1. Attract attention to your project proposal.
The expert who will evaluate your proposal must remember you, although sometimes they read hundreds of proposals a week. The summary and the main objectives are your best asset.
2. Use the language of the donor.
Professional jargon and technically sound language rarely impress the reader. Plain and clear language is preferable.
3. Show confidence.
Forget about phrases such as "could," "should," "would" and use "will". If you are not confident in the project proposal you are submitting, then how do you expect the donor to grant you money. The donor organization is more like a partner to you with whom it is possible to make successful cooperation for both parties.
4. State your aims and objectives in understandable and concrete manner.
Your proposal must be organized in a logical sequence and checked for grammatical and spelling errors. The basic information (what the problem is and what is expected to be achieved) must be clear enough even if read in short.
5. Be realistic.
Do not aim at too many targets at once. Hint: In case of doubt let someone unrelated to the project to read it and give you their opinion.
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6. The theory of “cocktail snacks.”
Give the information requested in small portions so the reader doesn’t “choke”. Do not overload the expert who will evaluate your project proposal with too much information at time. Pay special attention to methodology and results.
7. Use the Guidelines the donor specifically issued for this current Call for proposals you are applying.
Each funding programme has its own principles, priorities and goals. Strictly stick to the requirements of the specific funding programme.
8. Focus on just one problem.
If you write a proposal for energy efficiency in the municipality do not give examples of road network conditions or the sewers.
9. Invoke trust and confidence.
This can be achieved by presenting your organization with the management team biographies, letters of support and attractive format of the proposal.
10. ALWAYS submit FULL and COMPLETE version of the project proposal.
Always pay extra attention on any requirements related to the number of copies you should submit, the length of the texts or number of symbols you should use filling out application form. Do not forget to submit also all supportive documents as said in the Guidelines and the right format as it is said. If you don’t do this there is a serious possibility for your project to be rejected before even being evaluated.
AND DO NOT FORGET - THE PURPOSE OF A PROJECT NEVER IS "LETS MAKE SOME MONEY FOR OURSELVES"