The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund, and Manage Effective Programs

Chapter Eight

Writing the Funding Document

One of the most common misconceptions among grantseekers is that the proposals they have submitted are read in full by the committee or board that makes the ultimate decision on grant requests. In the vast majority of foundations, this is untrue—what the committee or board receives and reads is a funding document, written usually by the lead program officer for the grant request. The funding document is typically a summary of the proposal received from the applicant, written in a standardized format, that gives the committee or board essential information about the request and makes the case for appropriating funds for that request. Although the name of this document varies from foundation to foundation, ...