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 be worthwhile to spend some time with your team to discuss to finalize a good project title before you submit your project proposal to the donors.
Before answering your question, let us know the significance of a great project title.
Significance of a great project title:
- It gives a glimpse of the project described in the proposal
- It informs the donor about the project aim, location, focus and beneficiary (or need)
- A great title captures the donors’ attention with its uniqueness.
- It makes your proposal memorable and keeps it on the top of donors’/ selectors’ minds when making the decision.
All these qualities can bring your project proposal a notch higher than the rest, given that your proposal is already among the best ones in terms of quality, timeliness, goal-alignment with the donor, your credibility, project budget and other criteria of the donor’s proposal shortlisting and selection process.
Now, here are some effective tips to help you create a unique title for your project proposal, which can make your project stand out from the rest:
Summarise your project into a phrase:
Make the project title briefly descriptive to include the key idea of the project. To do this, try answering the following in one phrase:
- Why is your project needed?
- Where are you going to implement it?
- Who are you going to help by implementing it?
- How are you going to help them?
- What is the timeline for your project/ or your overall goal?
- Any other unique quality you wish to highlight?
Give a glimpse into the project idea:
By including the above information briefly in your project title, you automatically make your project title unique while also making it intriguing for the donor before he reads the project proposal in detail.
For example, some good titles containing the information mentioned above in phrases:
- Improving the socio-economic conditions of the (number of) farmers in (number of villages) villages in (location), (Country) by new agriculture methods
- Expanding the primary health care reach to (number) of (beneficiary group e.g., women and children) for improved health outcomes in (region/ population etc.)
The above examples contain information that summarizes the entire project while also intriguing the reader as to ‘how’ these projects have been detailed, how they will be implemented, and the approaches and strategies. Therefore, be concise and specific when giving out the key information in the title. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and difficult words; try to quantify the information to the extent possible.
Make it catchy
If possible, try to make the donors remember your proposal by having a unique, catchy, and innovative title. In some cases, having a subtitle helps give out interesting information while keeping the title less wordy. Keep the title and the sub-title short, clear, concise. Use catchy and straightforward language while keeping it action-oriented. Do not over-explain the statement, but avoid being vague. Try to keep the title and section titles attention-grabbing, and make sure you include some hooks in the language.
Some examples of catchy titles and subtitles may be: (taking from our previous examples)
- More Bang for the Buck for Farmers:
Improving the socio-economic conditions of the (number of) farmers in (number of villages) villages in (location), (Country) by new agriculture methods
- Healthy mothers, Healthier babies:
Expanding the primary health care reach to (number) of (beneficiary group, e.g., women and children) for improved health outcomes in (region/ population, etc.)
As you can see, breaking down into title and subtitle helps make the title less wordy, more exciting and catchy, while giving the prominent project-related information. In addition, sound language techniques like word-play, rhyming, idioms, and other techniques can help your project title stand out.
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