While proposals are as unique as the NGOs and projects they inspire, the general formula for a proposal has been around for decades. However, the scope and depth will depend on the type of application and the donor.
Be sure to check all donor requirements to ensure you have all the required sections. If the donor has little or no application guidelines available, typically the basic proposal format will be acceptable.
Basic Proposals
For small grants or simple projects, typically a basic proposal is all that is required. Here donors will typically expect to see:
- Introduction
- Project Rationale
- Project Goals and Objectives
- Project Strategies and Activities
- Project Results
- Budget
Full Proposals
For large grants, technical, multi-pronged projects, and bureaucratic donors such as national governments, more information is often required. These longer, technical proposals should include:
- Cover Page
- Table of Contents
- List of Abbreviations
- Executive Summary
- Project Rationale
- Background
- Project Goals and Objectives
- Project Strategies and Activities
- Project Results
- Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
- Sustainability Plan
- Work plan or Timeline
- Budget
- Logical Framework
- Annexes
- Appendix
ULTIMATE CHECKLIST FOR PROPOSAL WRITING!
Additional Parts
Sometimes donors will request more information. If a donor wants this information, they will typically directly request it in the application
instructions:
- Project Innovation
- Theory of change
- Cross-cutting themes
- Organizational history
- Staff profiles
- Case studies
- Additional research
- Etc.
Note: if not specifically requested by the donor, it is generally best practice to not include additional sections to the proposal. If the section is not part of their evaluation criteria, donors typically do not evaluate it – if the additional sections are good, it will not make a difference. If the additional sections are bad, it may actually hurt your overall evaluation.
We will talk more in-depth on these sections in subsequent posts, so be sure to check back soon for more!