It has been my experience that most organizations have a working template by which to construct foundation proposals.  Working from this understanding, here are few things that can be done to improve your working template as you move into a new year of funding opportunities:

Update Your Organizational Description Section: Ensure that your organizational description section is current and that you have added new areas of service, new service statistics, and upcoming initiatives.

Refresh Your Need Statement:  Update some of your research on your area of service need with updated national or community statistics on the scope of the problem or update your need for funding assistance with information pertaining to your organization's current need for funding.

Double-Check That You Are Following Foundation-Specific Guidelines:  At times when working with a template, it is easy to cut and paste information without ensuring that the information enclosed answers the specific foundation's questions exactly.  Take some time with each proposal to go through what is required by each foundation, in what order, and with what formatting requirements.

Refine Your Project's Goals & Objectives: With a new year, likely your program or service objectives and projected outcomes have changed slightly.  For example, maybe there are more or less individuals projected to participate in a particular program.

Pursue Additional Sustainability Options:  Most funders desire to know that a program will continue once funding from a foundation has been received.  Update what you are doing to ensure your project's sustainability.  Some examples here may be adding a new fund raising campaign, seeking out additional donors, or recruiting additional volunteers.

Want to learn more about the grant-writing format and process or want access to additional tips on writing successful grants? Sign up for an online training class or attend an in-person training sponsored by The Grantwell, LLC.  Visit: www.thegrantwell.com/grant_school/.