Grant proposal: [Program name]

Replace the blue placeholders with your own words and delete the grey notes as you go. When the funder's guidelines name their own sections, use their headings in their order.

Funder	[foundation or agency, and the grant program]
Amount requested	[$0]
Grant period	[start date – end date]
Deadline	[date and time, with time zone]
Submitted by	[organization, contact name, email]
Limits	[page or word limits from the guidelines]

Read the guidelines first. Check eligibility, the funder's priorities, the limits and the required attachments, then rename these headings to match theirs. An answer under the wrong heading can score as missing.

Writing a research grant? Use these headings instead

Title and abstract
Specific aims: what you will find out, how, and what it lets someone do next
Background and significance: the gap in what is known
Approach: methods, data, analysis, risks
Timeline
Budget and justification
Investigators and environment
References

Cover letter

One page on letterhead, signed by your executive director or board chair.

Who we are: [organization and its mission, in one sentence]
The request: [amount, program, grant period]
Why this funder: [the priority of theirs this program serves]
Contact: [name, title, email, phone]

Executive summary

Write it last. 150–250 words, or the funder's limit. The amount, the dates and the expected results go in the first lines.

[Organization] requests [amount] from [funder] for [program], which will [what it does] for [who it serves] between [start] and [end]. We expect [the main result].

See a filled-in summary

Larkin Valley Public Library requests $60,830 from the Corrigan Family Foundation for Second Chapter, a 12-month program of evening reading classes and one-to-one tutoring for adults who read below a sixth-grade level. Between January and December 2027, two cohorts of 30 adults will meet twice a week for 14 weeks, with free childcare and bus passes. We expect 45 adults to complete the course and 70 percent of them to gain at least one grade level in reading.

An invented example: the library, the foundation and the figures are made up.

Statement of need

About the people you serve, not about your organization. Every number needs a source and a year.

The problem: [what is wrong, with data and its source]
Who is affected, and where: [the group and the place]
Local evidence: [your own records, surveys or waiting lists]
The gap: [what exists now, and why it isn't enough]
Why now: [what has changed, or what happens if nothing does]

Goals and objectives

Goal: [the long-term change, in one sentence]

Objective	Measure	Target	By when
[result 1]	[data source]	[number or %]	[date]
[result 2]	[data source]	[number or %]	[date]
[result 3]	[data source]	[number or %]	[date]

Results, not activities. “Hold 56 classes” is an activity; “45 adults finish the course” is a result. Each objective needs a number, a date and a data source.

Methods and timeline

Activities: [what you will do, in order]
Who delivers them: [staff, volunteers, partners]
How people are reached: [recruitment and referral partners]
Barriers removed: [childcare, transport, language, hours]

When	Activity	Lead
[months 1–2]	[hire, train, recruit]	[name]
[months 3–6]	[deliver the first round]	[name]
[months 7–8]	[review and recruit]	[name]
[months 9–12]	[deliver the second round, final evaluation]	[name]

Evaluation plan

One row per objective. If you can't name a data source, rewrite the objective.

Objective	Data source	Collected when	Collected by
[objective 1]	[records, test or survey]	[timing]	[who]
[objective 2]	[records, test or survey]	[timing]	[who]
[objective 3]	[records, test or survey]	[timing]	[who]

Reporting: [what you will report to the funder, and when]

Organizational background

Mission: [one sentence]
Track record: [similar work and its results]
Key staff: [names, roles, relevant experience]
Partners: [who works with you and what they bring]

Budget

Build it from the methods: every line traces back to an activity. Use the funder's categories if they give them.

Category	Item	Calculation	Amount
Personnel	[role]	[FTE × salary]	[$0]
Fringe benefits	[benefits]	[% of salary]	[$0]
Travel	[trips]	[trips × cost]	[$0]
Equipment	[item]	[units × price]	[$0]
Supplies	[materials]	[units × price]	[$0]
Contractual	[evaluator, trainer]	[days × rate]	[$0]
Other	[item]	[calculation]	[$0]
Indirect costs	[overhead]	[rate × direct costs]	[$0]
Total request	sum of the lines above	must match the cover letter	[$0]

Other funding and in-kind: [other funders, your own contribution, donated space or time]

Budget narrative

One short paragraph per budget line: what it is, how you calculated it, why the program needs it.

Personnel: [role, share of time, what they do in the program]
Supplies: [what, how many, why]
Contractual: [who, for how long, at what rate]
Indirect costs: [rate and what it covers]

Sustainability

After the grant: [how the work continues]
Other sources: [funders, earned income, partners, your own budget]

Attachments

Before you submit

Headings and order follow the funder's guidelines
Every section is within its page or word limit
Every number in the need has a source and a year
Every objective has a measure, a target and a date
The amount matches in the cover letter, the summary and the budget
Every budget line traces back to an activity
Attachments are named the way the portal asks
Someone outside the project has read it once