How to Write That Winning Proposal

These articles are supposed to be about disability, education, laws, and/or employment. This article includes all those elements. Articles are usually geared toward the individual with a disability who is looking for work or looking to for advancement in the work world. This article is geared towards persons with disabilities looking for Fellowships and similar opportunities as well as program directors that write grant proposals which may employ PWD’s or otherwise serve PWD’s. I have written many grant proposals and evaluated many more both at the state and federal level so have knowledge of which I speak. I also queried two of the best grant writers I know for their suggestions. Andy Winnegar, the Deputy Director of DVR in New Mexico wrote:

There is nothing better that working alone all night long on a proposal that doesn't tie together.
If you have needs or problems identified make sure you deal with them in the proposal.
Check your budget to make sure you budget for what you said you are going to do.
Find something that will allow peer reviewers to remember your proposal.
Start writing right away and plan multi-drafts with as many readers and editors as you can find.

All of the above are words to live by for grant writers. Number 1 above expresses the frustration some grant writers feel when the deadline approaches and your proposal still isn’t clear. Number 5 bears repeating, start writing right away and plan multi-drafts with as many readers and editors as you can find. The reason is, due dates are closer than they appear. I’ve been on review panels in which opinions were quite varied. If you want to appeal to many, have many readers review your proposal to be sure you haven’t missed something.

Answer RFP questions fully

The most important step to take in responding to a Request For Proposals is to answer the questions posed therein. This sounds like common sense, and probably is, but many grant writers will gloss over questions or ignore parts of questions altogether. In order to avoid this, I suggest getting a copy of the evaluation tool that will be used to rate all grant proposals. If the agency that issued the RFP can’t or won’t release that tool then you are on equal footing with all applicants. If they do send an evaluation sheet then you practically have the grant all wrapped up. When you answer each question and each sub-part of questions, be sure to answer specifically. Answer all questions in the order in which they are asked as that is the way they will be evaluated. If you make grant reviewers look for your answers you’ll probably lose points.

Sign the proposal

This too sounds like common sense but you may be surprised at how many proposals are turned in unsigned. Some proposals also require some sort of certification to be signed. These are equally important. Grant writers usually wait until their proposal is written and reviewed by several people before signing and dating. This is perfectly appropriate but if the proposal isn’t finished until the last minute, and the director is out or unavailable to sign it, an omitted signature can spell doom for the submitting organization.

Turn the proposal in on time

Again, this should be common sense but many managers and directors fail to plan appropriately to accomplish this task. Often times grant writing comes down to the wire and proposals are submitted with less then a comfortable margin of time remaining. I actually witnessed one manager lie and say the proposal was late because the person delivering it had car trouble. Such deception does no one any good.

Triple check your budget

Budgets must be appropriate and numbers must add correctly. I can’t tell you how many times I reviewed proposals where numbers simply didn’t add correctly. Others didn’t include enough information. For example, they budgeted $4,000 for equipment but did not list what that equipment is or how it will be used. Sometimes items are omitted. If you want to purchase a computer, make sure you also purchase software and, on occasion, training to use that software.
I saw one proposal that valued volunteer work at $14/hour and wanted to list that as an in-kind matching contribution. Normally that would be fine but I also calculated the rate of one of their full-time positions and found volunteers were getting paid (theoretically) more. That was an obvious over site.

All numbers on your budget and expenses must be justified. Budget items which are often suspect are ‘out of state’ travel and equipment. If you plan on doing out of state travel, you must justify it. If it is to attend a conference, name the conference; give the dates, and how this will benefit your proposed program. Be realistic with costs. If airfare is projected to cost $400, don’t say it will cost $600. Some agencies require components to purchase refundable tickets, which cost more. In that case, stipulate that in your budget.

Equipment must be justified. If you want to buy equipment for your office to be used by someone trying to gain employment, particularly self-employment, your proposal will be suspect. With PASS plans and other government tools available to help folks with disabilities buy assistive technology and other equipment, you will have to show none of those tools are appropriate for your target population. If not, you may lose points on your review.

If you must submit a table showing detailed expenses, use Excel or some other spreadsheet program to insure numbers in columns and rows add up correctly. It continues to amaze me how many people in management positions don’t know how to use vital programs such as spreadsheets.

Letters of support should reflect your proposal

A bad example is, “We support this organization on the proposed project.” A good example is, “ We have know XYZ for many years and worked with them on Project ABC, as we share similar goals. We look forward to working with them on this proposed project. We can support them by sharing our research and sharing our outreach efforts to find people with disabilities in the aforementioned service area.” I’ve even seen one group develop a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) regarding support. That was much appreciated by reviewers.

Demographics

Most RFPs will include a question about demographics and target population. You must recognize the ethnic make up of your service area. Further, you must have plans to assure your clients fairly represent the ethnic make up of your service area. Rather than say you’re open to all folks with disabilities regardless of their race, you might say that a representative sample of clients would include 60% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 25% White, or whatever the percentages are in that area. If your proposal is for a specific disability group and the RFP calls for ALL disabilities to be addressed, you must justify your position. In some cases a proposal may be declined for a particular RFP but the agency issuing the RFP may, as a result, issue a new RFP based on your submission.

Personnel

There most certainly will be a question on personnel. Since you haven’t been awarded the grant yet you may not be able to provide names of people who will work on the grant. Some applicants will have that information though and may win points for it. You should at least list the duties and qualifications of the personnel to be hired. Positions should all match. Too often I will see an applicant call one person a director in one section then call that same person a program coordinator in another section. You’ll lose points if you are confusing.

Be Innovative

Reviewers like to see new ideas. I once lost out on a grant proposal. I thought I should have had it so I did some investigation and found that four organizations collaborated to submit a single application. That was an unusual and clever approach.

Where grants can be found

Dr. John Westbrook of SEDL.org in Austin, Texas says that for people looking for what's available, the NCDDR has created a web "portal" to quite a few disability-oriented funding sources. It can be accessed at: http://www.ncddr.org/rr/Grants_and_Foundations.html

Do you have a question about employment and disability? Send your question to grodgers@austin.rr.com and put “DLRP JOBS” in the subject line.

About the author

Gene Rodgers Photo Gene Rodgers has been a quadriplegic since age 17. Since then he has earned several college degrees, worked in several states, earned a Switzer Fellowship, and now works as a private contractor.

Do you have a question about employment and disability? Send your question to grodgers@austin.rr.com and put “DLRP JOBS” in the subject line.