Funding Formula Stage 6

Guide to Writing Successful Funding Proposals

Contents

1.The relevance of your project to the donor

2.Cover page

3.Executive summary and proposal details

4.Needs and situation analysis

5.The implementing organization/your Member Association

6.Project goal and objectives

7.Project activities

8.Monitoring & Evaluation

9.Key components of the project

10.Key project personnel

11.Strengths and innovation

12.Sustainability

13.Budget

14.A Generic Logical Framework

15. Project Proposal Template example

16.Writing a Proposal? Here’s a Checklist to Guide You

17. Five Tips on How to Format a Proposal like a Professional

1. The relevance of your project to the donor

The most important first step is to ascertain what the donor’s current priorities and interests are, and what key issues should be included in the proposal.

Tip: The goals and objectives of your project should be a close fit with those of the donor: if not, why are you submitting?

• find out if the donor has published guidelines for submitting a proposal: they are usually on their website
• review any information the donor has on its current programmes and priorities; make sure your project complements and does not duplicate other work that the donor is funding
• contact the donor to make sure the published guidelines are up to date, and to glean further information about key issues they would like to see in the proposal

When researching a donor…

• what are the donor’s priorities and organizational values?
• what kind of projects has the donor funded in the past, or is currently funding?
• where has the donor funded projects?
• are there expenses that the donor will not fund?
• what are the proposal guidelines?
• when is the deadline for proposals?
• what are the budget levels that the donor will fund?

2. Cover page

The cover page of your proposal should provide key information and look professional. Include:

• name and logo of your Member Association
• name of project
• name of potential donor
• month and year of submission
• contact person(s) at your Member Association, including street address, phone and fax numbers, email address and website
• a Table of Contents, if the proposal is more than five pages, so the donor knows what to expect

3. Executive summary and proposal details

The Executive Summary is important for two reasons:

• this may be as far as the donor gets before deciding whether the project interests them
• the donor may not have time to read more

The Executive Summary therefore should be compelling and should contain a good overview of the essential elements of the proposal. A strong Executive Summary may also help the donor, who often has to write a project summary for its Board of Directors. Essential elements should include:

• the name of the implementing organization (your Member Association, if appropriate).
• a brief explanation of the problem, including some country context.
• the number of beneficiaries and who they are, including any particular needs; for example, if their needs are not met, if they are poor and vulnerable.
• List your project’s goals and objectives: there must be a close, neat fit with those of the donor, and you should point this out (with the page number of the donor’s health strategy if necessary!) so it is easy for the donor to see that your project meets their own priorities.
• List the activities that you will undertake in order to meet your project’s goals and objectives.
• Include the direct and indirect benefits to clients. Some donors like to hear about unintended beneficiaries and their benefits from the project.
• Include a small map of your country and the specific area(s) where your project will take place.
• Make sure you mention sustainability and the plans your Member Association will undertake to ensure the project will continue once funding ends.
• State the proportion of the total project budget that you are requesting and whether you or other donors will provide matching funding – your request may have more appeal if you can demonstrate that the donor’s grant will “leverage” further funding from other donors.

Tip: Do the project’s goals and objectives fit those of the donor? If so, say so – make it easy for your donor!

4. Needs and situation analysis

This section introduces the justification for the project: the problem and the need for the project. Why should the donor pay attention to the problem you describe? Be thorough, and convey a sense of urgency.

4.1 Paint a picture of the country and region where the project will be implemented

Include :

• the current sexual and reproductive health and rights landscape
• Include the total number of potential beneficiaries and their particular characteristics, for example, women, girls, men, young people, poor, vulnerable and why they are under-served.
• Explain why their needs are not being met, for example, because of their youth; lack of [government/other provider] services; poor social, cultural, financial and/or geographical access; stigma, ignorance, lack of knowledge?
• What are the consequences of this? For instance: poor health, high maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, disempowerment, poor or no education and/or employment opportunities, violation of rights, unwanted pregnancy, self-induced abortions, abandoned newborns, increasing STI and HIV infections – these consequences should be the issues that the donor has stated interests in.
• Describe the project location’s characteristics, for example, urban, rural or dispersed population; and include a map of the project area in relation to the rest of the country, for example, major population centres and/or critical issues such war zones or areas of conflict.
• Explain whether your Member Association the only agency that can address this particular need for sexual and reproductive health services? If so, state why.
• Outline how the project is aligned to your local and national government’s development plan and health objectives.
• Donors like to hear that agencies are collaborating closely and working together to maximise results, so include details of other agencies with whom your Member Association will cooperate.
• State if the current situation (local, regional and national) is conducive to sexual and reproductive health and rights service provision.

