You need funding for your renewable energy investment for your office or bathroom renovations for a restaurant. Maybe you’re looking for new laptops so your nonprofit volunteers can finally travel to help people. But how can you craft the crucial facets of a triumphant grant proposal to boost your small business?
1. Show off with an organizational summary
Go into a grant proposal like you’re writing a resume and cover letter to a prospective employer. You must show off your small business and personnel to assert credibility in your industry and explain why you deserve the funds. The organizational summary is critical because it gives the gift granters an idea of who they’re investing in and why they should care about your small business’ mission.
Demonstrating awareness of the granter’s company and finding ways to connect your values will be a bonus in validating your standing. Would your proposal answer the question “What value would this small business provide us with our grant money?” You’ll be golden if you have that woven into your organization’s description.
2. Prove your point with a need statement
Gifters must know the critical need your small business is trying to fill through the use of their funds. Take this section to clarify the issue you’re passionate about, but be minimal yet inspirational. The need could be a lack of water accessibility in your community or a need for a reliable company transportation. Regardless of the issue, the need statement must summarize the problem the grant funds will fix.
3. Explain your process with a project description
The project description is your opportunity to discuss how the project will pan out and your motivations behind executing it. There aren’t many opportunities to provide a narrative in a grant proposal — this is the chance to insert emotional reasons and how the project will impact you and your community.
These storytelling elements must remain balanced with practical goal-setting deliverables. Outlining the project description with SMART goals and what the project isn’t focusing on will help readers understand how your priorities work with their motivation to distribute funds. Every sentence in the project description should align with the thesis of the grant giver’s goals. You should always answer, “How does this project description benefit them?”
4. Outline your aspirations with an implementation plan
It’s time to translate those post-it notes in the office into your grant proposal. The awarder needs some way to hold your business accountable and a timetable is an ideal way to prove how you’ll use the money to meet your goals. It provides tangible evidence of how each dollar compounds, fueling the project’s subsequent phases.
5. Honor the granted gift with a detailed budget
The gift granter needs to know how the small business will spend its money according to the policies the granter set. A red flag in budget sections is when applicants neglect to read them beforehand and don’t structure budgets in a way that appeals to the grant distributor. A precise budget should include the following to demonstrate the applicant has value over the money they’re receiving:
Categories for each area of spending
What assets the small business can offer alongside the funds to offset costs
Ways they will track spending for accountability and auditing
Estimated phases of the project where the money will be spent
These items provide security to the grant givers. It shows them how the small business won’t overspend to a point where they will need more funds or discontinue the project. The budget is arguably the most critical section to perfect in the grant proposal because it could solidify the trust between parties.
6. Keep the project going for the future with sustainability
The project has no footing unless the grant receiver fulfills the need statement and maintains future stability. The grant should get a project off the ground and your small business must find ways to prove the continued value of those dollars. In this section, small companies must assert how the money will affect the aspirations of the need statement so awarders know their funds will make a longstanding impact.
Get the small business grant every time
You don’t have to be a writer to write an award-worthy grant proposal. These facets will ensure satisfaction by grant distributors, even if they do not grant it to you. No gift is too small, but with a well-thought strategy, it’s easy to alter the grant proposal for $500 to six-figure contributions so you can apply to as many as you need to achieve your small business objectives.