This is why your funding proposals and pitches are getting rejected and how to fix it.
You see this funding proposal writing issue……….it is one major cause of headache for Business and Non-Profit leaders.
Grants are a major source of revenue and funding to enable you scale your programmes and organization which makes it highly competitive.
The landscape is getting even tougher with thousands of new and innovative Businesses and Non-Profits launching daily to address key issues competing for shrinking available funding.
Regardless of the competitive nature of grants, your ability to talk about your solutions and the key issues your intend to address with your project or solution is the foundation of a winning proposal.
There are many factors that can make your proposal fail and I would not be able to talk about all of them in one email so I would just focus on one.
The summary and logic of proposal writing is problem solving. It is not about your desire to access money to grow your organization or any bla bla bla you may think.
If the proposal is not solving a problem for a specific population……forget it!
That being said;
Funders support solutions that respond to problems that applicants have undeniably shown proofs through their proposals that they thoroughly understand the issues, have engaged deeply with the population and are best positioned to solve them….not just mere speculations and assumptions.
The problem I see with a lot of proposals including from my own writing experience is about making speculations and assumptions about the issues we intend to address through our projects or solutions. Funders can see right through this, hence the rejections.
One way to address this gap in your next application is through ENGAGEMENT and DATA.
It is one thing to know the issues, it is another thing to have it documented as evidence which you can reference for justification.
The world now is data driven and stakeholders want to make decisions based on facts and practicalities.
How then can you embed this in your proposals?
The first step is to engage and interact with your target population/market by asking very critical questions to understand their circumstances and document your findings even if it is just a 2 page report.
What is the main problem relevant to your organization’s mission and your key target population?
What observable issues are they experiencing as a result of this particular problem which has formed your opinion and desire to create this solution or implement this project?
How does this problem impact their daily lives and how critical is it for it to be addressed?
What are the different negative experiences they now face as a result of the existing problem?
Why does the problem even exist? from their perspective and yours as the solution provider?
What factors influence the continued existence of this problem?
Who are the relevant stakeholders in this issue, what have they done and where is the gap?
Only then should you come up with a solution/project and then a proposal.
Most projects or solutions are based on speculations and continue to waste resources because despite the work done, there are no observable and measurable changes and positive shifts in the circumstances faced by your target audience or users.
Funders what something different.
Dear Founder, sometimes, it is hard to agree to a perspective that you may have not been focusing on the right issues.
It is hard to agree that you may have been wasting your time and resources on projects and initiatives that do not count.
You then make up a reality that your solution has been very impactful even in the absence of data to support your claim.
It is what it is…..the way out of this cycle is to accept that there are gaps, find them and then work to close the gaps.
Personally, I have restructured some service offerings and projects when I see that they are not aligning with the results they should be delivering so you are not alone in this.
Let me help you get your organization get properly structured and funding ready for global opportunities. Click here to learn more about how we would make that happen.