How to Write a Grant Proposal for Photography
Grant Proposal Writing is Exciting, Imaginative Work
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Overview
Additional Resources about Grants and Grant Writing
Because the Audience, Purpose, and Expectations of a Grant Proposal
Mutual Elements of Grant Proposals
General Tips
Successful Sample Proposals
And then, you lot want to write a grant proposal? This is exciting! This means that you lot have valuable research to do or a particular nonprofit to build or a community resource you're passionate about developing. Y'all accept a distinct vision for how something could exist improved or advanced, and y'all're gear up to ask for funding or other support to help this vision get a reality.
UW–Madison C&I
Every bit you achieve toward this unrealized vision by developing a grant proposal, you should think about successful grant writing as an act of imagination. Professor Kate Vieira, a Curriculum and Educational activity professor at UW-Madison with considerable grant writing experience, describes grant proposal writing as a creative process akin to fiction writing—these are works of imagination. Professor Vieira recommends approaching the task of writing a grant proposal with an attitude of wonder and excitement as you strive to turn your ideas into something real. You take a great idea, and you recollect that you lot're the best person to achieve a specific goal. Now y'all just demand to convince others to get excited about this vision likewise.
Overview
On this page, we offering some means of thinking about grant proposals and communication about the process of planning and writing a proposal. We consider grant proposals; overall purposes, audiences, and expectations in order to brand this information applicable across a range of contexts. Still, this general approach has important limits. First, yous will need to go more tailored advice about grant writing within your specific discipline or sphere. 2nd, you'll need to follow very carefully the verbal instructions about proposals from the granting agencies to which you are applying.
Talk with professors, mentors, previous grant recipients, the funding agency/group you are applying to, and trusted directorate in your field to acquire more about what successful grant proposals await like in your situation and to go feedback on your programme and on your drafting process.
Earlier y'all start writing your grant proposal, you'll want to make sure that yous:
- develop a specific, meaningful, actionable program for what you desire to practice and why y'all desire to do it;
- consider how your plan volition accomplish positive results;
- locate a granting organization or source that funds projects like the one you have in heed;
- research that organization to make sure that its mission aligns with your programme;
- review the organisation'southward proposal guidelines; and
- examine sample proposals from your section, peers, and/or the arrangement.
When you've washed all of this, you're set up to start drafting your proposal!
Additional Resource almost Grants and Grant Writing
For students, kinesthesia, or staff at UW–Madison, a great identify to learn more than about grants, grant proposal writing, and granting institutions is the Grants Information Collection at UW–Madison'due south Memorial Library. Check out their website and our review of some of their materials as well as links to other useful grant resources here.
Considering the Audience, Purpose, and Expectations of a Grant Proposal
A grant proposal is a very clear, direct certificate written to a particular system or funding agency with the purpose of persuading the reviewers to provide you lot with support because: (1) you take an important and fully considered plan to advance a valuable crusade, and (ii) you are responsible and capable of realizing that program.
Equally you lot begin planning and drafting your grant proposal, ask yourself:
- Who is your audience?
Retrieve about the people from the agency offer this grant who will read this proposal. What are the agency'due south mission and goals? What are its values? How is what y'all want to do aligned with what this bureau is all about? How much do these readers know about what y'all are interested in? Let your answers to these questions inform how you present your plan, what vocabulary you utilize, how much background y'all provide, and how you frame your goals. In considering your audition, yous should recollect nearly the kind of information these readers will find to be the about persuasive. Is it numbers? If so, make sure that you provide and explicate your data. Is it testimonials? Recommendations from other collaborators? Historical precedent? Think closely about how you construct your statement in relationship to your readers. - What are the particular expectations for this grant?
Pay attention to everything the granting system requires of you. Your proposal should adhere exactly to these requirements. If you receive whatsoever advice that contradicts the expectations of your item situation (including from this website), ignore information technology! Study representative samples of successful proposals in your field or proposals that have received the detail grant you are applying for. - How do you found your credibility?
Brand sure that you lot present yourself as capable, knowledgeable, and forward thinking. Establish your brownie through the thoroughness of your plan, the intentional fashion that yous present its importance and value, and the knowledge y'all have of what has already been learned or studied. Appropriately reference any past accomplishments that verify your power to succeed and your commitment to this projection. Outline whatever partnerships you have built with complementary organizations and individuals. - How can you clearly and logically present your plan?
Make sure that your arrangement is logical. Divide your proposal into predictable sections and label them with clear headings. Follow exactly the headings and content requirements established by the granting agency'due south phone call for proposals.Grant proposals are direct and to–the–point. This isn't a proficient place for you lot to embroider your prose with flowery metaphors or weave in subtle literary allusions. Your linguistic communication should be uncluttered and concise. Match the concepts and language your readers utilize and are familiar with. Your readers shouldn't have to work difficult to understand what you are communicating. For information about writing articulate sentences, see this section of our writer'southward handbook. Still, use a brilliant image, compelling anecdote, or memorable phrase if information technology conveys the urgency or importance of what you are proposing to practise.
