The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, 5th edition.

Newly released updated version!

This Guide delivers comprehensive instruction on both the basics and the finer points of the crucial skill of proposal writing. Based on interviews with grantmakers, the Guide provides insight into the grant decision-making process as well as the many technological strides made in the grantmaking community since the previous edition of the Guide was published in 1997.

Author Jane Geever, who has been creating successful proposals for over 25 years, guides you through the entire process, from pre-proposal planning to the writing itself, to the essential post-grant follow-up. The volume features:

• Pre-Proposal Planning Tips — Learn to determine when your nonprofit is ready to raise funds and how to define your project for prospective funders.
• Sample Proposals — New excerpts from actual proposals — cover letters, project descriptions, budgets, and more — provide you with models of well-constructed grant proposals that have won foundation support.
• Grantmaker Guidance — This edition reflects surprising findings from an in-depth survey of 39 grantmakers. You'll hear candid, targeted answers to questions on preferred proposal formats, follow-up strategies, how to re-submit a rejected request, and more.

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The Foundation Center's Guide to Winning Proposals
Sarah Collins, Ed. The Foundation Center. New York, 2003. 353 pp.
$34.95

This guide from the Foundation Center features twenty grant proposals -- reprinted in their entirety -- that were successful in winning funding. Each proposal includes a critique by the program officer, executive director, or other funding decision-maker who granted the proposal, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each proposal and providing insights into what makes some proposals more successful than others. The proposals featured represent large and small, local and national organizations, and many different support purposes, including basic budgetary support, special projects, construction, staff positions, and more. The guide also includes samples of actual letters of inquiry, budgets, cover letters, and vital supplementary documents needed to develop a complete proposal.