Finding the grants you can apply for is only the first step in the process. The second part, writing the grant proposal, is equally difficult and is where many grant seekers fail.

Here are a few tips for writing your grant proposal (or proposals!):

1. Explain your business idea clearly and in detail. You may understand your business or concept inside out  but the person reading your proposal will only understand it if your explanation is sufficiently clear. Enlist at least two other people OUTSIDE of your organization and have them read the proposal and then ask them questions about your business idea. If they cannot understand it from your explanation then the grants committee probably won't understand it either. They will not provide funding for a business that they can't comprehend.

2. The proposal must provide a step by step description of your business idea. It must be fully explained and take the reader progressively through the plan. Each major point should then be expanded upon to ensure clarity. Then give the finished proposal to someone who doesn’t have expertise in your area of business and get him or here to read it to test it for clarity and making sense. If it doesn’t make perfect sense you will soon know and be able to rewrite it until it does.

3. Ensure that the spelling and grammar are correct. Find one or two people who are good at spelling and grammar and get them to proof read your proposal before you submit it. For good measure read it again yourself! If you want the funding committee to take your proposal seriously, then take it seriously yourself. Ensure that you take great care to ensure that the spelling and grammar is excellent.

4. Don't estimate costs and funding needs for the proposal rather than taking the time to research and evaluate the actual expenses. In a grant proposal, guesses just won’t make it. If a grant reviewer suspects that your financial sheet is not accurate - you just lost the grant. Find out exactly what kind of computer system you are going to need and exactly what the cost will be, then spell it out in the proposal exactly!

5. Make sure that your goals and objectives are clearly laid out and specific. If your grant application proposition is "I want this grant so that I can help the community" you won't get nearly the credibility as you would by saying "This grant will buy 2 new computers, and create 2 part-time paid staff positions in an area where jobs for high school staff are very difficult to find."

6. Give yourself enough time! Don't just throw the proposal together in order to meet the deadline.... it shows. A good proposal package takes time to create and research properly. If you really want the money - then spend the time to put it together correctly, without shortcuts.

7. Every grant has rules and directions that must be followed EXACTLY! If you want your proposal to be read and considered, read and re-read the directions. If it says that the grant MUST be submitted via the online form - don't even bother to ask if you can submit it by fax. Unlike employment applications, where it sometimes pays to be "original", grant committees have rules in place for a specific reason, and they expect them to be followed to the letter. To do otherwise may mean that your application will be disqualified before it is even considered.

8. Make sure that your proposal is what the agency funding the grant will actually find! Don't assume that just because there is a significant amount of money available that they will fund just anything - the truth is that funding agencies are often VERY specific in what they are looking for (which sometimes you may not understand, but that's the choice of the funding agency!) and will rarely deviate from their "funding category". You may have the very best business plan for a clothing manufacturing plant in the world - but if the grant is only for shoes - you won't get the grant!

Grants are hard to find and competitive, so put together the very best proposal possible, and prove that you are the one who should get the money!

Do you qualify for Government Grants?
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