10 Steps to Proposal Writing: Tapping into an Uncommonly Rewarding Market
Chances are you have all the skills you need
For six decades, I've supported myself and my family with freelance writing, and I discovered early on it's like the NFL or the Metropolitan Opera. A few superstars strike it big and grow fabulously wealthy. Many others, like you and I, make a decent living through consistent work and perseverance.
Diversifying is the difference between winning and losing. For example, grant proposal writing can be a gold mine—giving struggling writers enough paying jobs to make low-calorie dieting a choice, not a financial necessity. Does your talent translate to proposal writing? Absolutely.
Begin, like with most things, with baby steps. Then build. Take a grant writing class, like you took classes when you began writing. No one is born an expert, and your self-confidence is definitely bolstered by acquired knowledge.
Candid foundation center has information about online and brick-and-mortar classes, tuition rates, and free resources like a tutorial you can breeze through in about an hour. You’ll also want to bookmark their free database for your research (browse their navigation links).
Visit Grant Writing for Non-Profits, too. If reading a how-to book works for you, How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn by Meredith Noble is worthwhile.
Volunteer to write a proposal for your local preschool, park district, church, or wherever you’re connected. If you don’t have connections, visit a not-for-profit, and talk with the fund-raising committee or resource development expert. They always need grant writers, and in today's climate, with Washington threatening to block government funding for non-profits, it's an emergency need.
It’s okay to level with them. If you’ve never written a proposal, say so, but point out that you’re an experienced, skilled writer volunteering your services. When you hook an assignment, reel it in with complete attention and your best effort.
You may lay the keystone for a future filled with well-timed assignments and solid community relationships. Lots of writers’ careers take off when volunteer assignments parlay into well-paid jobs.
Before you begin writing, interview the organization’s people to get a handle on their vision and goals. What is the project they want funded? When will it be finished, and what will it accomplish? How much money is needed?
It’s a lot like working for an editor who wants an in-depth story about a woman in the news. What would your readers want to know about her? What's her background? Where's she going? Construct your proposal the same way.
And finding a foundation is a lot like finding a writer's market. Search online (http://www.guidestar.org has a free database), check funding magazines and directories at the library and online.
Be a detective—study the foundations you want to pitch. Call them to see if your organization’s project fits the funding goals. Ask for grant guidelines and find out if you can submit electronically or if they require hard copy.
See? It's like writing for an editor. Foundation decision-makers are inundated with hundreds of pages each month. They’re relieved to weed out poorly written work—fewer headaches for them. Your job is to stand above the crowd with a perfectly written, perfectly proofread proposal with all the required parts: About Us, Executive Summary, Budget, goals and mission, and a compelling call to action. Yep. That's needed in this field, too.
Submit your proposal on time and record when you sent it, to whom, and your follow-up date—just like editorial submissions.
While that pot simmers, track down other non-profits in the phonebook, checking headings like service organizations or shelters. Check with your church and ask your area Chamber of Commerce. People who do volunteer work are thrilled to talk about their work and can give you tons of insight into needs and projects looming in the near future.
Your prospects will include hospitals, homeless shelters, daycare centers, domestic violence shelters, and associations for disabled people. Every community has non-profit agencies. You’ll want to make a list and then decide which ones to approach.
Next task, compose a letter—think of it as a query or pitch. Polish it to your best writing and address it to the agency's executive director. You'll get her name by making a quick call to the prospective agency and asking whoever answers the phone.
In the letter, say why you chose this agency. Maybe you were homeless once. Perhaps a friend was a member. List your writing credits, making it clear that you’re interested in as-needed contract work. Tell the exec director how closely related your skills are to researching and writing grant proposals. Sell yourself the same way you do each time you draft a proposal or query to one of your writing markets.
There’s much to be said for tried and true techniques. Follow up the letter with a phone call. In this context, you won’t get the job if you don't follow up.
A nice opening gambit—give the director a clue that you know something about her organization, then talk about how comfortable you are with working independently.
Don’t leave out the part about being able to meet deadlines without fail. Reassure her that her input will be valued because your ego is not the issue here, is it? If you’re stuck on the idea that each of your words is an enduring pearl, you’re not going to like this gig.
If you're confident about presenting yourself, you might suggest an appointment to have coffee or lunch with her (you’ll pick up the tab). You won’t get a commitment with dessert, she has to get pro-forma approval from a board of directors. But if the director likes you, you’re in.
The process can be agonizingly slow. Board members are volunteers. Staff members are overworked. Once, I pursued a director for three months. I truly wanted to work with her agency because their mission aligned with my values and preferences.
Finally, I bumped into my target in the health club swimming pool. True story. Eagerly, I pretty much pounced and said, "Look, I'll do two weeks of writing as a volunteer just so you’re sure I’m for real."
The director agreed a perfect match was made, lasting for years.
Once you sell yourself and the prospect realizes they can’t do without you, you must talk about money. There are a couple of possible approaches.
It’s acceptable in some circles to pay a grant writer a percentage of funding she secures, but the American Association of Fund Raising Professionals thinks that’s a no-no. Consider this: An agency gets a grant earmarked to pay for an after-school program for homeless children. Money off the top ends up in the pocket of a grant writer, per his contract. The funder interprets that as misappropriation because it wasn’t in the proposal budget.
If it had been included in the budget, chances are the funder would have denied the grant request. They don’t give money for administrative costs. Catch 22.
So most writers set an hourly (typically between $35 and $75 per hour and up, depending on location and experience), or a by-the-project fee (an hourly multiplied by how long the project should take).
Create a contract—always. If you can’t adapt one you already use, look online for templates spelling out precisely what you'll do, your rate, and what expenses they may have to pay (like postage or copying costs).
It always helps to iron out details in conversation before you put the contract together—talk about who’ll be responsible for creating budgets. Unless you have a solid accounting background, try to leave that to the agency's financial person.
Decide who’s to handle post-grant reporting. If you don't work that out—you’re customer might be thinking you’ll do it. Then, if you leave it to them, a crisis may ensue. It’s easier to spend time seeing to details upfront than it is to tap dance out the door later.
When the project is finished, be sure you get a letter of recommendation from the director or board president. It'll be a magnet for new customers.
Now you have the full set of tools to supplement your freelance writing income with reliable, steady work from non-profits. Build lasting relationships and the assignments will lead to other assignments: press releases, newsletters, and public relations pieces. Customers and prospects will be confident about how well you write, how reliable you are, and how easy it is to turn a problem over to you for a brilliant solution—on time, without headaches. Every time.
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