TIPS ON WRITING WINNING PROPOSALS
You're not writing an essay.
People often mistake proposals for essays. The purpose of a project proposal is to convince someone to give you what you want, whether that be funding for your project or an extension on a deadline. Your audience is going to be made up of other professionals in their field, who sometimes have limited time. So, make sure that you're crafting something they can quickly read and understand how it will benefit them based on what they know about their organization's goals and objectives.
Stick to the facts.
● Be specific. A well-written project proposal will be tailored to the needs of its audience. This means that you need to focus on your project and how it plans to solve a problem rather than waxing poetic about the many ways in which you are awesome and want to do this thing for them.
● Avoid jargon and buzzwords. If a word or phrase isn't familiar, skip over it without thinking twice—it's not worth taking up space in your proposal with something that will only confuse people reading it later down the line (or even worse, make them think you have no idea what's going on).
● Use bullet points and lists whenever possible; they make information easier on the eyes by guiding readers through complex content in an organized manner while still allowing them freedom of choice when deciding which parts interest them most at any given moment during their reading process--and let's face it: as a writer who has spent countless hours crafting an excellent piece of writing only for someone else to read it once before making their decision about whether or not they like what was written enough to give feedback regarding improvements needed so future revisions can be made accordingly (or not), we all know how frustrating those times can feel!
Don't get discouraged by failure.
The first time you submit a proposal, prepare yourself for failure. Don't get discouraged when you don't hear back from the client, or if they reject your proposal. The reasons for rejection are usually not due to the quality of your work, but rather something in the way you presented it. A formal submission letter is an opportunity to improve your proposals and become better at writing them!
When a client or prospective donor rejects a project proposal, take some time to dissect their critique and find ways that you can improve future submissions based on their feedback. If they give suggestions about what worked well in other projects but not yours, learn why those projects succeeded where yours did not so that next time around it will be easier for clients to say yes!
Make it easy for them to follow up.
Once you have submitted your proposal, make it easy for the decision-makers to follow up with you. You should provide contact details of people who can answer any questions and possible times when you will be available to meet. Also, keep in mind that your proposal may be passed between various stakeholders, so make sure to send it in an easily accessible format (PDFs are most common).
Project proposals are important in the nonprofit world and writing one will be a time-consuming process.
Project proposals are important in the nonprofit world because they represent a chance to get funding for projects. A bad proposal will be rejected, while a good one will be approved and funded. As such, it is important that organizations understand how to write winning proposals that will get them the support they need to carry out their missions.
There is no easy way around writing convincing project proposals; it takes time and effort to create one that meets all the requirements of your organization's funders or donors (if you're applying for grants). The best thing you can do when preparing your proposal is keep in mind exactly why you're proposing this project in particular—what problem does it solve? Does it have measurable results? What kind of impact does your organization hope this project will have on its community or audience?
Is proposal writing something you need to start doing? If yes, all it takes courage to begin and keep trying until you improve.