Problems in Writing Proposals The following are the common problems we face while trying to write a proposal: Confused about the format? There are as many proposal formats as there are a number of donors and each donor as a different format. Although the basic information requested by various donors is generally the same, yet… [Read More]
What are the key aspects of preparing a budget for a USAID proposal?
Some of the prerequisites for applying to USAID for assistance grants are: Your organization’s mission and capabilities must be aligned with USAID’s proposed program and you must go through the eligibility criteria in detail based on the terms of the USAID solicitation. Read the solicitation completely and very closely. Make sure you understand the program… [Read More]
What are the areas of USAID funding and how and where can I find the USAID funding opportunities?
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) releases a wide range of federal grant opportunities for the developing nations with the aim of furthering its objectives of saving lives, reducing poverty, strengthening democratic governance and progress; by means of humanitarian assistance and international development efforts. USAID works in over 100 countries in the areas… [Read More]
What are the various types of concept note submission opportunities for NGOs?
The various types of concept note submission opportunities for NGOs are: ‘Calls for Concept Notes’ opportunities: Many donor agencies solicit concept notes on a periodic basis which can be semi-annual, annual, etc. Most of them publish the ‘Call for Concept Notes’ on their websites, other web-portals, their regular publications, and sometimes in the print media…. [Read More]
What to do if your grant proposal is rejected?
Grant proposal writing is the “Go big or go home” of the fundraising world. When successful it can regenerate entire organisations and communities. When it goes wrong you have potential lost hundreds of hours of work and investment with very little to show for it. Our experience actually shows that in some cases receiving a… [Read More]
How and when should I start proposal preparation for a USAID funding opportunity?
Ideally, you must begin the preparation even before the opportunity is released by USAID. To have a good shot at getting shortlisted, the proposal must be of very high quality and stands out from the competition. This can only be ensured by spending time and effort in comprehensively researching, understanding the complete process, onboarding the… [Read More]
How can I use Project Activities to prepare my project’s budget?
As project activities influence the budgeting of your project, it is important to gain greater clarity about them. If you know the specifications of your project activities, then budgets can be developed more easily and more frequently. We will understand this from the following example. Let us say that you, as an NGO in Nepal,… [Read More]
How do I Write a Master Proposal?
You can draft the proposal using this template and then customize it to suit donor guidelines. For helping you develop your proposal, suitable examples have been used to describe the content of each section. Title Page: The title page typically contains the project title, along with contact details of the organization and the donor. Remember… [Read More]
How can I start developing a project budget?
A project proposal has several components such as project goals, objectives, results, strategies and activities. With so many sections, how and from where you can start the process of developing a project budget. An ideal way of starting to develop a project budget is to look at your project activities. Although the project development process… [Read More]
What is a Concept Note and why NGOs are required to develop it?
A concept note is the shortest expression of your project idea on a paper. It is a brief written note, giving an introduction to your project and your organization. If your NGO is seeking to raise funds for a project, then the first thing you would do is develop a short note of this project,… [Read More]
What goes into the content of a Concept Note?
If you are submitting a concept note to an organization as per the call for proposals or if it is a solicited concept note, they will have their templates to be used. If not, you can use the outline and sample template given in this book. But in either case, the outline and template given… [Read More]
How to easily Write the Various Elements of Your Project Proposal?
Proposals are lengthy documents with various components, comprising of the background information, current situation analysis and the future projections. NGOs are expected to write every part of the proposal carefully with in-depth research, knowledge and detailed planning. In this free guide, we cover information about the various elements of a standard proposal to help NGOs… [Read More]
How NGOs can develop a quick Proposal Concept Note to apply for Grants to address the COVID-19 impact?
The COVID-19 or Coronavirus crisis has made a tremendous cross-sectoral impact across most of the countries around the world. The entire social, economic and cultural structure is gradually transforming into an unexpected reality. Poor communities have become more vulnerable to the basic issues of livelihood, hunger, housing and shelter. International and local donor agencies, corporates… [Read More]
Will CreateYourProposal help me raise funds for my NGO?
While CreateYourProposal seeks to assist NGOs in developing proposals and raise funds, in no way we consider that this is your final solution to getting grants. Fundraising is a process, and there are different stages in this process that you need to complete one by one. In one of these stages, you are required to… [Read More]
What is CreateYourProposal?