Common Elements of Grant Proposals
Grant proposals are often organized in distinct sections. These sections take different titles depending on the guidelines specified by the granting organization, just they oftentimes serve the same purposes. In what follows, we identify some of the main elements of grant proposals, consider the work that section needs to do, and provide tips for successfully composing these sections. Notwithstanding, remember, as yous write your proposal, follow that grant'southward guidelines and employ the exact section headings provided by the call for proposals.
| wdt_ID | Chemical element | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short Overview (a.thousand.a. "abstruse" or "executive summary") | Here you nowadays the most of import elements of your proposal in as few sentences every bit possible. For longer proposals, you might be able to use a full page for this overview, just for other proposals, you might have to condense it to just ane paragraph. Either fashion, make sure that you answer: • What is the purpose or goal of your project, the need you're addressing, or the trouble you're solving? • What are the expected outcomes of your project, and how volition you reach them? • How volition yous appraise or verify the success of your project? • Why is your project important? • Briefly, who are you? Some granting institutions may also want y'all to clarify in this |
| two | Examination of a Need or Problem (a.1000.a. "statement of need," "problem statement," "statement of problem," "needs assessment," or "literature review") | Your projection is important because it is responding to a gap in resources, knowledge, or opportunity that really needs to be filled. In lodge to institute the value of your project, you demand to analyze the need or problem that your project responds to. Early on in your proposal, brand certain that you establish the context of this problem (i.due east., the background). If this problem affects a item population, draw that grouping of people. Include data if appropriate. Particularly for bookish grants, this examination may have the grade of a short literature review clarifying that you lot've read extensively on this topic and sympathize your project's scholarly context and significance. But even for bookish grants it's important to clarify why this project volition make a wider, positive impact and not just how it will answer a specific academic question. |
| three | Description of Your Project (a.yard.a. "projection narrative"; "project goals, objectives, and methodology"; or "strategies and tactics") | Now that you've established a demand for your project, you have to describe your project. Brand certain you answer these questions: • What are the goals of your project or your research questions? • What are the goals of your project? • What volition your projection's outcomes be? [As with many other kinds of outcomes, grant proposal outcomes should exist SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.] • How are you going to achieve those outcomes? What methods will you utilize? • How will yous measure or recognize your project'southward achievements? • How tin can you be sure that your project will productively answer to the need or problem you accept identified? • What volition the timeline for your project exist? Several of these questions focus on the impact your project |
| 4 | Upkeep (a.grand.a. "resources") | Since yous are asking for funding or other support, you need to clarify but what you're asking for and why yous are request for item amounts. Budgets are often formatted in tables and figures. Each corporeality should be clearly labeled, and yous might demand to directly follow your budget with a justification statement explaining why each price, cloth, and equipment is valid, reasonable, and important for your project. |
| 5 | Other Sections Sometimes Required | Cover Alphabetic character Sometimes grant proposals are preceded past a cover letter. These often serve to personally introduce you lot every bit the grant– seeking individual/organization, establish your ethos and professionalism, briefly describe your proposed projection, and convey enthusiasm for the project and appreciation for the readers' consideration of your request. Organizational Qualifications Supporting Documents |
General Tips
Pay attending to the agency's key interests.
As mentioned earlier, if there are keywords in the telephone call for proposals—or in the funding system's mission or goal—be sure to use some of those terms throughout your proposal. Only don't exist as well heavy–handed. You lot want to assist your readers understand the connections that exist betwixt your project and their purpose without belaboring these connections.
Organize ideas through numbered lists.
Some grant writers use numbered lists to organize their ideas within their proposal. They set up these lists with phrases like, "This project's three main goals are . . . " or, "This programme will involve four stages . . . " Using numbers in this way may not be eloquent, just it tin can an efficient fashion to present your information in a clear and skimmable manner.
Write carefully customized proposals.
Because grant funding is so competitive, you will likely exist applying for several different grants from multiple funding agencies. But if you do this, make sure that you lot advisedly design each proposal to respond to the unlike interests, expectations, and guidelines of each source. While yous might scavenge parts of one proposal for another, never employ the verbal same proposal twice. Additionally when you utilize to more than one source at the same time, exist sure to think strategically near the kind of support you are request from which system. Do your research to find out, for instance, which source is more likely to back up a request for materials and which is more interested in roofing the cost of personnel.
Go subsequently grants of all sizes.
Pay attention to pocket-size grant opportunities every bit well equally big grant opportunities. In fact, sometimes securing a smaller grant can make your appeal for a larger grant more attractive. Showing that ane or two stakeholders accept already supported your project can bolster your brownie.
Don't give up! Keep on writing!
Writing a grant proposal is hard work. It requires you lot to closely analyze your vision and consider critically how your solution will effectively respond to a gap, problem, or deficiency. And often, even for seasoned grant writers, this process ends with rejection. Just while grant writers don't receive many of the grants they utilise to, they find the procedure of carefully delineating and justifying their objectives and methods to be productive. Writing closely nearly your project helps you remember near and assess information technology regardless of what the grant committee decides. And of course, if you practise receive a grant, the writing won't be over. Many grants require progress reports and updates, so be prepared to go along on writing!
Successful Sample Grant Proposals
One of the best ways to larn how to write grant proposals is to analyze successful samples. We've annotated and uploaded three very unlike kinds of successful proposals written by colleagues associated with UW–Madison. Nosotros encourage you to advisedly read these samples along with the annotations we've provided that direct your attention to specific ways each ane is doing the work of a strong proposal. But don't stop with these! Find additional samples on your own of successful proposals like the ane y'all're writing to assist guide and farther your agreement of what has worked and been persuasive.
- Sample Grant Proposal 1 (PDF)
Fellowship Proposal for UW–Madison's Eye for the Humanities' Public Humanities Exchange (HEX) - Sample Grant Proposal ii (PDF)
Proposal for a 3–Yr National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship - Sample Grant Proposal 3 (PDF)
Madison Writing Assistance's grant proposal to the Evjue Foundation
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