Basics of Writing a Winning Proposal

When most people think about winning a grant, they start by writing the proposal. Bad move! Why? Because when they find a prospective funder, they discover that their proposal fails to meet the funder’s expectations. They either submit it as is, and get a rejection; or start all over, a waste of time.

At WANGO’s annual conference in Santo Domingo, Dr.Michael V. Gershowitz presented a better way: Think through the seven critical questions that all grantmakers want answered; then find the right funder for that project, and finally, write the proposal according to that funder’s requirements.

One of the participants in his session was the WANGO Chapter President for Ghana, who offered to sponsor a series of grants workshops in his country. In January, I was there for three weeks training delegates from some 150 NGOs. For virtually everyone, Dr. Gershowtiz's approach was an eye-opener. He was not surprised; almost everyone he trains, in the U.S. or internationally, starts with what should be the last, not the first, step.

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