Chapter 16
Putting the Proposal Package Together

Now that you have completed a draft of the major sections of your proposal, you are ready to assemble these sections into a finished proposal package. You will want to follow the sponsors' guidelines exactly in assembling the proposal package, which means you may have to reorganize, rename, and revise some of your sections to match the sponsors' specifications and page limits. In this chapter, you will learn how to prepare the proposal package following the sponsors' guidelines and what to do if the sponsors do not give you specific instructions. You will also learn how to use advanced word processing features, such as creating a template, creating special dictionaries, and tracking changes to help you follow the sponsors' guidelines.

Learner Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you will be able to

  1. Follow a sponsor's guidelines to prepare a proposal package

  2. Compile a proposal package in the absence of specific guidelines

  3. Use advanced word processing features to prepare your proposal

Key Terms

General operating expenses—Some sponsors are willing to fund general operating expenses. Proposals requesting this kind of funding do not have a particular project or program in mind, instead the nonprofit is asking for "gap" funding or operating funds to keep the organization operating between proposals. Funds for general operating expenses are difficult to obtain, and students will want to indicate how they are going to avoid asking for additional operating expenses in the future.

Project or program funding—Project or program funding is the most common type of funding requested. Sponsors like to fund specific projects because they have a definite beginning and end so that the nonprofit can mark progress and the sponsor is satisfied that the money is well spent. Project or program funding usually does not commit the sponsors' resources for more than a year at a time.

Proposal package—The proposal package is the entire package that you will send to the foundation or government funder. It usually consists of a cover letter or letter of transmittal followed by the original proposal plus appendices and the number of copies specified in the sponsor's guidelines.

Activities

The three advanced word processing features that we have found most helpful in writing proposals are creating document templates, tracking changes when working with a proposal development team, and creating specialized or custom dictionaries.

The first of these, designing document templates is a complex activity that we did not feel we should teach you to do in the Grant Seeking text. However, if you want to learn this process, we are providing a more complete set of instructions in this chapter. Feel free to download these instructions. For even more details on creating templates, refer to the online help in your word processing program.

We have selected to use the features in MS Word™ since that is the program most often used by both PC and Macintosh users. The instructions for tracking changes and creating custom dictionaries are much simpler than those for creating templates. We are including the instructions on tracking changes in this Instructor's Manual, and we have already included the instructions for creating custom dictionaries in the textbook (p. 393).

  1. Designing Document Templates Instructions

  2. Editing Electronically

Summary

In Chapter 16, you learned how to put your proposal package together. We began by helping you understand why it is so important to follow the sponsor's guidelines exactly. You participated in an exercise designed to help you interpret the sponsor's guidelines so that you knew what kind of information was required in each section, and you understood the implications of the questions and explanatory comments made by the sponsor. We suggested that you refer to your electronic or print notebook exercises for Chapters 8-15 to identify the information you will need to compose the proposal sections required by the sponsor. You learned how to generate the proposal text by integrating the content from your chapter exercises into the prose paragraphs to be inserted into the sponsor's proposal format. Finally, you were introduced to advanced word processing features in MS Word to create a template, track changes, and create custom dictionaries to assist you in meeting the document design specifications of the sponsor.

Writing Assignment

  1. Gather all the sections of the proposal, and the exercises you have completed from Chapters 8-15, and your proposal guidelines from the sponsor. Rework the materials you generated to fit them into the sponsor's guidelines. Whenever a conflict exists between what the text tells you to do and the sponsor guidelines, follow the sponsor's guidelines. If you have someone knowledgeable about advanced word processing functions on your proposal development team, ask them to help you design and use a template that follows the sponsor's document design guidelines. Attach the template to your draft proposal.
  2. Allow yourself enough time to put the proposal package together. You want a quality product when you are finished, and you want it to read well and be attractively laid out. For short proposals, this process will most likely take you two to three full days to complete. For more complex proposals, it may take a week or longer. Remember that you will not usually be able to insert information that you generated in your chapter exercises directly into the proposal. You will have to revise this information into coherent prose paragraphs that follow the content and format specifications in the sponsor's guidelines.
  3. If time allows, you should make at least two copies of your proposal draft and have it peer reviewed by your colleagues following the advice given in Chapter 17 on review panels. After you get feedback from your peer reviewers, revise your proposal, incorporating their suggestions whenever they help you comply more effectively to the sponsor's priorities and guidelines.

    4. The Worksheet 16.1 Peer Review Evaluation Form for the Proposal Packagecan be used as a guide or checklist or as a peer review evaluation form as you put your entire proposal package together.

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