Grant Writing Guide
Tips, Tools and Strategies
Successful grant-writing involves detailed research and preparation. It takes time to coordinate your planning and research; organize, write, and package your proposal; submit your proposal to the grant maker; and follow-up. It is important to note that a successful proposal must meet both the grant maker’s needs and our needs.
Before you begin
Take time to do some initial research of your prospects. Conduct good research on each grant maker’s current funding philosophy, program interest, geographic focus and funding criteria to make sure it is a match to Reach Out and Read’s mission and your potential ask. It may be particularly helpful to review the grant maker’s list of past grantees—both to see what types of organizations are typically funded, and to ensure that your ask is a reasonable amount Occasionally, past grantees may be listed on the grant maker’s website. You can also find them by reviewing the grant maker’s Form 990, available at will need to register, but registration is free.)
Keep in mind that each grant maker will have different guidelines, priorities, requirements and deadlines.
Initial Steps
After researching and identifying appropriate prospects, you are ready to start the proposal process.
Some important terms to familiarize yourself with before you begin are the different types of requests. This is not a complete list of the types of support but the most commonly used:
- Capacity Building – Capacity building proposals are for enhancing or building the infrastructure of your Coalition – actions that improve the effectives of the program by hiring additional staff, staff training and development, upgrading technology, quality improvement efforts, and partnership and collaboration efforts.
- General Operating Support – Your request is not for a specific project but to support all your Coalition activities, including salaries, rent, utility bills, etc. These are also known as unrestricted grants.
- Program Support – A request for funding for an existing or new program/project including regional coordinator salary, books, program materials, training, etc.
- Start-Up Support – Start-up support is requested to establish a new project or initiative.
Before you submit any written documents to a foundation, it may be beneficial to call and introduce our program. During this preliminary call, you can fill in the gaps of your research. For instance, you might ask about the length of the grant cycle, average gift size, changes in the foundation’s giving priorities, etc. Simply by putting your voice with your funding request, you may increase the likelihood of winning a grant. Community foundations tend to be especially receptive to introductory phone calls.
Some grant makers may require an initial Letter of Intent (LOI). The LOI provides you with the opportunity to briefly describe your project and get initial feedback from the grant maker on whether your proposal will fit with their giving guidelines. LOIs should generally be 2-3 pages, unless specified otherwise and include the following:
- Brief description of organization
- Description of issue or need
- Brief outline of the project and anticipated goals
- Indication of how project/organization connects to their areas of interest
- Estimate of project cost and amount you intend to request (including a description of what the money will be used for)
Templates are available on myROR to simplify the process. Of course, we encourage you to use the format and language you are most comfortable with and to share some of your language and research with us so we can make it available to everyone.
After the LOI has been submitted, it is important to follow up with the Program Officer or contact person to make sure your request was received. We also recommend periodically updating the grant maker with news about your program. In your follow-up or update message, you may wish to invite the grant maker on a site visit.
When you receive a response regarding your LOI, it is important to follow up with the Program Officer regardless of the answer. Of course, it is always disappointing when a request is denied, but it is important to get feedback from the foundation to see if there are any improvements you can make for future requests. If your request is approved and the grant maker would like a full proposal, it is important to pay attention to deadlines and materials needed for the next round.
Full Proposal
Once you have been invited to submit a full proposal, it is important to follow the exact specifications of the grant maker, answer all of their questions, and format your request so that it is concise and comprehensive. Full proposals are generally a maximum of 15 pages but double check with the foundation’s guidelines for recommended length and formatting requirements. Organize and present your proposal in the order listed in the application guidelines. Only include the information and materials specifically requested by the grantmaker. The proposal is judged on content and presentation, not weight. Unless required, do not include an index or table of contents, or bind the proposal. Also, be sure to sign it and submit the number of copies requested by the grantmaker.
Other tips and strategies include:
- Demonstrate commitment and uniqueness in proposal. Six qualities you might reference:
-Evidence of Impact: The body of research supporting our model is more extensive than for any intervention in general pediatrics.
-Scale: On the community level, our program involves not only children and families, but pediatricians, clinical staff, and local volunteers.
-Age and Access: Few literacy programs have the opportunity to work with children and families at regular intervals over a 5-year period.
-Strong Management and Cost Efficiency: Because Reach Out and Read works within the existing health care system and recruits volunteer providers, our expenses are lower than those of most nonprofits. We have high-quality leadership at national, regional, state, and community levels.
-Program Team: Our program prides itself on endorsements from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Library Association, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
-Leveraged Model and Scalability: Reach Out and Read builds upon the relationship that exists between families and pediatric primary care providers. Parents trust and respect the advice they receive from the medical providers who care for their children.
- Set measurable goals and objectives, and emphasize specifics including:
-Number of children who will benefit from funding
-Names of key hospitals within your region who participate in Reach Out and Read
-Numerical data from the program’s evidence base (i.e. our parents are up to 10 times more likely to read aloud with their children; preschoolers achieve 6 months of developmental gain, etc.).
A template proposal is available on myROR with the most up-to-date language and description of the program.
Before submitting your proposal, make sure that you:
- Include a cover letter with your completed proposal, introducing Reach Out and Read and stating the dollar amount requested and briefly what it will do for your program (short and powerful is often best)
- Send the requested number of copies
- Don’t send additional information not requested by the funder
- Include the appropriate attachments according to the application guidelines. The following is a list of the most frequently requested attachments:
-Project budget (a template is available on myROR)
-Organization budget
-List of other sources of support (anticipated funding resources)
-Most recent audited financials
-IRS determination letter of 501(c)3 status
-List of Board of Directors (with affiliations)
-Resumes of key project personnel
-Annual Report (if you have one)
- Spell-check everything!
As always, if you ever have questions or need help, contact the Development Team and we would be happy to answer any questions or provide any help we can!
Thank you for your leadership and commitment to children.
Development Team
- Katie Ahearn: (617) 283-0830 or
- Jesse Bornemann: (615) 796-4103 or
- Maddy Conway: (617) 455-0613 or
- Kate Wallace: (617) 455-0665 or