The statement of need for your proposed project in a grant application is often referred as the “framework” of your proposal. Why is this? Because without proving need for your project in the community, grant funders feel there is no need for your project. Period.
You know that your organization’s services are needed but convincing a grant funder can sometimes be confounding which is why I’ve come up with six ways on how to present your need. Follow these guidelines and see what a difference they can make in your applications. Don’t skip any steps! Remember, your grant application is always vying for the title of “cut” or “off to the next round” against a sea of other proposals. Yours can be the stand out.
One
Decide which facts and statistics will best support your grant project. Even though there are volumes of information available online detailing national statistics about community areas of improvement, try to stick more to local data especially when presenting your proposals to local and statewide funders. Information that is too generic or too broad won’t help you develop a winning argument for your project. Even in seeking support from more nationally oriented funders, supplement national statistics with details of your local experience. Plus, be sure that the data you present is accurate. Few things are more embarrassing than having a potential funder tell you that your information is incomplete, out of date or just plain incorrect.
Two
Don’t paint too grim of a picture. The grant reader wants to know that there is hope for the problem presented. An overly emotional appeal or overstatement of the problem can turn grant reviewers off quickly and make them wonder if an investment in your solution would be worthwhile. Here’s an example of a solid statement of need “Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. But statistics prove that educating the public on risk factors such as smoking, regular exercise and healthy eating will reduce the risk of death due to heart disease.”
Three
Have you thought about presenting your project as a model for replication? Serving as a project model to others in neighbor communities only works for certain types of projects but grant funders love to see this and could significantly open up your grant funding resources. If you do go the model route, you can document how the problem you’re addressing is also experienced in other communities. Be sure to include a replication plan (how you will disseminate the “how to” information) that others can follow in your proposal should you choose to offer your project as a model.
Four
Think about if it’s reasonable to portray your need as particularly acute or urgent. Is a national problem particularly worse in your community therefore the funder should pay more attention to it? This is an example of how you might could word such a problem: “While heart disease is this nation’s number one killer, in the state of Georgia, statistics prove that Georgians are more at risk for developing heart disease due to fatty diets, more smokers per capita and a more sedentary lifestyle.”
Five
Distinguish your organization as different or better than competitors without being disparaging. Grant funders don’t appreciate other organizations being criticized – besides, they might have strong feelings about your competitor. But there’s a way to get your own strengths and accomplishments noted without being critical. Besides, when the only way you can seem to make your organization shine is by demeaning your competition, grant funders will tend to place the magnifying glass more closely on you – and not in a good way.
Six
Don’t state your community’s problem as the absence of your solution. In other words, this makes it seem to the grant funder that the only solution to the problem is yours and that appears to make you desperate. Instead, focus on trending reports and needs assessments in your community to make your case for the problem and then offer your solution as a step to solving that need or problem. For instance, it could be that a sedentary lifestyle, used in the above example, is a problem contributing to heart disease leading to unusually high incidences of death. It could be that this community lacks adequate or affordable exercise options such as safe walking trails, a community pool or ball fields. Thus, if your goal is to stimulate more activity, you have a good argument, supported by the appropriate statistics, to build a pool or walking trail.
For more tips on writing winning grant proposals, be sure to visit my website and sign up for my weekly ezine chock-full of grant writing tips that have helped me win more than 10 million dollars in grant funding. Get it here.
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