VI. CONCLUSION

This is a brief summary of the entire grant proposal. It states the need for the proposed project and its contribution to the affected community. It should mention the sources of the funds and its use.

VII. APPENDICES

This contains additional attachments as required by the grant making agency. This normally includes the following:
• Verification of tax-exempt status (IRS determination letter)
• Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws
• List of Officers and Board of Directors
• Financial statements for last completed fiscal year (audited, referred)
• Current general operating budget and special project budget (if applicable)
• List of clients served (if applicable)
• List of other current funding sources and uses
• Biographies of key personnel or resumes (if requested)
• A limited number of support letters or endorsements
• Commitment letters from project/program consultants or subcontractors (if applicable)
• Diagrams for equipment or schematics for building requests (if applicable)

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III. TARGET SOURCES FOR FUTURE FUNDING

In general, foundations usually do not fund projects 100% nor will they make long- term commitments for proposed projects. They want to know the other sources of funding a company/organization will have upon the conclusion of their grant. In this section, it is a must to list down your other source of funds as well as the amount of funds acquired from each. All grant making agencies want to see that projects will continue even without their support.

IV. BUDGET PROPOSAL

This section has the detailed budget proposal for a project. The budget proposal usually separates the administrative from operational costs. Grant making agencies have very different formats for the budget proposal. Some provide their own budget forms while others require specific formats. In the budget proposal, you must include all projected expenses (excluding miscellaneous costs) for the proposed project.

V. STRENGTH OF THE PROJECT AND ORGANIZATION

This section must establish the credibility of the company/organization and the strength of the proposed project. It should mention the number of board members and key personnel complete with their qualifications and achievements. The involvement of the members of the board in the project shall also be included in this section. Cite the nature of the project, its purpose, how it came about and the benefits it will have to the community.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

A formal statement summarizing the total amount of assets, liabilities, and net equity of a non-profit at one point in time. This is similar to the Balance Sheet Statement of a profit-oriented company. It is measured and arranged according to the organization’s liquidity.

The Statement of Financial Position or the Balance Sheet has three elements, namely, Assets, Liabilities, and Fund Balance or Net worth.

ASSETS

These are the resources controlled by an organization as a result of its past activities from which future economic benefits are expected to flow. Below are the most common assets in a non-profit organization:

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash on hand and demand or security deposits, together with short-term, highly liquid investments readily convertible to a known amount of cash.

Pledges or grants receivables

This represents the amount of money committed to the organization by an outside donor.

Body of the Proposal

a. Introduction of the Organization/Company

This includes a short description about the grant seeker and its past, present, and projected operations. It should also include the following:
• Contact information
• Vision and mission of the company/organization
• Recent achievements of the company (if applicable)
• Short backgrounder of the community that will benefit from the project
• Backgrounder of the management team
• Number of staff
• Past projects that were previously funded (if applicable) – cite how the funds were used and its impact to the served community.

b. Assessment of Need/s

This section states the specific problem or situation where the grant money will be used. This must be supported by a qualified research or statistics and not by assumptions. It is important to discuss the relevance of the project as the key solution to the given problem.

c. Goals and Objectives of the Project

This part has the company’s goals and objectives for the proposed project. These must all be realistic. Take note of the difference between a goal and an objective. Goals are general and provide an overall understanding of the strength of the project. Objectives, on the other hand, are more specific.

IMPORTANT FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

Just like in a profit-oriented company, the grant proposal must come with a complete set of financial statements. This is a very important requirement of every foundation, grant making agency, or government agency as they make a thorough review of grant applications.

After the grants have been awarded, the financial statements will be used as basis to evaluate the overall performance of grant seekers. Likewise, this will help the organization to make a better financial projection in the future. And more importantly, the financial statements will be needed to comply with government requirements for exemptions or tax payment applications.

A complete set of financial statements include:

• Statement of Financial Position
• Statement of Activities
• Statement of Functional Expenses for Voluntary Health and Welfare Organizations and other not-for-profit organizations.
• Statement of Cash Flow
• Financial Statement Disclosures