Models of Proposal Planning & Writing

Grantseeking has become an increasingly competitive process. Beginning grantwriters sometimes assemble a collection of facts and present that information to grantmakers, hoping to receive support. However, sponsors rarely award grant funding just because a grantseeker supports a specific cause or works for a specific organization. Grantseekers must persuade sponsors to invest in their projects and organization. Successful grantseekers know that persuasion, not information, attracts funding. Persuasive proposals present a seamless argument that stands the test of reason, addresses psychological concerns, and connects project ideas to the values of the sponsor.

Models of Proposal Planning & Writing illustrates, in intimate detail previously unpublished, an integrated process of planning and writing persuasive proposals. The grantseeker will see the questions that the authors asked of themselves and those asked of sponsors before they developed a complete grant application. Grantseekers will read the actual proposals the authors submitted to private and public sponsors, including paragraph-by-paragraph analyses of the key features that made them persuasive. The authors provide the reader with a verbatim examination of reviewer comments and grant award notification letters they received back from the sponsors. As a whole, these annotated models serve as a springboard from which grantseekers can begin to develop their own fundable proposals.

Jeremy T. Miner is director of sponsored programs at St. Norbert College. In addition to developing and administering proposals for the college, he has served as a reviewer for federal grant programs and has helped private foundations streamline their grant application guidelines. Miner is a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators. Along with Lynn Miner, he co-authored Proposal Planning and Writing, 3rd edition (Greenwood Press). As a partner in Miner and Associates, Inc., a grant consulting firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he provides proposal writing, computerized grantseeking, and workshop services for academic and nonprofit organizations nationwide.

Lynn E. Miner is a principal in Miner and Associates, Inc., a leading nationwide grants consulting group that specializes in training successful grantseekers. He has been an active grantseeker in academic, health care, and other nonprofit environments and for the past three decades. He has been affiliated with public and private universities and hospitals as a professor and research administrator. He has served on the board of directors for several private foundations and has helped public and private agencies establish guidelines for awarding grants. Along with Jeremy Miner, he co-edits Grantseeker Tips, a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter on successful grantseeking, available through http://www.MinerAndAssociates.com.