The CreateYourProposal is a unique platform built by the fundsforNGOs team based on a decade-long fundraising experience. It offers an online database of project proposals to assist NGOs in grant writing and raising funds from donor agencies. Proposals are crucial planning documents required by donor agencies before providing funding to any project. Often NGOs in developing… [Read More]
Could you please tell me what type of project titles impress donors?
When looking at any proposal, the project title is the first thing the donors see. That is why a project title has to be very effective in capturing donors’ attention while also summarising the essence of the project. In addition, it has to convey the uniqueness of your project to the donor. Thus, it would… [Read More]
What are Unsolicited Proposals?
As the name indicates, Unsolicited Proposals imply those proposals that are submitted to a donor without them asking for them. In other words, an unsolicited proposal is initiated by the applicant and is submitted to the donor. Just like a solicited proposal, an unsolicited proposal is also a written document and contains all the essential… [Read More]
Which teams must be included in a concept note preparation process?
In order to prepare a successful concept note, adequate and careful planning needs to be done by several teams in an NGO. Ideally, you must involve different team members, including the program team, technical resources, monitoring and evaluation team (M&E), finance team and also others as needed. You may also need to take into account… [Read More]
When should I submit a concept note to a funder?
Many funders and foundations prefer taking the first look at a concept note before asking the NGOs to submit full-fledged proposals to ensure an alignment of objectives, compliances and eligibility of the NGO submitting the concept note, before the proposal stage. This also helps them in eliminating the ones which do not fulfill their selection… [Read More]
How to research ideas before preparing a concept note?
Before developing your program idea into a concept note, it is worthwhile to invest time and energy into conducting proper research. Research plays an important role in enriching your concept note and brings depth to your writing too. Typically, you might need to put in some research on the following aspects: Needs assessment: It would… [Read More]
Should I include a project budget in my concept note?
Include a budget in your concept note only if required by the donor at this stage. You will need to conduct detailed background research and in-depth analysis of the inputs and resources required to implement the program activities to gauge the costs. If including a budget as per the donor template or your own, always… [Read More]
What should be the writing style of a concept note? Any tips around formatting?
Your concept note must be simple, clear and concise. It must not be overwhelming for the donor with loads of details, but at the same time, it must display clarity and coherence in the idea and all the sections. Use technical language when needed, but avoid using complicated language and jargon. The language must be… [Read More]
What additional elements can make my concept note stand out?
Aside from paying attention to a solid project design, crisp and well-articulated sections and meeting the eligibility and application criteria, some ‘nice to have’ additional detailing and fine-tuning of your concept note ideas can be the cherry on the top. To enrich your concept, you can include the ‘soft’ and long-term aspects of the impact… [Read More]
What are the contents of a concept note?
Here is a brief template with section and subsection headings that one can use for preparing a concept note if a template is not already provided by the donor. The outline can vary depending on the type of opportunity, type of format or template, type of the project to be described, and so on, and… [Read More]
What are the key elements of a concept note?
A concept note must cover the following key elements: It must convince the donor that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Second, it must describe the solution for the problem that you are proposing. Lastly, your concept note needs to demonstrate your ability and credibility as an organization to solve this particular… [Read More]
What is a concept note? and how long should a concept note be?
Essentially, a concept note is a summarized version of a project proposal and must include a brief description of the project goal/s, objectives and overall approach or strategies to be followed to achieve the stated goal and objectives. It must display an outline or framework of the development program that you are seeking funds for…. [Read More]
How can I come up with innovative and creative project titles?
If you are an early riser when it comes to a submission deadline, congratulations. You have enough time to enrich your project proposal, and you can go for a deep-diving brainstorming session with your team to come up with innovative and creative project titles. It should be noted that if the application deadline is approaching… [Read More]
What are the best practices when applying for a USAID funding opportunity?
Here are some of the considerations and tips for preparing your application for USAID funding, or in USAID terms, preparing for a solicitation: First of all, go through the solicitation in-depth and detail: Make sure you go read the solicitation in-depth and detail and make notes of the important points. Some points to be understood… [Read More]
How to apply for USAID funding? Or in USAID terms- ‘What process does responding to a solicitation involve?’
USAID encourages a large number of applications and competition to ensure high-quality proposals and solutions. To this end, USAID issues solicitations and asks the organizations to respond to them. After this, the organizations whose response best meets the evaluation criteria outlined in the particular solicitation, get selected. However, this is not the end of the… [Read More]