Tip: In your account of the political situation and other donor providers…

DO	DO NOT
Be obejective	Resort to criticism
Be impartial	Mention any political bias
Be factual	State your personal opinion
Be accurate	Include any prejudice

The success of projects often depends entirely on their impartiality, especially in areas of conflict.

4.2 Provide up to date statistics and the most recent research findings

Include the source of your Member Association’s research. The donor may want to know how recent (and credible) your information is. If the only available statistics seem out of date, mention that they are the most recent ones and/or the only ones available.

Tip: Every piece of your application points to the credibility of your organization, and dated or faulty information can create a negative impression from the donor

5. The implementing organization/your Member Association

An accurate definition of the problem should lead logically to an understanding of why the problem is relevant to your Member Association, and why you are best placed to address the problem. Here you should convey to the donor the credibility and qualifications of your Member Association (or the organization planning to implement the project):

5.1 What are your Member Association’s Unique Selling Points?

Describe your Member Association, and demonstrate how it is better than other service providers, or the only agency providing sexual and reproductive health services in this particular context.

5.2 When was your Member Association established?

If appropriate, include your Articles of Association, Memorandum of Understanding, and charitable status. See Stage 2: Credibility for more examples of your Member Association’s credibility.

5.3 What are your Member Association’s mission and goals?

Emphasize the areas of relevance between your Member Association and the donor, highlighting a neat “fit” between your goals and the donor’s goals; include a link to your website as donors will want to read more about your Member Association.

5.4 What are the skills and experience your Member Association has that makes it a good (the best!) candidate for the project?

Detail the expertise and experience your Member Association has in this area of work, and include an organogram and/or CVs of two or three of the key team members involved in the project.

5.5 What steps (if any) has your Member Association taken in the past to address the problem?

Present achievements as well as unresolved, unmet needs.

5.6 Has your Member Association successfully implemented similar programmes elsewhere that addressed similar issues?

Note the positive results of that programme and the lessons learned, and how they can be successfully applied and replicated in this project.

Tip: If a previous, similar project – or your Member Association – has attracted press coverage or a mention in another donor’s publications, include a weblink with your application

5.7 Which other organizations will participate in this project, if any?

Donors are often interested in funding collaborations in order to:

• draw on the expertise of various organizations
• scale up programmes
• obtain a greater return on their investment

5.8 If your Member Association plans to collaborate with another group, how will you collaborate?

Describe your previous involvement with other agencies, and how and why the alliances were successful.

Tip: Collaborating with outside experts or organizations that have experience in a particular area of work or with a focus population will increase your reach, scope and credibility

5.9 How were the future beneficiaries involved in the development and design of the project, and how will they be involved in its implementation?

For example, a youth-focused project should involve young people from the development of the project through to its implementation, monitoring and evaluation – this will enhance the project’s relevance and sustainability.

6. Project goal and objectives

Donors often want to know about the “so what?” factor. It is not sufficient to list your project’s activities – donors want to know the project’s impact:

• how your project will make a difference
• how you will know it has made a difference
• how you are going to measure that difference

6.1 A Logical Framework

Before writing the proposal, it is recommended that you complete a logical framework, which is a method for organizing your project graphically. The ‘logframe’ provides details of what your project will accomplish; how it will accomplish it and how you will know whether it has been accomplished. In addition, the logframe is useful in implementing your project because it provides a detailed visual overview, and how it will be evaluated. A logical framework includes:

• what problem you will contribute to solving: the project goal
• what you wish to achieve: the project objectives
• how you propose to do it: the project activities
• how you will show that the objectives were reached: the project results and indicators

A generic logframe is at the end of this document. However, some donors have their own logframe formats, so ascertain whether your potential donor has a required format before you start.

6.2 Your project’s goals: how they are advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

Explain how your project’s goals and activities are aligned to, and contribute, to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals – they should! It is critical that a donor, who is committed to progressing the SDGs, fully understand how your project will do that, too.

6.3 Your project’s objectives

Ensure that your project’s objectives are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound:

Specific

• is the objective precise and well-defined?
• is the objective clear?
• can everyone understand it?

Measurable

• how will your Member Association know when the objective has been achieved?
• what evidence is needed to confirm it?

Achievable

• is your objective within your Member Association’s capabilities?
• are there sufficient resources to enable this to happen?

Realistic

• is it possible for your Member Association to achieve the objective?
• how sensible is the objective in your current business context?
• does it fit into your overall strategy?

