Many factors go into designing a grant application. You are not only collecting information on a grant request, but you are also collecting data for reporting purposes. There are some recommendations in the grant-making industry that you may want to consider incorporating. This article contains a non-exhaustive list of basic questions, additional questions, reporting considerations, and philanthropic resources to use as you are designing a grant application.
Basic Questions
It is recommended to add the following basic questions to the grant application to get a high-level overview of the applicant's request.
Project Name: This is the main identifier of the request.
Amount Requested: How much is the organization requesting? It is recommended to include a range.
Request Type: Options can include Project, Program, General Operating, or Event Support
Organization Description: Ask this question to learn more about the organization.
Project Start Date: When will the project begin?
Project End Date: When will the project end?
Need(s) being addressed: What need is this grant going to address?
Goals: What are the organization’s goals?
Methods to achieve goals: What methods will be used to achieve their goals?
Charitable Status: Is the organization a registered 501c3 organization? Do they have a fiscal sponsor? If yes, branch to a table to collect fiscal sponsorship information.
Contact information for the organization, applicant, and executive officer will be collected in registration. Therefore, there is no need to add contact information questions to the application form.
Additional Questions
To collect more details about the applicant’s request, it is recommended to add additional questions to the grant application. These questions will be based on your organization’s funding guidelines, priorities, and overall needs. Some additional questions may include the following:
Mission Statement: What is the organization’s mission statement?
Project Budget: What is the breakdown of the project costs?
General Operating Budget: What is the organization’s general operating budget?
List of Board Members: Who are the organization’s board members?
Demographic questions of Target Population: For example, will age, gender, or race/ethnicity information be collected on individuals who will be impacted by the grant?
Demographic questions of Board and Staff: Consider using the Candid table to collect demographic information on the organization’s Board and Staff.
Geographic Region: What region(s) will the project impact? Provide a list, if possible.
Focus Area(s): Provide a list of focus areas for the applicant to identify.
Year Founded: What year was the organization founded?
501c3 Determination Letter upload: A copy of the organization’s 501c3 letter of determination may be needed.
Additional Funding Sources: Is the applicant receiving funding from other funding sources? If yes, branch to a table to collect the name and amount.
Consider the applicant burden by “right-sizing” the application. This is done through balancing the number of questions with the size of the grant award amount.
Reporting Considerations
While designing a grant application, it is important to think ahead about the data that may be analyzed, reported on, or distributed in the future. What information will grantees need to report on in their follow-up reports? What information will need to be shared with the Board of Directors or community members? Ensure those questions are added to the application.
Philanthropic Resources for Designing Grant Applications
These organizations have resources that include recommendations around applicant ease, right-sizing the application, trust-based philanthropy, equitable grantmaking methods, due diligence, and more. If interested in learning more, it is recommended to go to their websites.