Writing for Funding Agencies

🚀 Grantwriting post 🚀 Imagine your reviewer or panel/committee member. It's 9 PM, the night before the review meeting. They've got a toddler on their lap, a glass of wine in one hand, and your proposal in the other. They've been interrupted 5 times while reading and they need to get through 9 more proposals before going to sleep. Can they understand what you want to do? No? Make. It. Simpler. Over the past few months I've been reviewing grants for Cancer Research UK (CRUK), the Research Council of Finland | Suomen Akatemia, and the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. Submitting a grant takes an enormous amount of effort, but so many fail simply because **the reviewers can't understand what you want to do.** A few suggestions applicable to almost any grant ➡️ 1️⃣ Include a sentence saying, "The goal of this project is ________." Ideally make it the first sentence of your abstract and your proposal, but at minimum put it in the first paragraph. If you can't state your goal in one sentence, refine it until you can. 2️⃣ Remove all acronyms. If it's less recognizable than "HIV" or "DNA," then spell it out every time. Acronyms can hopelessly muddle an otherwise strong proposal. 3️⃣ Start with *simplicity* then add *complexity.* First, write a half-length version of your proposal in an extremely simple way that an educated layperson could understand, and test it on a few people. When that's done, use what you wrote as header sentences/paragraphs, and add all the technical details below them. Now, each reviewer can easily skim past the parts outside their field, while still understanding the big picture. 4️⃣ List the central elements of your proposal, then REPEAT THEM. This is important for methods, e.g. - humans or mice? study design? case and control definition? recruitment strategy? sample size? statistical approach? These key facts (without details) can be repeated in the abstract, end of background, methods (here, include the details), and assessment of threats/weaknesses. If you repeat them with perfect consistency, your reviewer will understand what you want to do, and feel reassured that you have a clear plan. Happy grantwriting ✍ 😊

🔹Tips for writing a winning GRANT PROPOSAL 🎯 Grant writing can feel overwhelming, but it is one of the most valuable skills you can develop. Phenny A. Omondi, MSc, and I began writing grant proposals during our undergraduate days at Universidad EARTH. Over the years, we’ve secured funding from organizations like the Mastercard Foundation, Wege Foundation, Clinton Foundation, Changes for Humanity, etc. to support the operations of a community-based organization we founded in Kenya (Kilimo Jijini). When I started graduate school, I further polished my grant writing skills by enrolling in a transformative 3-credit Grant Writing course taught by Dr. Jaret Daniels, and since then together with my advisor, we have submitted small and huge grant proposals worth millions of dollars to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), etc. Here are some key lessons I’ve learned along the way: 1. Start early Give yourself time to brainstorm, draft, and revise. Rushed proposals often lack polish and clarity. 2. Know your audience Research the funding agency’s mission, priorities, and target outcomes. Align your goals with their vision. 3. Focus on impact Clearly state how your research will address a problem and make a meaningful difference. Highlight real-world applications. 4. Tell a compelling story Proposals aren’t just data - they’re narratives. Make your introduction engaging and persuasive. Show passion for your work. 5. Define clear objectives Be specific about what you want to achieve and how you’ll measure success. Funders want results, not vague ideas. 6. Plan a realistic budget Outline costs with transparency and accuracy. Avoid overestimating but don’t undersell what you need to succeed. 7. Highlight your team’s expertise Funders invest in people as much as ideas. Showcase your team’s qualifications and past successes. And how that adds value to your idea. 8. Provide a timeline Break down your project into phases with deadlines. A clear timeline shows you’ve thought through the process 9. Proofread and seek feedback Ask mentors or colleagues to review your draft. They can spot weaknesses and suggest improvements you may have missed. 10. Follow instructions Carefully read and follow the funding agency’s guidelines. Missing a formatting detail or word limit can disqualify your proposal. 👉 What’s your experience with grant writing? Repost ♻️ to help someone else! #GrantWritingTips #ResearchFunding #AcademicSuccess #Mentorship #STEMResearch #WomenInSTEM #ResearchProposals University of Florida

