Steps Leading Up To Writing

1. PLANNING

When planning your grant proposal, you must establish partnerships.
A means of reducing costs is to collaborate with organizations that are pursuing similar goals.
Partnerships consist of two or more groups working together on programs designed to meet human needs or prevent unnecessary problems.
Collaborative efforts must be well-defined and mutually beneficial to all parties involved.

Once potential funding sources have been identified, supportive data must be collected.
a recent community needs assessment commissioned by the local health department or other community health agencies to provide a summary of current problems or priorities in the community to determine the focus of the grant proposal.
Should survey potential funders to determine which types of programs have been funded in recent years.

A crucial component of proposal planning is the process of determining funding sources that will most likely support the program proposal.
The most common sources of funding are foundations and government contracts.
- Foundations are private, family, corporate, or community organizations with significant funds invested for the purpose of helping charitable agencies or educational institutions.
- Local foundations usually award funds to organizations with their communities or nearby regions.
- Foundation cycles are usually quarterly, biannually, tri-annually, or annual.
- Smaller foundations have a greater likelihood of being funded.
- The Foundation Directory is considered to be the best source in the nation for information pertaining to foundations.

- The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is an excellent source for information pertaining to federal funding.
  - Be aware, this catalog os quickly outdated

A meeting between the funding agency representative and an organization spokesperson should be arranged prior to the grant proposal.
- At this meeting, funding priorities and the process for submitting a proposal should be discussed.
If a meeting is not possible, the funding agency should be asked the following:
- Is the funding agency interested in funding this type of project?
- How should a proposal be submitted?
- Is there an application form?
- When should the proposal be submitted?
- Is there any other information that will aid in the porcess?