The "Good Enough" Proposal Checklist

Note: This blog is so far comprised of entries that I actually wrote on another blogging service from Fall of 2006 up to today. That blogging service made me want to tear my hair out, with all of its formatting issues. So I switched to Blogger, and moved all the entries over today, hence the single date on all of these even though this post refers to a long posting hiatus.

It's been a while since I posted. I think I got a little bit hung up in something that I occasionally have a problem with, which is perfectionism. I had been feeling like I had to have everything perfect on my website, and have perfect topics to post about, before I could really do very much on my blog. There are many problems with this, chief among them: nobody's perfect, and so striving for perfection, while admirable if it leads to good work, can only lead to failure.

The other greatest problem with perfectionism is that it often leads to procrastination. That's the feeling you can get: I can't finish it, it's not perfect! And, I can't get it perfect, so why bother trying? This is perfectionism taken to an extreme, and we all need to watch out for that!

I think the same thing can happen very easily in grantwriting. Have you ever had a proposal that wasn't on a deadline and therefore you could take a great deal of time with, that you just can't get out the door, can't get motivated about? Maybe it's perfectionism holding you back. The proposal doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough. So how do you know if it's good enough?

"Good Enough" Proposal Checklist, in no particular order:

1. It addresses each of the items of information asked for in the funders' guidelines with at least a sentence or two. If they don't specify information, you should at least have an introduction with request, a needs statement, your organizational mission and background, your program description, measurable objectives, and conclusion with contact information.
2. It justifies the need for your program or organization in a separate needs section with at least one or two sentences and a reference to some sort of outside authority. You shouldn't take it for granted that the need for your organization is obvious to everyone, and if you can't find at least one citation on the internet or in some of your previous materials you have a real problem on your hands that a good enough proposal won't fix.
3. It clearly asks for a specific grant amount.
4. It includes your mission statement and contact information. I know, this seems obvious, but sometimes you can get caught up in the rest of it and forget so it needs to be said.
5. It has at least one measurable objective (quantitative or qualitative) for each separate program, activity, or goal described.
6. It has been proofread for grammar and readability by at least one other person. Grammar, spelling, and usage are exceptions to the "good enough" rule: they really should be perfect, and can be, so make sure that they are.