A: POINT OF DEPARTURE: You are brilliant and you have a great idea. B: OBJECTIVE: Obtain funding to pursue your great idea as a research project. C: STRATEGY: Move successfully from A to B.

BASIC POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND: Foundation X has funding to support research projects such as yours. Its mission is to support worthy projects such as yours. It “wants” to support your research project. Your should assume that the people at foundation X are ready to give you their money. PRACTICAL QUESTION: What can you do to increase the likelihood of receiving support?

WHAT YOU CANNOT DO: You cannot foresee the pool of proposals within which your proposal will be competing. You cannot know who will be reading your proposal. You cannot know institutional constraints (budget, policy, etc.) affecting the pool of proposals within which you are competing. WHAT YOU CAN DO, FOR A START: You can eliminate anything at your end of the process that might decrease your chances of submitting a competitive proposal.

FOLLOW instructions. Organize your proposal in line with the headings provided. Make it easy for your reader to identify your topic, thesis, approach, practical goals (how support will advance your project), work schedule, & projected outcomes. STATE the significance & originality of your proposal. Specify your unique qualifications (language skills, related research). SIMPLIFY your sentences. Keep them short. Check style, grammar, spelling, font style, type size, & paragraph divisions. Share your proposal drafts. Remember that neatness counts. LIMIT/ELIMINATE “jargon” that someone outside your field might have difficulty understanding.

RECAP: Keep in mind that drafting a successful proposal requires a learning process and practice. You may not receive funding the first, second, or even sixth time around. The effort to develop your writing skills in this context will be of long-term value. Remember that everything you do adds in one way or another to your professional/personal profile. Good luck!