Grant writing is an ongoing process for most charitable organizations. There are some steps you can follow for successful:

Research

• there are many directories available both in print and online that provide information about the donations programs and history of corporations and foundations;
• don't overlook the obvious and use search engines like Google to search potential supporters of your organization, using search terms like "donors to animal shelters in Texas" or whatever terms describe your charity and your area;
• there are government databases containing information about both corporations and foundations, using their tax returns and information statements. Examples of these can be found on the research resources page of this site.

 Build a Mailing List

• once you've identified a list of prospects, build a database of their email or mailing addresses with the contact information of the decision maker;
• send these people a newsletter and ask their permission to be added to your mailing list;
• if they decline, remove them from the list but if they are OK, continue to send them newsletters and occasionally send them other material such as invitations to events;
• make sure that your communications contain appealing pictures, indications of other support, success stories and third party endorsements;
• occasionally hold small, low cost cultivation events, such as an open house, and invite the representatives of corporations and foundations on your list to these events.

Send an Inquiry Letter

• based on your research about the types of things the foundation or corporation supports, select a program or capital need that you think may interest them;
• write a letter, reminding them of your newsletter, and include a brief description of the new project;
• don't make a request at this time, and don't snow them under with additional paper but simply ask them if it would be OK to send them a proposal for the new project
• make a follow-up phone call about the status of your request

Keep Track of Your Requests

• most foundations and many corporations will tell you when their grants committee meets to review proposals and the deadline you need to meet to be considered at that time;
• create a calendar that shows when you need to submit your proposals and work to those deadlines;
• do your homework internally, getting all the back up information you need to support your request;
• this information, gathered from department heads and others, can be compiled into your fundraising case statement to use as a source when you write your proposal;
• circulate a copy of the foundation's board to your own board to see if their are any linkages or ways that they might be able to strengthen your proposal.

The Proposal

• if the granting organization tells you they will consider a proposal, write it and send it in asap;
• don't be afraid to make some bold statements about what your organization is accomplishing;
• tell some stories that illustrate the success of your programs;
• provide third party evidence, authoritative endorsements, supporting graphs and charts;
• include a succinct and easy to read budget for the program you are asking to be funded;
• make you proposal jargon free (your mission statement may be jargon) and try to appeal to all personality types IE tell stories but also include pertinent facts in text boxes or bullet points
• if the proposal must be made using an online form, try to fit the most compelling elements of your proposal into their tiny boxes - in other words, being brief doesn't have to lessen impact
• the section in this site called sample fundraising letter will give you some ideas about writing a proposal since the basic elements are similar and can be adapted to a grant application

Follow-up

• call or email periodically and get some feedback about your status;
• if the answer is no, ask if you can submit another proposal next year - if they say no to that, then find out why you are so off target;
• if the answer is yes, obviously send them a thank-you, but remember to stay in touch, providing updates on the success of your program and the difference they have made to people.