America alone, the logic is undoubtedly flawed. The best projects to fund are those for which applicants are dedicated, perhaps almost fanatically so. Here is a great example of this - the story of Rick Little, the founder of Quest International (a curriculum-support organization). He was turned down by 156 funders before he went to the Kellogg Foundation and finally received a grant. Quest International now operates in all 50 U.S. states and in more than 30 other nations!

4. HAVE YOU DONE YOUR HOMEWORK?
Have you taken the time to ask questions, learn about what other people are doing in the field, and find our about the Foundation's funding priorities? If you do not have this type of background information, it will not automatically disqualify you, but it is definitely a bonus if you have it!

5. ARE YOU WORKING WITH PEOPLE?
Whatever you are proposing, it is important to note that you should be doing it with the people you want to help and not to them. Have the people who will benefit from the project provided input and assisted with the design of the project? Of course there are times when this is not applicable or appropriate, but just keep in mind that there is nothing worse than sitting in a conference room with well-meaning people who want to (for example) solve all the problems of youth, and realizing that no youth has ever even seen the proposal, let alone had some input into it! Programs that are designed in isolation from the populations they are meant to benefit inevitably fail.

6. ARE YOU DOING SOMETHING TO IMPROVE HUMAN WELL-BEING?
All too often, proposals read something like this: "If you fund this proposal, we will buy new computers, new furniture and fix our leaky roof." Presumably, these well-equipped employees will then go out and serve the public. However, if the proposal does not mention serving the public, the applicant's focus seems to be internal, rather than external.

7. WILL YOU INVEST YOUR OWN MONEY INTO THE PROJECT?
One of the most precious resources of any nonprofit organization is, of course, their scarce funds. If they are willing to dedicate a portion of those funds to the proposed project, it means that it is really a priority for them, not just a way to chase grant dollars.

8. DOES THE PROPOSAL INCLUDE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH?
Let's be honest, complex problems are rarely solved by simplistic programs. The proposed solution has to be at least as sophisticated as the problem it is tackling, or it will not work.

9. WILL YOU WORK COLLABORATIVELY?
You can't solve all of the problems of the world by yourself! The most effective grants are usually the ones that mobilize a variety of organizations for problem solving.

10. WILL YOU EVALUATE YOUR WORK?
The lessons learned from a project are equally important to the grantee and to the Foundation. Each becomes better by learning from both our successes and our failures, and organizations that embrace that kind of learning improve over time. Whether you conduct some sort of evaluation yourself, or hire an impartial evaluator, outcomes and the measuring of those outcomes is critical.

11. WILL YOU CONTINUE THE PROGRAM AFTER FUNDING CEASES?
If being a seed-money funder means anything at all, it means that we (as Foundations) should plant our seeds and nurture them so that they can eventually survive without us. If projects only live as long as we are willing to pump money into them, it is highly unlikely that they are what the community wants or needs.

12. DOES THE PROJECT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR BROADER IMPACT?
If a project can only work under very specific circumstances in a very limited area, it is probably not a prime candidate for funding. Ideally, of course, the project would have the power to change public policy and transform major systems (!!). Even if it does not, however, it should still have the potential to work in more than one place, for more than a few people.

Source: Dr. Joel J. Orosz, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

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