- Every section answers a question the funder's guidelines ask, and no section is padded with material the guidelines do not request.
- Page, word and attachment limits are checked against the funder's current call, not last year's.
- Each need claim has a source a reviewer can find, and each source is dated.
- Each activity names what happens, who does it and when, and has a budget line wherever money is needed.
- Every budget line appears in the narrative with its reason, and the totals add up in every table.
- Partner roles and letters of support match what the partners have actually agreed to.
- Participant details are aggregated or removed, and you have the right to share anything you include.
- A qualified reviewer checks eligibility, deadlines and any required certifications before you send the proposal.
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Grant proposal: write to the funder's questions, in their order
A grant proposal argues that a specific problem matters, that your approach can address it, and that your organization can carry out the work and account for the money. Funders usually judge a proposal against their own published criteria, so the structure should follow their questions rather than your history. Read the call and the guidelines first, then mark every required section and page limit before you write a word.
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Section outline
Sections in the order many funders expect
Summary
The problem, the proposed work, the people who will do it, the amount requested and the period. Write it last, once the rest is settled, and keep it to what the funder's form asks for.
150 wordsStatement of need
The problem for the people or field affected, with evidence you can cite and a note on where each figure came from. Describe what happens if the project does not go ahead.
300 wordsApproach and activities
What you will do, in what order, and why this approach fits the need. Tie each activity to an outcome you will report on.
450 wordsTeam and partners
Who does what, the experience that matters for this work, and partners whose role has been agreed. Do not list anyone whose contribution is not confirmed.
200 wordsEvaluation
How you will know whether the work succeeded, which measures you will collect and when, and who reviews them.
200 wordsBudget and justification
Each cost with the reason it is needed. The narrative explains the numbers, because a budget table cannot explain itself.
250 words
Total: 1550 words
Example excerpt
A sample statement of need
Sample section
Illustrative example. The organization, program and figures are fictional, and the bracketed items must be replaced with your own sources. Riverbend Community Learning is a fictional nonprofit that runs weekly reading circles for adults in three neighborhoods. In the last program year, the waiting list for the Tuesday evening circle grew while the Saturday circle had open seats. Participants who left early most often named the cost and timing of transport as the reason. [Insert the number of participants and the source of your exit records.] Local adult learning programs in the county have closed or cut hours since [year], according to [named source], and our waiting list grew over the same period. Without this project, people who most need a regular group close to home will keep waiting, and people who cannot travel will keep dropping out. This proposal moves the evening circle to two sites near bus routes and records attendance at every session, so the effect can be measured.
Weak and strong wording
Replace general claims with checkable statements
Weak: Our program is needed in the community.
Strong: Local adult learning programs have closed or cut hours since [year], according to [named source], and our waiting list grew to [number] over the same period.
A need statement is strongest when each claim names a source a reviewer can find.
Weak: We will do outreach to participants.
Strong: In [month] and [month], two staff members will meet participants at the bus stops nearest each new site and record who attends each session.
A named activity, with a time, a place and a record, can be checked later and costed in the budget.
Weak: Our team is highly experienced.
Strong: [Name] has run adult learning sessions for [number] years and will supervise the volunteer facilitators. [Partner] will supply the transport schedule.
Name the person, the experience that matters for this work and the role. Do not claim experience a reviewer cannot check.
Weak: We will measure impact.
Strong: We will record attendance at every session, and survey participants at the start and end of the term about how comfortable they feel reading aloud.
Name the measure, when it is collected and who reviews it. The word impact on its own reads as a placeholder.
Quality checklist
Check the draft against the funder's rules and your records
Frequently asked questions
What sections does a grant proposal need?
Many proposals include a summary, a statement of need, the approach, the team, an evaluation plan and a budget with its justification. If the funder publishes a template, use its section names and order. A funder's own form overrides this outline wherever the two differ.
How long should a grant proposal be?
The funder decides. Read the page limit for each section and for the whole package, and check which attachments fall outside the limit. If the guidelines do not say, ask the program officer before you write the full draft.
Can I use a sample grant proposal as a model?
Use a sample to see how a section can be organized, not to copy its wording or its figures. Samples from another field, another country or another funder may follow different rules. Write your own need statement and budget from your own records.
What is the difference between a grant proposal and a grant application?
A grant application is often the funder's form, with fields for contacts, budget totals and attachments. The proposal is the written case the funder reads, either as one of those attachments or as the text behind the form's narrative fields.
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