The first step in the process of proposal writing is to have a good understanding of the program or project that needs funding. Knowing what the funds are for is crucial. Another word the grant writer/grant developer must know the program or project that he/she is trying to get funded. If the grant writer is the program officer, mean that if the grant writer is a contracted individual from outside of the organization, he/she must sit down with a program officer to learn about the project. This might seems obvious, but this is a common mistake that new grant writers make every day. Inexperience grant writers often prioritize the writing style, the language that they use to seduce donors, but minimize what is in the Request For Proposal, sometimes it is because they do not have the necessary information about the program that they are seeking funds for.

“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have ”

— Jim Rohn

One of the biggest missteps I have witnessed about grants in the philanthropic sector is the idea of looking for funds before the construction of a program. The second biggest mistake is sending a proposal to a foundation that does not support the initiative that the program is doing. For instance, some foundations will only support programs related to education, if your project has nothing to do with academic, they will not even waste their time reading your proposal. Unfortunately, I have seen numerous grant writers sending proposals for sport-related projects to foundations that clearly mention that they fund only health-related activities.

Knowing all the details about the program that needs funding is necessary. Remember that, following the instructions in the RFP, is more important than the writing style. It is also advised to elaborate and start running a program with small donations before applying for grants.