What Is A Project Funding Proposal? Most people miss the point. Most people see a proposal as a way to convince people with money to get their project funded. What funders most want to know is if your organisation has the capability to deliver the social impact or change they want to see in the world. Think differently about your application to give yourself an edge.
Key Takeaway What is a Project Funding Proposal
Most project funding proposals fail because they focus on the organization’s needs, not the funder’s. To win funding, demonstrate your capability to deliver the social impact the funder desires. This builds trust and increases your chances of success.
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How to Better Understand What is a Project Funding Proposal
Why Most Projects Struggle to Get Funding?
Many social enterprises and non-profit organisations struggle to secure funding for their projects. This is because they tend to only view what Is a project funding proposal from their own perspective. They often fall into the trap of focusing only on what resources they need to get their idea to work. But let’s look at things from the funder’s perspective. What Is a project funding proposal to them? They want to build confidence in the applicant that they will be able to deliver the impact they desire. In short, they want to know that the applicant is capable of delivering the change they want.
Most Funders Think Differently About What a Project Funding Proposal is For.
We know ourselves very well, we know that we are hard working and capable. We believe in what we do and we are capable of doing it well. When I worked at a funder I found that the funder’s experience is very different. They will almost certainly have funded projects in the past, and if so, they will undoubtedly have had their disappointments. (Given that projects have a 70% failure rate according to McKinsey). This means that they are likely to be cautious and want evidence you can do what you say you will.
What a Project Funding Proposal Does?
The experience of past disappointments means that their number one concern is that they don’t get let down. That is what Is a project funding proposal to them. It is a request not to let them down. They know there are risks, but the main concern they can manage is whether they ‘trust’ the applicant to deliver what they say they will. Because we ourselves ‘know’ we are capable, we too often overlook the importance of this key factor.
A Project Funding Proposal Demonstrates Your Capability
The reality is, therefore, that as a core part of the bid, the applicant needs to demonstrate that they have the capability to deliver the change. The main reason a funder is funding the project is because they don’t think they have the capability to deliver the project themselves. So demonstrate that you do have that capability.
What is a project funding proposal?
A project funding proposal is a communication that you have the capability to achieve a funder’s intentions of creating their desired impact.
LEading To Impact
What Is A Project Funding Proposal: How to Present Your Capabilities
Talking about your capability can seem like showing off. Indeed over-egging it and getting too ‘salesy’ can backfire. But if you were buying a hairdryer, you would want to know that it could dry your hair. Not whether it has 7 speed settings. Often in proposals we are guilty of talking about the speed settings, rather than showing that we know how to do the job. If you can link your capability to their need, you have the best chance of building confidence in your offer.
How to Demonstrate Your Capability in a Project Funding Proposal:
- Assess your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Develop a clear understanding of the funder’s needs and priorities.
- Engage with your frontline leadership to get the best quality information about users needs.
- Communicate your response to those needs and priorities.
- Clearly communicate your capabilities and match them to the funder’s needs in your proposal.
Creating a Project Funding Proposal
I’ve created a 10 step process that makes the process of completing a proposal easy to undersand. So you can you can stay on the road and not go off track. I’ve also created a complete guide to creating funding proposals on my website with lots of tips and advice for creating a good funding proposal.
Assessing a Project Funding Proposal
What most people do is work their socks off on a funding proposal. Get stressed, try and put everything they can think of in the proposal and cross their fingers and hope for the best. I’ve created the Project Funding Proposal Strength Test to give you feedback and tailored feedback on your bid, so that you can learn where and how to focus your efforts into creating the best bid possible. Take the Project Funding Strength Test Here. The test is free to take part, so it’s super valuable in improving your bid.
Conclusion
By shifting what we think of as, what Is a project funding proposal we can see it with fresh eyes. The focus of a project funding proposal to link an organisation’s capabilities to the funder’s needs, social enterprises and non-profits can greatly improve their chances of securing funding. This approach builds trust and confidence in the funder. Foster a strong partnership between the applicant and the funder.
Take the Project Funding Proposal Strength Test to learn how to improve your proposal.
Learn to create change that flows: Discover more at edgeofpossible.com
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