If you want to get something done – to raise funds, attract a business partner or sell a product or idea – you will need to develop proposals. All the proposals that I have written and orally delivered had these fundamental steps in common: research, approach, explanation and value assessment.
To illustrate these basic steps in the proposal development process, let’s imagine the case of a non-governmental, non-profit organization (NGO) run by a British idealist who is looking for one million pounds (£1,000,000) to build a playground for wild Ugandan monkeys, including fancy bouncing castles, climbers and exercise equipment, to be installed in the forest and staffed by monkey scientists. I have heard worse ideas… So, how would I develop this proposal?
Step One: Research
Who would want to pay for this project, honestly? Has anything like this been done before? Are monkeys demonstrating a great need for bouncy castles? What elements are involved, and how do they match up with donors that exist out there? No matter if we are proposing for an NGO donation or a business investment, we must understand the goals of the person or organization that we are proposing to, and the market we are serving with our proposition.
Perhaps there is a PhD student out there with a grant to study the ways that monkeys interact with things made for humans. Maybe there is a (human) tourism angle in here too, and we could look for a zoo or wildlife reserve with the budget to invest in a unique monkey entertainment complex to attract more tourists. Maybe the local wildlife authority has some funds for monkey development. Do the research. Usually I develop an excel document listing all the potential targets of any given proposal, and one column is for notes on each one’s special interests, which I then tailor each proposal to emphasize.
Step Two: Approach
There are many ways to approach a potential funder, partner or buyer, but I have found that a warm referral or personal connection is the most likely to result in a deal. You can uncover large support organizations in your research and submit proposals online, and you should do this, but understand that you will be competing with hundreds of other projects for support, and it is very easy to weed out a written document when detached from the people and passion behind it. In my experience, people are most likely to buy into a project when meeting in person, after being introduced by someone they trust and respect.
Maybe my cousin knows an American reality TV star who has recently become obsessed with monkeys and would enthusiastically invest the profits from her latest reality show on a monkey playground. I can meet her at a place she enjoys, bring a monkey for her to play with, write the proposal in her manner of speech and make it look and feel her style.
Other communication signals like eye contact, body language, dress, personal stories and the warmth of one’s personality can win someone over when the project itself is quite ordinary (or absurd). An in-person meeting is an opportunity to feel this person out and take their lead on social cues and business process. You should have your basic concept written up by the time of the first meeting, but a final proposal will likely be informed by this meeting, as it should be tailored to exactly what its audience needs to close the deal.
Step Three: The Written Proposal
The written proposal serves as a credibility check. It is important in more formal cultures – Canada is notorious for requiring a mountain of paperwork to get anything done – but in other contexts, the informal conversation matters more. In either case, the written proposal is something that your contact can bring back to other decision makers to review the details and decide whether to make the deal.
In the beginning, it is important to gather all the content you have to explain your project: past proposals, write ups, websites and social media, photos and videos, media articles, etc. Select the best stuff – don’t miss the chance to share a Youtube video of a monkey using a slide – and organize it so that you have a clear and concise proposal to suit the special interests of your audience. Keep the language simple and to the point, and add engaging visuals and specific examples of success. One happy monkey’s success story can serve your pitch better than facts and figures showing how many monkeys will benefit in general.
Start by explaining what you plan to accomplish, what problem your project solves and why it is good for the reader. That’s the introduction, or executive summary, and one good paragraph should do. Then give some background information about the problem you are solving and the mission and operations of your organization. You can include brief profiles of your team, and make sure to explain what is special about your product or strategy. All this can be said in under two pages. The rest of the proposal can vary in length depending on the requirements of your audience, but it should include more details about your plan, your schedule and budget, and offer more credibility by listing other respectable partners, past funders and media coverage, relevant facts and figures. By the end, your reader should know exactly how you plan to spend their money and why it is worth the expense: because it best meets their goals.
Finally: Value Assessment
This is the make or break moment. Is the project itself really valuable? I am concluding this article with value assessment, but really this should be done first. If I were to meet a hypothetical client wanting to build a playground for monkeys, I would probably say: “but sir, are the monkeys not better served for free by trees?” We could get lucky. Maybe a reality TV star / monkey enthusiast would agree to support the project. It would be in the mutual interest of the client and funder, and we could build a high quality monkey playground. And yet, would the world be a better place? Could the million pounds perhaps be spent on more pressing issues, like the education and health care of Uganda’s young human population? Now we are getting into the philosophical, but funders will give your proposal the value test, so it is better that you do so first and save yourself wasted effort. It may be better to let the monkeys play in their trees and focus on forest conservation, don’t you think?