Timely

• is there a deadline?
• is it feasible to meet this deadline?
• is it appropriate to do this work now?
• are there review dates?

7. Project activities

Explain to the donor exactly what your Member Association is going to do with their funds. Each activity should support the achievement of the project objectives, and needs a comprehensive description. The activities also need to be consistent with the budget.

7.1 How will the project be implemented?

Include the different activities your project will undertake, for example, clinic services, outreach work, comprehensive sexuality education, workplace services, peer education, capacity building, referral systems, training, social media.

7.2 Why did you choose these activities?

Make sure you include the needs assessment that your Member Association undertook of the key population, and the involvement of the beneficiaries in the project design, to support the reason for these activities.

7.3 Who will conduct the activity?

Detail your Member Association’s experienced and qualified staff; the roles that volunteers may play, and the involvement of beneficiaries as, for example, peer educators. Mention any task shifting or upskilling that may be necessary.

7.4 How many beneficiaries will be involved in the design, implementation and/or evaluation of the project, and how will you recruit them?

Emphasize your Member Association’s collaboration with the community and its close work with the key population including, for example, religious and cultural leaders, faith-based organizations, women’s groups, youth clubs and other community organizations.

7.5 When will the activity occur, how frequently and for how long?

State how long the project will run, and whether activities will be implemented on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

7.6 What materials will you need to conduct the activity, do these materials already exist and do they need to be adapted to the new population?

Detail the type of materials you will use, for example, printed leaflets, and whether these materials have been designed for and by the beneficiaries.

7.7 Will your Member Association collaborate with others to carry out the activity; if so, what will be the role of each organization?

If relevant, describe the activities that each organization will implement, how those activities play to the strengths of those organizations, and how the different activities and organizations complement each other.

Tip: Include plans for the project’s visibility, and explain how the project’s activities will help raise the profile of the donor, as well as that of your Member Association

8. Monitoring & Evaluation

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) is an integral part of the project proposal, and is often critical to donors – who want to see not what they are spending, but what they are BUYING. In addition, a well-designed M&E plan enables project staff to understand how well the project is working, and to make programmatic decisions throughout the life of the project. This section should answer:

8.1 What indicators will be measured?

Refer to your logframe here, which will detail the key performance indicators that will be used to measure the progress and success of the project.

8.2 Where will the information or data come from?

Data both quantitative and qualitative – could come from service providers’ records, exist surveys with clients, feedback from community leaders, as well as IPPF’s Global Indicators.

8.3 Who will collect, analyse and synthesize the data?

Involving the expertise of an M&E expert member of staff will improve credibility here.

8.4 How and how often will data be collected?

Mention the sample size of data here, and discuss the evaluation methodologies that will be used.

8.5 How and how often will reporting be undertaken?

Inform the donor of your reporting plans and frequency – but bear in mind that donors may well have their own reporting requirements (and formats) which must be adhered to in order to maintain compliance with donor requirements.

8.6 What human resources will be used to monitor and evaluate the project, including consultants and technical assistance?

State the staff or department responsible, and any consultants or technical assistance you may need, and include costs for this in the budget.

Tip: The M&E section must be consistent with the budget: if the M&E section of the proposal states that a focus group or staff members will carry out M&E activities, the budget line must include this cost/portion of their salary. M&E costs to consider include:

• finalizing M&E plans
• developing instruments and methodological protocols
• providing technical assistance
• carrying out surveys or other data collection activities
• processing and analyzing data

9. Key components of the project

Include in this section critical issues that you know the donor is especially interested in:

9.1 Who you are serving?

For example, women, girls, young people, people living with HIV or with disability, workplace employees, rural populations, internally displaced populations.

9.2 Which types of services are you offering?

Mention integrated services (and how more efficient and cost-effective they are, innovative strategies – if they really are innovative, say how

9.3 What are the project’s cross-cutting issues?

Outline some key issues that cut across your project, for example, gender, quality of care, women’s rights, peer education, sustainability, building local capacity.

Tip: If you know a donor is especially interested in, for example, maternal health, use Word Count on your software to ensure you have written about it sufficiently in the proposal!

10. Key project personnel

An interested donor will want to be convinced that the project will be carried out successfully, and that the human resources are adequate for the tasks proposed. Include here:

• who will work on the project – name the key staff involved in your project, list their experience and knowledge and, if appropriate, attach their CV as an appendix
• what responsibilities they will have
• what proportion of their time they will dedicate to support the project

Remember to be consistent with job titles, and include any volunteer time and other resources from, for example, your Member Association’s Finance, Monitoring & Evaluation and Human Resources teams, that may also be required.

