Overview

Professionals working in the field of business, especially in nonprofit organizations, often submit proposals to implement business ideas or projects. These proposals are designed to address a need among a specific population or community. Developing an effective grant  proposal requires content knowledge, writing proficiency, strong research skills, creativity, and organizational ability. It is also important to have a clear understanding of the project needs, goals and objectives, design, and your role for implementing the project.
In this project, you will imagine that you have been hired in a leadership role for a nonprofit organization and are asked to develop a grant proposal that will identify a need among a specific population of people or members in a local community that lacks resources or services. You will approach this proposal by first identifying a problem or need among a specific population or members in a community that lack economic, financial, cultural, or social resources or services.
Your grant proposal will focus on acquiring funding to achieve a desired outcome to resolve this need. You might address a lack of affordable housing or dependable child care; domestic violence; homelessness; lack of transportation in a rural area; or better paying jobs and job training. These are just a few examples as many other needs may also be appropriate.
This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:
Develop problem or needs statements that clearly articulate population or community needs for the development of nonprofit project initiatives

Select appropriate methods or instruments that measure the outcomes of a nonprofit organization's grant initiatives over time Assess prospective sources of funding for projects for their potential in meeting and sustaining nonprofit organizations' needs Align project goals and objectives in developing grant proposals that reflect ethical principles or practices

Propose budgets for meeting the needs of a nonprofit business project that responsibly utilizes grant funding
The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two and Three. The final project is due in Module Seven.

Prompt

Your grant proposal should be addressed to one potential grant funder from whom you are seeking approval. The grant proposal should answer the following

prompt: What project are you proposing to accomplish, and how would it impact the participants or community served?
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in your proposal:

I. Introduction
In this section you will grab your potential funder's attention by presenting the problem you have identified and how you intend to address it.

A. Provide a brief, high-level overview of your proposal that addresses the purpose of the project, what you want to accomplish, how you want to impact participants, the role of key stakeholders and partners, and what specific changes you want to see in the people served and in the community.

B. Evaluate the challenges faced by the participants in your proposal with respect to their associated need. This is not about listing as many challenges as you can but specific challenges these participants face and the need illustrated by these challenges. These challenges can either be economic, financial, cultural, or social.

II. Goals and Objectives
In this section you will choose a "starting point" for your participants. In grant proposals there must be a problem or need that you are trying to meet in the community and concrete facts and data that support that need. Where do you want your project to intervene on the issues to be addressed?
Thinking about this will help you set realistic goals and objectives for the project.

A. Develop a statement of the problem or need for your project, including justification of why the problem or need requires intervention.

B. Evaluate the project's strengths (things that will have a positive impact on the participants, i.e., those being benefited by the project) and weaknesses (things that may negatively impact the participants while involved in the project).

C. What goals and objectives are appropriate to this project? How are they aligned to one another? For example, your goal might be to reduce unemployment in a low-income community. Your objective that aligns with this goal could be to create a job-training program to assist members in the low-income community in achieving gainful employment.

D. What decisions will you make for this project based on ethical boundaries? Support your reasoning with examples of how you would increase safety for the participants in the projects. For example, one of the ethical principles to ensure safety of the participants might be to establish accountability in the project.

III. Methods/Instruments

In this section you will discuss the results you expect to see and explain how you will measure the progress and success of the project in relation to the goals and objectives.

A. What are the expected results of this project specific to the goals and objectives you established?

B. What type of data is necessary to determine whether you are meeting the project goals and objectives with respect to whether your participants or community improve over time? Is the data qualitative or quantitative in nature?

C. What are the appropriate methods or instruments (e.g., survey, questionnaire, observation) that will facilitate the collection of this particular type of data?

IV. Budget Strategies

In this section you will develop a budget to responsibly implement the funding for your project. Consider every cost you will have to incur to implement your project. Examples of expenses include salaries, benefits, mileage, equipment, supplies, marketing, postage, and rent. Also, you can address if you need equipment, such as computers for your staff. You must include a realistic expense that breaks up your budget into different categories.

A. Include an overall budget for your project that addresses key categories. (This will be your actual budget in a table or spreadsheet.)

B. Provide a budget narrative in which you explain your budget in detail and justify the costs in each category in order to prove that you will responsibly manage the grant funds. (For example, in the personnel category, you may want to explain that you need a new administrative  assistant to handle the amount of paperwork that will begin to pour in once the project is implemented. Your budget narrative should be concise and brief.)

V. Funding

Grants are often funded by more than one funding partner. While this proposal is addressed to just one potential funder, in this section you will outline all the potential funding sources that might fit the project to demonstrate to the funder that funding for the project is sustainable beyond what you will secure from this funder. Funders may include the federal government or public and private foundations.

A. Describe the potential sources of funding you have found for your project. (Examples can include program support, seed money to start the project, or funding for operating expenses, research, emergency funds, or annual funds.) Justify why each might be a potential fit for meeting the organization's needs.

B. How you will establish relationships with the funders to obtain additional funding in the future? Justify your choices. For example, you may want to establish a relationship with funders by contacting them by phone or sending a letter to provide an update on the progress of the project and to solicit additional funding. Remember to always keep funders in the loop by offering information such as newsletters, annual reports, etc. to maintain a relationship with the funders.

Milestones

Milestone One: Statement of Need or Problem Paper
In Module Two, you will submit a 2-3 page paper that identifies a need or problem faced by a population or community that you plan to address in your final project. The paper should identify the gaps in meeting the need and lack of available resources surrounding the population or community. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Milestone Two: Methods and Instruments Paper

In Module Three, you will research and write about the methods or instruments you will use for assessing the objectives, goals, and outcomes of your final proposal. Remember, instruments should be able to demonstrate that they are reliable and valid. The 2-3 page paper should include participants, key personnel, data collection, and project timelines.