Storytelling for Grantseekers: A Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising

NO BOILERPLATE PROPOSALS

Executive directors, development directors, and other nonprofit professionals often ask me, “Can’t we just create a boilerplate proposal that we can submit to all potential funders?” The answer is an emphatic no. To be successful in grantseeking, you can’t draft a generic, one-size-fits-all grant proposal. You do not mass-produce a grant proposal and send the identical story to each potential funder.

It is true that once you have developed a proposal, much of the core text will be reusable in later submissions, perhaps as much as 80 to 90 percent of the narrative content. However, for every additional submission, expect to tailor and fine-tune your story. You want each proposal to “speak” directly to each grantmaker. ...