Chapter Eight

Writing the Funding Document

One of the most common misconceptions among grantseekers is that the proposals they have submitted are read in full by the committee or board that makes the ultimate decision on grant requests. In the vast majority of foundations, this is untrue—what the committee or board receives and reads is a funding document, written usually by the lead program officer for the grant request. The funding document is typically a summary of the proposal received from the applicant, written in a standardized format, that gives the committee or board essential information about the request and makes the case for appropriating funds for that request. Although the name of this document varies from foundation to foundation, its contents are fairly consistent: a background section; a rationale for funding the project; information on project evaluation, continuation, and dissemination; and a budget. The length of the funding document varies among institutions but ranges from one to ten pages, with shorter ones being more common. In most cases they are the only documents that the committee or board sees—it is rare for them to request to read the original proposal.

This system, although pervasive in private foundations, is not perfect. Its main drawback is that the committee or board never gets to consider the proposal, which carries the authentic voice of the applicant. This difficulty is far outweighed, however, by the many advantages that the funding document offers over the original proposal. The funding document is written in a brief, standardized format and is shorter than the proposal, without addenda or other distractions. It distills the essence of the proposal and, if written well, makes a compelling case for supporting the ideas described within.