These "do’s" and "don’ts" were developed for government grant proposals, but work well in most grant situations.
Do get your attachments together as you go rather than waiting until the last minute.
Don’t forget to include a letter of support (or better yet, a phone call of endorsement) from your congressional representative if you have a strong enough relationship to request one.
Do get your letters of agreement signed early. If you wait until the last minute you run the risk of learning too late that another organization’s Executive Director is out of town the week your proposal is due.
Don’t submit vague letters of agreement. They should show actual commitment, not generic support of your program.
Do be clear. The reader should be able to tell who you’re trying to serve and how you’ll get them to come through your doorway; what you hope to accomplish on their behalf and how you’ll accomplish it; how you would like their lives to change as a result of your efforts; and what you’ll do to find out if those changes are taking place.
Don’t describe a program that doesn’t complement your organization’s mission. If you’re proposing a major expansion of your organization’s reach, perhaps departing a bit from your original goals, explain how you came to decide to do this. Perhaps you are responding to a community need you have observed, or maybe your decision came out of a broader strategic plan. You don’t want to look as if you’re chasing the money without a good rationale.
Do start working on your budget early, and make sure to develop it alongside your program. A finance person and a program person should work together to ensure that every cost is connected to some aspect of the program you’ve describe, and that no expense is omitted.
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