I hope this was useful. If you need help with a proposal, please contact me at [email protected]
To illustrate these basic steps in the proposal development process, let’s imagine the case of a non-governmental, non-profit organization (NGO) run by a British idealist who is looking for one million pounds (£1,000,000) to build a playground for wild Ugandan monkeys, including fancy bouncing castles, climbers and exercise equipment, to be installed in the forest and staffed by monkey scientists. I have heard worse ideas… So, how would I develop this proposal?
Step One: Research
Who would want to pay for this project, honestly? Has anything like this been done before? Are monkeys demonstrating a great need for bouncy castles? What elements are involved, and how do they match up with donors that exist out there? No matter if we are proposing for an NGO donation or a business investment, we must understand the goals of the person or organization that we are proposing to, and the market we are serving with our proposition.
Perhaps there is a PhD student out there with a grant to study the ways that monkeys interact with things made for humans. Maybe there is a (human) tourism angle in here too, and we could look for a zoo or wildlife reserve with the budget to invest in a unique monkey entertainment complex to attract more tourists. Maybe the local wildlife authority has some funds for monkey development. Do the research. Usually I develop an excel document listing all the potential targets of any given proposal, and one column is for notes on each one’s special interests, which I then tailor each proposal to emphasize.
Step Two: Approach
There are many ways to approach a potential funder, partner or buyer, but I have found that a warm referral or personal connection is the most likely to result in a deal. You can uncover large support organizations in your research and submit proposals online, and you should do this, but understand that you will be competing with hundreds of other projects for support, and it is very easy to weed out a written document when detached from the people and passion behind it. In my experience, people are most likely to buy into a project when meeting in person, after being introduced by someone they trust and respect.
Maybe my cousin knows an American reality TV star who has recently become obsessed with monkeys and would enthusiastically invest the profits from her latest reality show on a monkey playground. I can meet her at a place she enjoys, bring a monkey for her to play with, write the proposal in her manner of speech and make it look and feel her style.
Other communication signals like eye contact, body language, dress, personal stories and the warmth of one’s personality can win someone over when the project itself is quite ordinary (or absurd). An in-person meeting is an opportunity to feel this person out and take their lead on social cues and business process. You should have your basic concept written up by the time of the first meeting, but a final proposal will likely be informed by this meeting, as it should be tailored to exactly what its audience needs to close the deal.
Step Three: The Written Proposal
The written proposal serves as a credibility check. It is important in more formal cultures – Canada is notorious for requiring a mountain of paperwork to get anything done – but in other contexts, the informal conversation matters more. In either case, the written proposal is something that your contact can bring back to other decision makers to review the details and decide whether to make the deal.
In the beginning, it is important to gather all the content you have to explain your project: past proposals, write ups, websites and social media, photos and videos, media articles, etc. Select the best stuff – don’t miss the chance to share a Youtube video of a monkey using a slide – and organize it so that you have a clear and concise proposal to suit the special interests of your audience. Keep the language simple and to the point, and add engaging visuals and specific examples of success. One happy monkey’s success story can serve your pitch better than facts and figures showing how many monkeys will benefit in general.
Start by explaining what you plan to accomplish, what problem your project solves and why it is good for the reader. That’s the introduction, or executive summary, and one good paragraph should do. Then give some background information about the problem you are solving and the mission and operations of your organization. You can include brief profiles of your team, and make sure to explain what is special about your product or strategy. All this can be said in under two pages. The rest of the proposal can vary in length depending on the requirements of your audience, but it should include more details about your plan, your schedule and budget, and offer more credibility by listing other respectable partners, past funders and media coverage, relevant facts and figures. By the end, your reader should know exactly how you plan to spend their money and why it is worth the expense: because it best meets their goals.
Finally: Value Assessment
This is the make or break moment. Is the project itself really valuable? I am concluding this article with value assessment, but really this should be done first. If I were to meet a hypothetical client wanting to build a playground for monkeys, I would probably say: “but sir, are the monkeys not better served for free by trees?” We could get lucky. Maybe a reality TV star / monkey enthusiast would agree to support the project. It would be in the mutual interest of the client and funder, and we could build a high quality monkey playground. And yet, would the world be a better place? Could the million pounds perhaps be spent on more pressing issues, like the education and health care of Uganda’s young human population? Now we are getting into the philosophical, but funders will give your proposal the value test, so it is better that you do so first and save yourself wasted effort. It may be better to let the monkeys play in their trees and focus on forest conservation, don’t you think?
I hope this was useful. If you need help with a proposal, please contact me at [email protected]