11. Strengths and innovation

Donors realize that providing their funds to an organization is not only an opportunity to address important issues, but also a risk. To help minimize the risk and to reassure a potential donor that the project will meet its objectives, it is important to convey the strengths of the project. This may relate to your Member Association, your partners, your experience with the focus populations, and/or the fact that your Member Association’s strategies have been successful elsewhere.

In addition, donors often want to fund new initiatives, pilot projects or projects with innovative qualities. If your Member Association is forging links between groups that have never worked together before, mention this.

State how the project is innovative; what sets it apart from other projects. The project should contain some element that has not been done before:

• are there innovative features in the project design?
• is there innovation in the process of implementing the project?
• is there anything in the programming element of the project which is innovative?
• are you reaching out to a population that has been neglected before?
• is your organization forging links between groups that have never worked together before, in order to address the same goals?

12. Sustainability

Sustainability refers to the ability of the project to continue once the initial grant or funding has ended. The following reasons justify thinking about sustainability:

• to ensure that beneficiaries will continue to be served
• to reassure donors that their investment will not be ‘lost’
• to satisfy the donor that you have planned wisely for the future of your project
• to ensure that your Member Association’s investment (direct and indirect) is not lost

Designing your project appropriately – and realistically – from the beginning can help. Some strategies to generate local income or to cover project costs could include:

• integrate the project into your Member Association’s budget and cover costs through normal fundraising
• seek other donors – local, national or international – who can co-fund the project
• enter into collaborations with other agencies, for example, local governments or other Civil Society Organizations, who can assume some responsibility for the project
• involve the community in planning for the sustainability of a project that affects them
• offer to ‘sell’ your organizational expertise to other organizations, through the provision of training or technical assistance
• explore cross-subsidization, so that the profits made by income-generating activities cover the deficit of other components of the project
• collect fees from clients or users for services and products provided, if appropriate

It is important to demonstrate in your proposal that your Member Association has thought about sustainability, and that you will explore strategies to achieve some level of financial, technical and organizational sustainability.

13. Budget

The Budget section of the proposal should reflect the staffing and other resource requirements for the effective delivery of the project, including costs for personnel, materials, equipment, M&E and other resources required to undertake the activities stated in the proposal. It should also include a budget line for Resource Mobilization, to support financial sustainability after the project has ended.

For some donors, the Budget is the most important section of any proposal – along with the Executive Summary, it may be either what the donor reads first, or the only thing the donor reads. The Budget will tell the donor not only how much you are spending on each activity, but the importance that you may place on that activity.

Make sure you include narrative Budget Notes on a separate page: a donor should be able to look at the Budget and the Notes, and see almost everything they need to know about deciding to fund a project. For the format:

• follow the donor’s budget format, if it exists
• include the project title, the name of your organization and the project period
• the staff listed in the budget should correlate with the staff in the Key Personnel section of the proposal narrative
• staff costs should reflect salaries by monthly rate, and the proportion of their time to be spent on the project, for example, Community Promoter (50% of time) @ US$500/month x 12 months = US$6,000
• if a planning phase is proposed, include costs associated with it
• research and justify costs of equipment and materials – it must be clear why your project needs, for example, a new vehicle; items that seem unreasonably expensive or surprisingly inexpensive may undermine the credibility of the project
• plan for the future – if the project operates for three years, take into account inflation and staff pay increases
• include M&E costs – as mentioned above
• show which costs may be covered by counterpart funding from, for example, other donors, partners or IPPF

14. An example of a Generic Logical Framework is here.
15. Click here for an example of a project proposal template.
    

16. Writing a proposal? Here is a checklist to Guide You

Writing a proposal is the first step toward cultivating a partnership. It is a competitive process that goes well beyond stringing words together to convince a donor or foundation to invest in a project idea. The process of writing a winning proposal involves planning, research, writing and follow-up. Even minor errors can result in a significant loss.

Here are seven key takeaways:

1. Define your objective

No matter how focused a proposal is, it is important to ‘build on its primary objective in a constructive manner’. Demonstrate your approach in every proposal submission. Strive to elevate your approach through integrated programming that has the potential to support a variety of development goals including poverty alleviation and resiliency, gender equality and social inclusion, youth empowerment, improved nutrition.

2. Communicate clearly

The technical skills required for proposal writing should not drown out the storytelling — the aspect most likely to convince a donor that your project or program deserves investment. Do your proposals tell a story? The story should reflect organizational principles, expertise and evidence-based results and impacts to improve livelihoods.

