According to Jay Wilkinson, the writer of Nonprofit Fundraising: Twelve Key steps to writing a grant proposal, the art of writing a grant proposal is not for the faint-hearted. It requires perseverance and determination. Grant writing, according to Wilkinson involves twelve major steps. The first step involves spelling out the need for the proposal in question. In spelling out this need, it is important to determine the project ideas, which have a potential for garnering funds. Secondly, it is important for a project to differentiate itself from other projects, which have already been written. A project must be unique and creative to get funds (Weisman, 2015). To achieve this creativity, a project has to be designed in a manner that appeals to the fundraisers. Designing a project requires a team that the project is likely to affect such as the members of the community for which the project is aiming at and the professionals who will make.
In writing a grant proposal, a particular project should be the target. Having more than one project can only act to create confusion and limit the success of the proposal. In coming up with a project, it is necessary to conduct a research/survey to recognize the project that is likely to get the attention on many fundraisers. The proposal must then be well-written, placing focus on the solution and not the problems. The proposal must also contain the stories of those people who have gained from the project in the past, including the members of the community. The proposal must have a direction. It has to be aiming at something (Pagnoni, 2014). This will act as a distinctive factor separating it from other proposals in the market.
Strengths and weaknesses of the material
Strengths
The writer of this article provides an easier way through which a grant proposal can be achieved and using the simplest of terms. Wilkinson gives twelve easy steps of writing a proposal that is likely to attract fundraisers from all over. Using a story to attract fundraisers is a particularly strong point. Stories allow people to notice the success of a project and to relate to those successes. They are a means through which a project sells itself and gets fundraisers. Using the stories of people from the community, which the project has helped, fundraisers will be more swayed to contributing to the project (Weisman, 2015).
Secondly, Wilkinson (2016) touches on the necessity of a budget in writing a project proposal. A budget increases the transparency of the project in question. It assures the fundraisers that their funds will be used accordingly, and gives them an estimation of what is expected of them. A project, which has a specifically planned budget, can attract more fundraisers as compared to another, which does not have a budget.
Weaknesses
Secondly, in as much as the article aims at simplifying the process of writing a grant proposal, it oversimplifies it such that it makes the latter look like a minor deal. Grant writing is an important process, and failure to consider its importance may lead to rejection of grants. Moreover, the author should have displayed an example of a grant to add more value to what she has written. Images have a way of making things simpler to understand that written information.
References
Pagnoni L.A. (2014) Higher Level Thinking for greater fundraising performance. The Nonprofit Fundraising Solution: Powerful Revenue Strategies to Take you to the next level. Nw York. AMACOM
Weisman C. (2015). Winning Grants Step by Step. The Compete Workbook for Planning, Developing, and Writing Successful Proposals
Wilkinson, J. (2016). 12 Quick Tips for Better Grant Writing - Nonprofit Hub. Nonprofit Hub. Retrieved 12 June 2016, from http://nonprofithub.org/grant-writing/12-quick-tips-for-better-grant-writing/
