How to use a business grant proposal template

You’ve chosen the grant or grants to which you’ll apply. Or maybe you plan on doing that next. Either way, you’re here now, which is already a great start to your applications. But, before you fire your plea out into the business world, let’s see how to make the best use of a grant proposal template by covering its very basics and a bit more. 

Why use a grant proposal template?

Using any sort of template is always a time saver and a safe landing spot for your proposal or pitch deck content. 

But, for a process as long and demanding as a grant request, templates make a perfect customizable reference for more concise and clearer results. 

Especially for businesses that are just getting started, using grant proposal templates is a way of sparing up on much-needed time to raise money. When filing for different and diverse sources of funding, templates simply save the day! They also help meet tight deadlines with considerably lesser efforts. 

As these templates come with the added benefit of pre-formatted slides, convincing third parties of funding though a previously defined outline can definitely help a specific project or idea. 

Also, reliable templates should be free of common mistakes, which immediately means your application will be freer of common risk. And if you keep all your templates in one place, such as on the Slidebean dashboard, for instance, referring to them should be a piece of cake. Make sure you can use them at any point online or in download form, as well. 

Who uses grant proposal templates?

Anyone looking to secure funding from NGOs, state or federal government agencies or non-profit organizations would rely on a grant proposal template as a means of expediting financial request processes. It can also be used for fund renewals. 

What does a grant proposal template include?

Overall, a grant proposal template should include the following:

1. Cover
2. Executive summary
3. Statement of need
4. Goals and objectives
5. Methods and strategies
6. Plan of evaluation
7. Budget
8. Organization information
   

As you can see, a grant proposal template should include reasons why funding would be ideal and how the funds will be spent. We aim to explain that through financial details, a clear budget and a project’s goals, amongst others.  

All of the above should be backed by strategies or methods. Think of the short and long term in defining these. If you can impact bigger groups of people, all the better. 

Why funds should be allocated to a specific project or idea should also be accompanied by images, graphs, stats, figures, etc. So make sure you can add these to any grant proposal template you choose. 

Make the best of a grant proposal template

Make the best of your grant proposal template by embedding it to your website, circulating it over social media or even adding it to your email signature. 

Whether you choose to expose your grant to the public light as above or not, certainly track the views and visits it gets. Doing so will spare up on considerable anxiety by giving you access to know if the organizations you’ve contacted have even taken a look at your request. 

Grant proposal slide by slide tips

Let’s get to a set of 10 tips to using a grant proposal template, as promised. 

- Tip #1: Make sure you include your company’s name in your cover slide. This might sound like a very basic consideration, but you’d be surprised how costly and common these minor slide omissions can be. 

While we’re at it, also make it a case to read the grant’s guidelines and rules thoroughly to follow them to perfection. 

- Tip #2: Make sure your mission statement is part of your executive summary. Also, consider ethics as you draft these. Check if there are any sensibilities or relevant cues to which you should be paying attention. 

- Tip #3: Craft your statement of need in a compelling way. Clearly define not only why you require which funds, but how you plan on spending those. 

- Tip #4: Think of the big picture (and as much of a wide benefitted audience) when defining your goals and objectives.

- Tip #5: Respond to the problem you’re tacking and the solution you’re offering when you discuss the methods and strategies on which you’ll base your funded project. 

- Tip #6: Make sure you’re reasonable with time and money allotments throughout your entire grant proposal. Also, make sure these are measurable. 

- Tip #7: Include schedules, charts, graphs and lists as much as those can help get your ideas across. 

- Tip #8: Consider how and when you’ll best evaluate how well you’ve developed and implemented your project. Include this as part of the ongoing projections. Also, try to stay far away from complicated data collection and measures to achieve this, but describe any you use very clearly.

- Tip #9: When disclosing your plans in terms of income and expenses, consider your track record as much as possible. If you’re in business with other companies or organizations, list them. Even if they’re just a part of your history now, any solid and relevant financial partners should be mentioned here. 

- Tip #10: Make notes of information you’ll need help in completing when absolutely necessary. 

If there are any details you cannot fill out in terms of budget or other sections that you need the granting organizations help to fill correctly, state that calmly. It’s better to do so than to pretend you know what you’re talking about. Maybe those requisites do not even apply to your particular case scenario. So it’s always good to consider if a phone call or email would be worth your shot at a funding opportunity. 

Effective use of grant proposal templates

We hope the above tips help make the best of your upcoming grant applications. Bear in mind there will be human reviewers on the other end of your grant application. Keep that empathy in mind as you draft your proposals. 

Also, rely on our grant proposal template to lower the amount of time spent writing an excelling grant proposal. What’s more, this will certainly help by enhancing your grant proposals with stunning and AI-powered design. 

Remember, the only secure way to know you’re not getting a grant is by not submitting a proposal. The clearer you write your pleas, the better chance you have at being funded.

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