The Number 1 Reason Your Proposal Gets an Instant "No" (And 94% of Nonprofits Make It) You’ve aligned your proposal with the funder’s priorities. Your budget is airtight. Your outcomes are measurable. Yet, your proposal gets rejected. Many nonprofits have approached us with this same sad story. Most likely this is what happens. In all likelihood, you made the single most common—and fatal—mistake in grant writing. It’s not in your narrative or your finances. It’s in your very first paragraph. The mistake: Leading with your need, instead of their mission. You wrote about your struggling organization, your funding gap, and your wonderful projects. The funder is asking: “What’s in it for us?” The "So What?" Factor. Busy program officers can spot this mistake in the first three sentences. It triggers an instant "no" because it frames your request as a charity case, not a strategic investment. Your Opening: "The [Your Nonprofit Name] is seeking $50,000 to continue our vital after-school program for at-risk youth, which is facing a critical funding shortfall." The Funder's Internal Mindset: "So what? What does that have to do with our goal of improving third-grade literacy rates? This is about you, not impact." You failed the "So What?" test. The Instant "Yes" Alternative: The Funder-Centric Flip The solution is simple but transformative. Rewrite your entire proposal, especially the executive summary and need statement, through the lens of the funder’s priorities. The Wrong Way (You-Centered): "We need funding to..." "Our organization will..." "This grant will allow us to..." The Right Way (Funder-Centered): "Your foundation’s goal to reduce community homelessness aligns directly with our proven model for..." "Together, we can achieve [Funder's Stated Goal] by..." "This partnership will create [Impact that Funder Cares About] by..." The 3-Step "Funder-Centric" Proposal Edit Before you hit "send," perform this life-saving check: 1. The First Paragraph Test: Read the first paragraph of your executive summary. Does it mention your organization's name and your need first? If so, scrap it. Rewrite it to start with the funder’s mission or a shared community problem. 2. The "You/We" Ratio Scan: Scan your entire proposal. Count the instances of "We will," "Our program," etc. Now, count the references to the funder’s name, their RFP language, and their stated goals. The latter should significantly outweigh the former. 3. The Impact Translator: For every sentence about your activities, add a clause that links it to the funder’s desired outcome. -Instead of: "We will provide tutoring to 100 children." -Write: "To achieve your objective of closing the achievement gap, we will provide high-dosage tutoring to 100 children, directly leading to a measurable 20% increase in reading proficiency." Book a Free 30-min Call: Email: eddiejengo@gmail.com WhatsApp: +256 702447756 #GrantWriting #NonProfit #Fundraising #GrantProposal

I read hundreds of grant proposals every year, and I think it is okay to use AI to write your proposal. But I can also tell if it's AI-written. Nonprofits are often strapped for time and resources, so if AI can help speed up the grant writing process, go for it. Tools like ChatGPT or Claude can help you organize your ideas, structure your proposal, and even suggest clearer ways to communicate your goals. But here's the catch: AI should be your co-pilot, not your ghostwriter. Before you hit "submit," ask yourself: 🔸 Have I given the AI enough context about my project and the foundation’s priorities? 🔸Does this proposal clearly tell our story, in our voice? 🔸Is the language repetitive or robotic? (AI also loves to overuse the em dash.) 🔸Have I actually answered each question in full or just filled space? (If there are questions presented.) 🔸Most importantly, have I proofread the proposal like a human? The best proposals strike a balance between clarity and authenticity. They feel intentional and personal, not generic or auto-generated. AI can absolutely make your process more efficient. But don’t let it strip away the passion, nuance, and mission only you can bring to the page. Have you used AI for grant writing yet?

Project design and proposal writing are essential skills for developing effective, sustainable, and well-structured interventions. This document explains the processes involved in identifying needs, analysing problems, selecting interventions, and framing objectives into coherent proposals that meet donor requirements. It combines methodological guidance with practical tools to support both project planning and resource mobilisation . The document presents the following main aspects: – Needs assessment and stakeholder analysis for understanding context and priorities – Problem analysis techniques such as problem trees to clarify root causes – Selection and prioritisation of interventions with supporting hypotheses – Definition of goals, objectives, outputs and activities in the project design hierarchy – Use of logframes and results frameworks to organise strategies and results – Development of indicators, targets and monitoring mechanisms for accountability – Proposal writing strategies including structure, style and donor-specific requirements – Integration of sustainability, capacity building, coordination and budgeting into proposals The content stresses that strong project design requires both analytical rigour and participatory approaches. By combining structured tools such as logframes with inclusive processes and clear proposal writing, organisations can improve credibility, attract funding and deliver projects that are aligned with both community needs and donor priorities.