Certificate in The Advanced Grant Proposal Writing Online Course

Types of Proposal Formats

In this lesson, you'll learn the different types of grant proposal formats for corporations, foundations, and state and federal government agencies. This lesson is important because you'll discover who reviews your proposals at each type of funder, what format the proposal review staff expect to receive, and how and why decisions to fund or reject grant proposals are made.

Match Funders With Projects

This lesson will teach you how to carefully research the funding agencies so you can match your grant funding needs to their interests. You’ll learn how to find and use Internet research sites to identify multiple funders for grant proposal projects. And you'll learn how to spot the funder/project matches that result in a 90 percent or higher funding success rate.

Write the History and Major Accomplishments Sections

In this lesson, we'll focus on how to prepare the first section of the grant proposal narrative-the research and major accomplishments section. You’ll learn how to sift through organizational documents and write useful information that will answer the dozens of questions that grant reviewers ask when reading your narrative. Most importantly, you'll learn how to avoid the mistakes that can cause your grant proposal to lose points during the initial stages of the funder’s review process.

Write the Current Programs and Activities Section

This lesson will teach you how to develop a current programs and activities section narrative template. You’ll also learn where to find the type of information a grant reviewer needs in this section of your grant proposal. And you'll learn how to stay on your toes to answer all of the questions that funders ask when they read this section of your grant proposals.

Write the Target Population Served Section

In this lesson, you will learn how to write accurate and magnetizing copy for the target population served section of your grant proposals. You’ll also learn how to conduct extensive research on your target population and how to order, organize, and write the information for this critical section of your grant proposals.

Write the Partnerships Section

This lesson will teach you how to find the most current information on your organization’s partners in the community, region, and nation. You’ll also learn how to identify potential partners when your organization has few or no partners. Most importantly, you'll learn how to organize and present your partnership information in an appealing format for funders.

Write the Needs Statement Section

In this lesson, you'll learn how to understand the needs statement section from the funder’s viewpoint. You'll also learn the type of information to collect on the target population and your organization in order to glean language for this section.

Write the Program Design Section

This is perhaps the most important of all our lessons. You are halfway through the main writing sections for your grant proposal narrative and gaining more confidence in your skills. This lesson will teach you how to show the funder that you have a well-thought-out plan for spending grant monies. You'll learn how to look at the program design section from the funder’s viewpoint, how to collect the right information, and how to spot poorly written narrative in this section.

Write the Management Plan Section

In this lesson, you will learn to understand the thinking patterns of grant funders when they read the management plan section. You’ll also learn how to avoid the most common types of errors made by other grant writers when writing this section, and how to cull the right information from your program staff or administrators.

Write the Evaluation Section

This lesson will teach you how to look at the evaluation plan section from the funder's perspective. You'll also learn how to steer clear of the age-old errors that other grant writers make when planning and writing this section. From learning where to find the information needed to write an award-winning evaluation plan to learning the common terms that funders look for in this section, Lesson 10 hits the target.

Develop the Budget Section

At this point, you're nearing the finish line for Advanced Proposal Writing. In this lesson, you will learn the standard definitions you need to know when it comes to planning your budget line items. We'll also look at examples of award-winning budget sections on the Internet. Most importantly, this lesson will teach you how to recover with the funder when you make a glaring budget error.

Apply Finishing Touches and Conduct Follow-up Tasks

Our last lesson will teach you how to view your entire proposal package from the funder's viewpoint. You’ll also learn how to use words that work, some final formatting techniques, and how to prepare the supporting documentation for your grant proposal-the attachments. This final lesson will also teach you the ins and outs of signatories, copies, and how to mail your grant proposal the right way. Lastly, you'll learn how to follow up on all outstanding items, such as verification of proposal delivery and checking back with funders. Finally, I'll show you the next step to take when your proposal is either funded or rejected.