How to Write a Grant: The Essential First Step

Before you start writing your grant application, it’s super important to thoroughly research the grant opportunity. This is step one to nailing that grant. If you mess up at this stage, you’re definitely not winning the grant, no matter how convincing your proposal is.

Every funder outlines their funding mandate. They specify their thematic areas (what they fund), who they fund, and where they fund. It’s essential that you are in complete alignment with those objectives. Before you dive into drafting a proposal, take time to understand: The eligibility criteria What they fund What they don’t fund Past funded projects, to get a sense of the kind of projects they fund How they evaluate projects After you’ve carefully studied each of the above, you should have a clear understanding of whether you qualify to apply and the kind of project the funder would support. Based on that information, you can move on to the next step, which is to identify and develop a project that aligns with the funder’s mandate.

Let me illustrate my point with an example: Consider the Embassy of Japan in Uganda’s Grant Requirements. They’ve clearly defined the project areas and, within those, the types of projects they fund. Now, if you submit a project proposal aimed at providing “vocational training,” it won’t get funded, even though they’ve mentioned that under project areas. This is because if you carefully study their requirements (see under types of projects), you’ll discover that a standalone training/education project does not qualify. However, if it’s meant to complement a construction or provision of materials for which you’re requesting funding, then you could incorporate a vocational training component into your proposal. This is where a careful study of the project requirements comes into play.

Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects Let’s take another example. Mercy Corps Venture’s Crypto for Good Fund offers $100,000 in grants to 10 qualifying startups. The funding opportunity clearly states the priority areas, the regions that qualify, and the kind of solution they’re looking to fund, which is a blockchain-based technical solution. Now, if you submit a proposal about creating awareness of blockchain technology in Africa, it will definitely not qualify. Why? Because it fails to meet Mercy Corps’ funding requirement, which is for a solution that utilizes blockchain technology

Mercy Corps Ventures Crypto for Good Fund Requirements.

Pro Tip: To assist you in understanding the grant requirements upload the document in ChatGPT or other similar chat based LLMs and chat with the document to understand it thoroughly.