7 Tips To Increase Your Chances Of Receiving Grant Funding

The Problem section of a grant is very important. It will either help you get your funding from the grantor or help you lose your funding. I will give you the keys to writing an award winning Problem Section. 

The first thing you need to do is... As you write out your Problem Section, make sure your first paragraph provides a very clear and concise problem in a clear and defined community.

The grantor is asking that you describe in detail the situation and circumstances driving your organization to write this proposal. What is the problem that your community is facing, why should the funder care, and how can your organization help to fix the problem?

When you are writing your Problem Section here are 7 questions that you must answer:

1.Is this problem causing harm, is it causing food insecurities, is it causing social isolation, is it preventing kids from learning

2.Who will benefit from the problem being fixed. Let me stress this, your organization is not who will benefit from the problem being fixed. Will teenagers benefit from the problem being fixed, will puppies benefit from the problem being fixed

3.You have to provide evidence that a problem existence. Unfortunately, your word is no good when writing your proposal. You have to prove there is a problem. The best way to do this is with numbers!!!! Your numbers will prove that a problem exists. Something else that you can add is a quote or two from an expert or doctor…you want someone with some skin in the game to give you a strong quote that proves the problem exits.

4.Make sure that your problem matches your organization’s mission and vision. This will prove that you are not just applying for money just to apply for it. Your mission cannot strive to help senior citizens but you are requesting money for turtles. Your mission and your problem must align and be in agreement with each other. 

5.This question is very important as it pertains to your problem…you have to make the funder care about your problem in your community. If you are replying to a funder who lives out of city or state, why should they care about something that is happening in your community? 99% of the time the interest of the funder will be written within the grant so make sure and look for it. When you find it, highlight it or make it stand out for you so you can repeatedly go back to it. 

6.Your problem should be used to build credibility for your organization. Is this a problem you have been working on for two years or 22 years? Is your organization the only organization in your county or city or community that has worked on this problem? How does this problem make your organization stand out and prove that your organization can handle it. This answer must prove to the funder that your organization is the best fit to fix or irradiate the problem in your community. If the funder does not believe your organization can fix or help with the problem, they will not grant access to funding. 

7.Proves that a large number of people pets or plants are affected by this problem. It cannot be one or two people or 3 or 4 senior citizens, it must be the masses that are affected by your problem. How do you prove it’s the masses that are affected….you guessed it….THE NUMBERS. Numbers will show who is affected by the problem and the numbers will show the significance of the problem. Here is my experience talking…. make sure your problem is not bigger than what your organization can handle. Because if the funder thinks the problem is too big for your organization, they will not fund you. 

For coaching or training on writing award winning grants, contact me now!