How to Write a Grant Application: Proven Tips from Experts
Securing a grant application is a milestone for any organisation seeking funding or support for its mission. Applying for a grant can be a competitive process, as multiple candidates contend for the same pool of resources. Even if your mission stands out as impactful, it’s worth considering some tips for writing grant applications that improve your likelihood of success.
When designing a grant program, a well-written application greatly enhances your chances of success. From gathering compelling data to ensuring compliance with guidelines, adhering to these nuances increases the chances of your proposal standing out to review panels.
How to Write a Research Grant Proposal: A Complete Breakdown
Although no single strategy can guarantee a successful grant application every time, there are steps you can take to strengthen your proposal. When drafting your application, following a structured approach to research, eligibility, and execution will help you develop a clear, focused outline that communicates the objectives of your organisation and its mission.
Identify the right grant for your project
Begin by identifying the most suitable grant for your objectives. Funders often have specific areas of focus and are more likely to support proposals that align with their organisational mission. Depending on your project’s nature, consider targeting grantors who prioritise social initiatives, collaborate with government agencies, or offer corporate sponsorships.
Each grantor also has their eligibility requirements. Some will prioritise nonprofits, while others prefer working with individual researchers, or companies in specific fields. Similarly to your grant’s overall objectives, identifying funders whose priorities align with your goals will significantly increase your chances of success.
Gather relevant information to structure your proposal
Organising your data and documentation effectively is essential for a strong grant application. Start by compiling key information about your organisation’s background, along with articles or reports that contextualise the issue you aim to solve. Including relevant data, like studies or findings about your focus area, is key to a strong grant proposal. This is especially true if the data directly supports your cause.
If your project likely involves community members or collaboration in any measure, gaining endorsements from stakeholders and adding these to your proposal can strengthen the credibility of your application. Letters of support or agreement from community members or academics help demonstrate the feasibility of your mission.
Create a direct yet compelling cover letter
A cover letter is the first document in your proposal that a review panel will read. Following our tips on how to write a grant application cover letter will help you create a document that succinctly introduces yourself or your organisation, and explains the objectives of your application.
While a cover letter is generally a short document, it provides an opportunity to outline how your proposal aligns with your funder’s mission. By highlighting a shared and unmet need, or showcasing the similarities between the objectives of the two organisations, you encourage the committee to engage with the rest of your application.
Provide an executive summary
An executive summary is another document you can use to outline your project. Focus on key elements, including the problem statement, proposed solution, and the project’s scope. The executive summary provides an overview of your proposal's key information, including its merits, budget, and expected results.
The content of your executive summary should outline the expected changes or knowledge that will result from completing the project. Write its content depending on whether your project is grounded in research, education, or social improvements.
Tips for Writing Grant Applications
Writing a grant application may seem easy, but the difference between a good proposal and one that captures a grantor’s attention lies in the details. Focus on intricate strategies to improve the overall quality of your submission and increase the possibility of acceptance.
Use clear and concise language
Grant applications need to be set out in the clearest way possible. Using complex language, long sentences, or a poor structure can hurt your application. Reviewers might even skip it altogether.
Apply these five strategies of grant writing
There are a number of factors that you can use to measure the quality of your grant application:
- Readiness: Match your organisation’s mission with the most suitable grants, based on funder expectations and requirements.
- Research: Prepare all relevant materials before writing, including contextual information, sources, and known external stakeholders.
- Writing: Craft a clear, compelling proposal that communicates your mission, while providing enough detail for reviewers to understand the value of your project. Narrative formats often engage reviewers more effectively.
- Relationships: Building relationships with grantors, community members, academics, or other institutions can be an effective way to build credibility and spread awareness about your cause.
- Reporting: Choose a tool such as OmniStar Grants to ensure you can demonstrate the impact of a grantor’s funds on your project with succinct evaluation metrics.
Track deadlines using a grant management system
Grants management software helps track important deadlines during the application writing process. Use a shared calendar to monitor submission timelines and keep your team aligned on when each proposal section is due. This tool remains crucial post-approval, supporting smooth coordination during the grant’s execution phase.
Seek input from internal team members
As you continue to draft your grant application, collaborate with other team members close to the project. Seeking their feedback is an effective way to apply changes to the proposal before submitting to funders.
If external stakeholders have agreed to support or participate in your project, consider having them review relevant sections of your proposal, especially where their involvement is mentioned or their consent is required.
Turn Your Proposal into a Winning Application
Submitting a strong grant application significantly improves your chances of securing funding. From selecting the best grants, to researching, writing, and submitting your proposal, careful planning ensures you include all the necessary information for review panels to assess your application effectively.
Following our tips for writing grant applications can help you prepare a winning application, as can OmniStar’s grants application and management software. OmniStar turns complex, manual grants management processes into straightforward workflows that streamline the creation of grant applications. OmniStar is also scalable, suiting the needs of organisations that prepare tens, hundreds, or thousands of applications each year.
Book a demo today and discover how OmniStar can streamline the process of writing a winning grant application.
