Writing a grant proposal (for

cash) for Corporate Sector

Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR,
Indus Towers Limited

WHAT CORPORATE FUNDERS LOOK FOR..

A good fit with their funding priorities

A clear sense of the applicants mission and role
Reasonable institutional capacity
Strategic programs/interventions
Sound project management strategies
Value for money
Flexibility
Innovation

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

WHAT FUNDING INSTITUTIONS LOOK FOR.

Good track record/reputation
Evidence of good financial management
Minimised risks

Investments in credible leadership

Reliable allies they can trust

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

SIX STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING FROM

INSTITUTIONS

Step 1: Putting your house in order:

Institutional Assessment
Step 2: Researching prospects
Step 3: Making the approach
Step 4: Developing a proposal
Step 5: Managing the assessment
process
Step 6: Managing the funding
relationship
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

PREPARING FOR FUNDRAISING:INSTITUTIONAL

ASSESSMENT

Vision, Mission, Values

Strategic thinking and planning
Strategic positioning
Governance and management
Skilled and committed staff
Operational systems and structures
Financial management
Commendable track record
Investments in marketing and public relations
Friend-raising and nurturing contacts
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Researching Prospects
Most funding requests are rejected because
Strategic misalignment
they do not fall under a grant-making agencys stated area of interest
they compete for a limited pool of resources, the rest already having
been allocated to long-term commitments
Poor Programmatic approach
they are inadequately prepared / MIS lacking
No clear outcomes or deliverables
No financial clarity or justification
No flexibility
Badly written / presented / articulated

6
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Find out
Area of interest Eg. the environment
Geographical area of interest Eg. North

India
Type of funding provided Eg. Some will
not fund capital items; others will not fund
core costs.
Types of programmes supported in the past
Average grant size and maximum and
minimum funding

7
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Find out..
Duration of average grant
Deadline for applications
Procedure Eg. A letter of enquiry, a concept note
or a full proposal? Look out for specific forms you

may have to complete.

The right contact person?

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

Where can you find this information?

Annual reports of other organisations

similar to yours
Network
The Internet

RESEARCH BEFORE APPROACH

8
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

MAKING AN APPROACH
Board contacts
Broad contacts
Letter of Inquiry
Arranging a meeting
Seeking an introduction
Inviting program staff to events
Nurturing contacts

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

Information for proposal

STEP 1 : Problem Analysis
Problem Statement
Proposed Intervention
Justification of Proposed intervention and how it
helps address problem statement
Why you are the best organization to do this
STEP 2 : Program Implementation
Define
Program Area
Program structure
Program Management Structure
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

STEP 3 : M&E
Base Line
Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators and process
How will you measure outcome and Justification
How will you collect data and report the same
STEP 4 : Budget
Your contribution
MS request
Budget Tables and
Budget Summary
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

DEVELOPING THE PROPOSAL: SUGGESTED STEPS

Cover letter
Contents page
Executive summary
Brief context

Clear, concise description of your organisations

objectives
Identification of problem
PAGE NUMBERS : A MUST
KISS : Keep it short and simple
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

DEVELOPING THE PROPOSAL: APPENDICES

Appendices /annexe should be numbered and kept
to a minimum, and can include the following:
Names of Board Members and qualifications
Names of key project staff and qualifications
Any relevant feasibility studies/reports
Literature on your organisation and signed
financial
statements/audited accounts.
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

MANAGING THE PROPOSAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS

You might get a Proposal Clarification Letter respond as

comprehensively as you can

Prepare for a site visit if it is part of the process make a
good impression!
Respond to all enquiries yourself even if you are working
with a team
Send any relevant documents you didnt send the first time if it
will help your assessment. Check with the officer first before
you do so.

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

Managing the Relationship

Make sure you know who your contact person will be, and

let them know who is responsible at your end

Send your reports on time. If there will be a delay let them
know when to expect it.
Take the time to write clear, credible reports
Be prepared to host a site visit involve your team.
Send updates to the donor such as newsletters or annual
reports
Leverage additional support from the donor such as
technical assistance, introductions to other funders,
endorsement of campaigns, etc
Make sure that your relationships are institutionalized
rather than personalized.
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Writing a proposal
Come up with a grant-winning idea scaling up is most

attractive for corporate

Donors like people who think creatively about how to address

problems. Business match : But typically this will not be part

of the proposal.
Give Flow Diagrams, organograms, Gantt charts, Return on

Investment, sustainability plans.

Cost sharing with local government, other agencies
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Facts, facts and more facts

Dont speak in generalities. Provide facts.

Dont overload the donor with too much information. Provide a

few key facts, rather than a mass of figures. Facts that support
the case you are trying to make. Else annexurize it
Most fundraisers think about the WHAT rather than the WHY.
They tell the donor what the problem is, what they want to do
about it, what they need.
Also address what the problem is ? Impact direct and indirect
WHAT you want to do? WHY this is the best approach
WHAT you need, but also WHY they should give it to you.
What is your USP

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

Tell stories

It is the impact on lives which is important, and

which will bring your proposal to life.
Stories can talk about:
The problems
The solutions
The impact on the life of people / livelihoods etc

What will happen if nothing is done

Writing case studies
Illustrating these with photographs
Using videos
Telling stories in your annual report and on your
website
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Input, output, outcome and impact

Maximum impact with minimum input. Efficiency and

cost-effectiveness.
Quality versus quantity. Setting out the special issues and
needs of your client group.
Log frames
Evaluation
Why you want to do you an evaluation
How extensive, and at what cost
Who will do it (you or an independent evaluator)
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Sustainability
Sustainability of the solution; sustainability of your

intervention (the service you are providing or the project you

are running).
Future maintenance and running costs, and how these will be
provided for.
What will happen when your grant runs out?
Use of volunteers
Community resource mobilisation

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

A suggested structure for your fundraising proposal

Project title. A catchy title helps.
Proposal summary. Underneath the title write a short

explanation of the project in no more than two sentences.

Introduction. Say who you are, what you do, and why you are
really a great organisation.
State the problem. Give the facts. You can put more detailed
information or a case study in an attachment.
Say what you will do about the problem. Describe your
project and its main objectives.
Say how you will do it. Set out your plans for how you will set
about implementing your project.
Describe how you will know if you are successful.
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Budgeting
Set out the actual expenditure
Plan a reserve for hidden expenditure
Include cost of staff time needed to implement programme or

activity
Include allowance for cost of running your organisation
Allow for inflation
Give % age of total as well

14
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Funds requested
S.
No

Description

Unit

Per Unit
cost

Duration

No, of
units

Total

Tables

Tables

100

One
time

500

(500*100)
=500000

49

Teachers

Teache
rs

1200/mt
h

36 mths

20

(1200*20*36)=86
400

23

Picnic

Child
1000

200/chd

2/yr

1000

1000*200*2
=400000

28

Total

1764000

Identify problem in the table

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

IN $

% age of
Tol

Make it interesting
A compelling cover page
Highlight anything thats innovative about your
proposal
Blurbs/ pull-outs
Human interest stories
Slogans
Interesting headlines and sub-headings
One or two photographs, with captions
News / media coverage if any

15
Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus
Towers Limited

Lets play a game

Divide into two groups
Quacks and Moos
Presentation
From Quacks
From Moos

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

Exercise
Suggest a program intervention for Indus Towers :
Environment and Energy focus.
Suggest a Catchy Title
Suggest a program intervention
Who can be funders
Who can be co-funders
What is the USP

Presentation by Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR, Indus

Towers Limited

Thank You and Questions

Vikas Goswami, VP-CSR,

Indus Towers Limited