Preparing to Write the Grant Proposal

Before You Begin Your Proposal

The following resources will assist you in preparing to write your proposal.

  • SWOT Analysis Guide – This document will asssit you in assessing the true problem your organization is requesting funds to resolve, and why your organization and/or program has the best chance of solving the problem.
  • Guide Star  View funders’ 990 tax returns to see how much they are distributing and to whom.

Data, Research and Peer-reviewed Article Sites for Creating a Compelling Statement of Need

Sites you can trust for data and information to use in your statement of need

  • Drucker Foundation– The Leader to Leader Institute furthers its mission-to strengthen the leadership of the social sector-by providing social sector leaders with essential leadership wisdom, inspiration and resources to lead for innovation and to build vibrant social sector organizations. It is this essential social sector, in collaboration with its partners in the private and public sectors, that changes lives and builds a society of healthy children, strong families, decent housing, good schools, work that dignifies, all embraced by the diverse, inclusive, cohesive community that cares about all of its people.
  • Kids Count – The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Center includes community-level data in addition to city, state, and national data. Find more than 100 indicators of child well-being, including economic status, health, safety, and risk factors. Create your own maps, graphs, and charts for use in presentations or on your own website.
  • Center for Disease Control – Provides data and statistic including Ohio specific health facts to use in your proposal.
  • ERIC – ERIC is an online library of education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Google Scholar – Provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles.
  • National Center for Education Statistics – The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collects, analyzes and makes available data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
  • Pew Research Center – A nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.
  • PubMed – PubMed comprises more than 23 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.