Proposals should also clearly articulate the proposal’s theory of change in a way that is well thought-out. Make sure you are clear in communicating how your programmes fit together and work together.

Clear communication also includes checking for grammatical errors and always running spell check.

3. Take note of inconsistency

The more familiar authors are with a proposal — and the process of proposal writing — the easier it becomes to miss small errors. Vigilance is key. Once you have been working on something for 9 to 12 months for example, you look at it so many times that you can’t notice a lot of inconsistencies.

For example, you want the titles in your entire document to be consistent so that the person who receives your application can easily track the document if they are looking for something.

4. Check the file format

You can lose funding as a result of simple mistakes over file name and format. Simple steps such as checking that a document is saved in the right format (Word vs. PDF vs. Excel), has the correct orientation, spacing, fonts, and so forth, can be the difference between winning a bid and never having your proposal considered.

5. Incorporate feedback into new proposals

Missing out on a grant opportunity the first time around should not discourage future efforts.  Asking for feedback and improving the submission for the next funding cycle can increase the chances of being considered.

Feedback helps you see what you missed in the previous submission and offers hints to improve. Do an after-action review after each proposal so that you can learn what to do differently next time.

6. Print out a copy of the proposal for review

Some donor agencies like to print out copies of proposals so that the review committee can look at them together. Always try to put yourself in the position of the person who will be reviewing it. To make sure that a submitted proposal meets the expectation of the committee, print and review paper copies in-house before submission. Make sure that you print the document and ensure that all the margins fit and everything is on the printed page.  As simple as it sounds, a wrongly indented page margin or layout can result in disqualification.

7. Submission

Before turning in a proposal, it is important to be familiar with the method of submission. While some donors accept submissions by email, others require development managers to submit proposals through a customized database.

A good practice is to familiarize oneself with the database system before the submission deadline. Does it require an individual account per proposal? Have you signed the document? Are the characters within limit?

If you have a proposal that you are putting into a database, you want to make sure that you have the right people registered in that database. That way, if something goes wrong after submission, you will be sure to receive a notification. You want to make sure your application is as organized and as seamless as possible

17. Five Tips on How to Format a Proposal

Choosing the right words and organization of your proposal is important to best communicate your project to the donor. Additionally, how you present this information can also play a leading role in making sure the donor gets the message.

This is where formatting comes in. Formatting is often seen as a way to ‘beautify’ a document, but it is also an important way to make sure the information is clearly presented and easy to read. There are many ways to format a proposal. Components of formatting include font style, font size, line and paragraph spacing, heading style, chart and table elements, colour scheme, and many other elements which are both decorative and functional. Here are 5 tips to make sure you choose the right format for your proposal!

1. Get the content right first

Before worrying about how to format a proposal, make sure you have a good foundational text to format. Proof-read, check the text for clarity, make sure every part of the proposal needed is included. A good format is a finishing touch for a proposal, so make sure the rest of the document is complete before beginning. The format should fit your proposal, not the other way around.

2. Set purpose

All formatting should complete a purpose. Make sure you are aware of what that purpose is. Is there a line or part of the proposal that is very important and needs to draw the donor’s attention? Maybe the M&E plan is too complicated, and you need a format to make it seem simple. Or, possibly all you want is to make your proposal stand out in the crowd. Good formatting can do all these things and more. Just make sure you are clear on what role formatting will play before choosing a format.

3. Start with defaults

Most word programmes, and Microsoft Word in particular, already come with pre-designed professional layouts, formats, and colour schemes. In Microsoft Word, these options can be selected under the “Design” button on the ribbon. You do not need to pay a professional designer or spend hours making an original format if you know how to use your word processor correctly. Start with these options, test how they look on your document and make changes where necessary.

4. Function before beauty

First and foremost, your proposal needs to be readable. Avoid using cursive or hard-to-read fonts, too much colour, underlining of non-links, small spacing, or other distractions. While few donors have strict guidelines on formatting, 12 pt. font in Arial or Times New Roman with 1.5 spacing is fairly standard. Also, check to make sure the proposal and its graphics would be readable if printed out in greyscale and large pixels. Once the basics are set, then you can experiment with borders and images and colour schemes.

5. Be consistent

Once you have finalized your format, make sure that formatting is applied correctly throughout the entire proposal. Inconsistent formatting can make a proposal feel disjointed, even if the text does, in fact, flow well. It can also be a tell-tale sign to the donor that sections were copied and pasted together and rushed through. Worse, a donor could wonder if the proposal was plagiarized.