The eventual goal of any proposal is to attract and convince potential funders. These funders, however, are hard to come by .One has to research about all potential funders that can associate with the mission of the drafted proposal (Frey, 2008). Several techniques have been established for individuals to effectively track or locate, contact and in the end cultivate funders for a project. This paper will objectively try to investigate and note techniques that encompass three core activities; location of grant funders, researching the donor and presentation of a funds requisition letter.
There are several ways of identifying potential funders but essentially prudent first to dissect the grants community. The grants community simply put is responsible in availing funds to individuals, households and organizations to aid education, health, safety programs and other initiatives (Geever, 2007). This community is segmented into three categories; the Federal Awarding Agency, the Pass-Through, and the recipient. The federal awarding agency is a department within the American federal government that is tasked with the disbursement of funds which can reach to up to $400 Billion to organizations, individuals and households.
The federal agency administers and determines the amount of assistance a potential applicant will receive. This agency has tailor-made three types of federal grants for various uses. Project grants are the first type of grants under the federal awarding agency where the grants are awarded competitively (Volkmann et al., 2012) . These grants are focused on scientific research, education, social services, arts, and healthcare. Formula grants, the second type of grants, are specified in the law and are subcategorized into categorical and block grants. The last type of grant is earmark grants that are specifically crafted as appropriations by the U.S congress.
The second segment of the grants community, the recipients, is indentified as any non-federal entity that obtains funds or assistance. This segment encompasses the state and local governments, non-profit organizations, territories and possessions, and private individuals. Every grant program is designed with consideration of the specific end-recipient in mind. The grant givers understand that each group has different needs and goals and thus must adopt specified criteria in determining the amount of assistance to be given. The third segment is the pass-through who receives fund but extends the same funds to a third-party recipient. The pass-through funding exists due to the lack of organizational structure that can effectively trickle down the funds to different recipients by the federal awarding agency (Scanlan, 2008).
Researching on the potential funders can be aided by reviewing of previous [projects undertaken by individuals and organizations. An individual can gather material online on the partnering successes between a grantor agency and a recipient that bore fruits. The compilation of this data can be evaluated to project the cost-benefit analysis or relationship between the grantor agency and recipient. The process of identifying a potential grantor is narrowed down to the core objectives of a potential recipient. An individual should review all potential grantors in a locality or on a federal front that shares same intentions and interests as those captured in the proposal. The identification process is intricate and requires a lot of evaluation and assessment of the grantor agencies, their terms and conditions, goals and budgetary demands. One method of identifying grantors is by use of the catalog of federal domestic assistance that acts as an intermediary between the awarding agency and the recipients. One can easily can select from this catalogue the potential grantor.
On identification of a potential grantor agency, the potential recipient should use the contact information provided in the catalogue. The individual should then contact the grantor and find the location where he or she can submit the funds requisition letter. The interaction at this stage is vital as the potential recipient should effectively elaborate he or she is going to use the funding. An individual seeking funds from a federal agency should particularly take a personal initiative of reviewing the federal budget for current and past years to determine proposed funds for different functions. The individual further should take it into his stride to know the eligibility requirements for each initiative. This may even aid in the focusing or adjusting of the original concept of the proposal.
Letter of Request
Health Global Organization
www.healthglobal.org
Dear Mr. Martin,
I am writing to ask for your agency’s assistance in providing the necessary health and counseling aid in the Philippines. This project will be part of our organization’s mission to aid the Typhoon Haiyan victims that are currently at risk of diseases, mental breakdown, and hunger. Our organization, Core Health Providers, is a small humanitarian organization that seeks to help those in need. After the disastrous event many of our stakeholders felt that there was need to aid other international agencies in the small way we can at helping fellow world citizens in Philippines. Our organization in this endeavor has dubbed the project, The Haiyan Rescue.
According to our information team, the Typhoon Haiyan has led to high rates of dysentery, trauma, and food shortage. The affected need ample attention such as provision of food and clean water. The medical facilities in the affected townships are ill-equipped and overwhelmed by the number of cases that are in dire need of attention. The humanitarian teams on the ground are also facing a crisis due to replenishment of supplies that has been caused by both the primary and secondary victims of the natural disaster. There is also need for counseling services to manage the cases of the traumatized victims whose lives have been affected negatively. Statistics indicate that seven in very ten of the victims need psychiatric help. If this goes unchecked majority of these individuals will acquire a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Through your agency’s assistance, our organization will marshal enough bottled clean water, medication and health personnel to the at risk areas at Philippines such as Tacloban and Basey all in the hard-hit Samar province.
You can peruse our blog Core Health Providers: The Haiyan Rescue to get a detailed understanding of our intentions as an organization on the Typhoon Haiyan aftermath. Our correspondents in the ravaged Philippines update the information port with pictorial and audio evidence from the affected. Attached also is our summarized budget of the Haiyan project.
References
Frey, R. S. (2008). Successful proposal strategies for small businesses: Using knowledge management to win government, private sector, and international contacts. Boston: Artech House.
Geever, J. C., & Foundation Center (2007). The Foundation Center's guide to proposal writing. New York: The Foundation Center.
Scanlan, E. A. (2008). Corporate and foundation fund raising: A complete guide from the inside. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers.
Volkmann, C. K., Tokarski, K. O., & Ernst, K. (2012). Social entrepreneurship and social business: An introduction and discussion with case studies. Wiesbaden: Gabler.
