Grant Writing Tips: Presenting your goals
Goals?
One of the most important aspects of a grant proposal is presenting the goals. Goals give granters a good idea of where you currently stand and where you hope to be standing after funding is acquired. There are several easy to follow guidelines that can help you develop good effective goals. These rules will help you to design realistic and productive goals.
Projects should align with the organization's vision and mission
This one sounds easy enough but reality is many grant writers tend to botch this up miserably. If your organization is one that supports adult literacy than your goals should not include going green. To many grant writers try to tailor the grant to the funder by bending the words. It is better to find a funder who is already looking to fund projects like yours.
If you are an adult literacy foundation perhaps your goal could be to increase the amount of adults who have learned to read through your program by 25%. This goal suits the organization you are writing for.
Set Long and short term goals
When exploring goal options for your organization you need to look at them in terms of now and then. Always look at how funding will help now but also how it will continue to help in the future. Granters want to see how their funds will make instant and long lasting impacts.
Maybe your short term goal could be an increase in program membership. The long term would be the 25% increase in adults who learn to read through the program.
Goals should flow from need and problem statements.
Look at the need you are trying to fill. The goals need to be related to that need. If you need funds to acquire new books for your program than the goal needs to reflect the impact those books will have
Who will benefit
This is a reoccuring theme in grants. Granters want to know who they will be helping. Always list the population that will be directly benefited first and than the ones that will be indirectly affected. If very few people will benefit than you can count funding out.
Positive
Lastly, and possibly the most important factor is to state your goals in a positive way. An example would be.
Our goal is to see an increase in adults entering the exciting world of reading by 25% by the end of the year. Notice how I utilized the words exciting world of reading. This is a vivid and positive description. I used the wording to give color to the statement. If our goals are not presented in a positive way than the granter will not look at it as something worth funding.
A negitive way to state the goal would be, We hope to see a 25% increase in adults who can't read learn how to.
The statement is bland and without any real kick to it. The word hope implies that we are not sure about funding.
Remember goals are a prime way for us to let the granter know what we hope to accomplish. It is better to be realistic as opposed to outrageious.
