When you financially support charity, what is it that makes you want to give?  You may be moved by the puppies that have been mistreated.  Or it makes you shudder to think of cancer patients without access to lifesaving treatment.  Or it could be that you want that prison inmate’s child to have presents at Christmas.  We are motivated to give because we want to help solve the problem presented, right?  A well-demonstrated need is what compels people to give.  Period.  How is it, though, that you can effectively present your need in a grant application without photos of puppies and children?

Every successful grant proposal, and every other type of request, hinges on a compelling need.  You know how huge your need is – but the person reviewing your grant proposal has to know it – and feel it - too.  Here are some tips to help convey the urgency of your need on paper:

You’ll find that most grant funders require an evaluation component in their applications – but why? Evaluation is a process that determines the impact, effectiveness and efficiency of a grant program.  Performed properly, it reveals what worked in the program and – equally important – what did not.  It also provides an excellent basis for reporting back to grant funders documenting the return on their investment as well as documenting benefits to the community the organization is serving.  Remember, funders always expect to hear from organizations how they define and measure the success of a program.

Evaluation is primarily used to accomplish six purposes:

What’s the lifeblood of your business?  Clients, of course.  Without someone paying you there is no business.  Having been a grant consultant for almost eleven years, I’ve found that there are three surefire ways to drive potential customers my way.  It would be great if we could just hang our “For Hire” shingle out (which is kind of what we’re doing virtually with our website) and just wait on the clients to come but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.

I actually thought about it when she first came home.  Norm had picked her up on Christmas Eve at only five weeks old so she could be in our house Christmas morning for my 6 year old step-daughter, Chelsea. But I put the thought away as fast as I could because I knew it would be a while before there would be any need for worry.