Legwork surrounding the writing of a grant proposal

Steps for preparing a grant proposal:

If you have an idea that you think deserves support, call the sponsoring agency for a grant application kit. Some program descriptions provide a contact or even a Web site with detailed information on submitting a grant proposal. If the program description doesn't provide a contact, Appendix IV of the CFDA, Agency Regional and Local Office Addresses, is a comprehensive, if somewhat outdated, list.

Before you do any serious writing, it is a good idea to check with your local and state representatives and related agencies to see whether grants have already been awarded for similar work. If your idea is different and better, you can continue. Moreover, you can ask these people if they will recommend your idea in the form of a “letter of support.”Show a written a summary of your proposal to academic, political or professional contacts who might be willing to recommend your proposal in writing in the form of a “letter of support.” Finally, prepare your final submission according to the directions of the agency's application kit. The submission should have a cover letter. It should be submitted by the deadline for this sort of proposal. (The CFDA has a deadline index and each program description has a Deadline Subsection with information deadlines.)

For more detailed instructions on writing a grant proposal see Part Two of Appendix VI of the CFDA.