✓ I have read and reread the entire application package or foundation guidelines, including all regulations and resources listed or referred to in the package. I would get a very high mark if someone gave me a test on the information included in the application.

✓ My grant proposal reflects the priority areas and the requirements described by the grantmaker. I have not tried to sneak in any of my priorities except the ones that clearly mesh with the funder’s.

✓ I have identified a compelling need for the grant, based on what I know about the community, the target population for the program, and the issues involved.

✓ I have brought to the table every partner and stakeholder, and anyone else who is concerned about the need that has been identified and who is likely to be helpful addressing it.

✓ I did not break any of the 12 Rules of Proposal Writing that I learned in Lesson 6.

✓ Objectives are sharply defined, clearly relate to the compelling need I have demonstrated, are realistic, and are capable of being measured.

✓ There are well-conceived and specific programmatic activities for each objective—showing how and why I fully expect the objective to be achieved.

✓ The qualifications and relevant experience of staff expected to carry out the activities are explained, and résumés and/or job descriptions are attached if requested or allowed.

​✓ I have demonstrated that my organization’s leadership, fiscal controls, staff, partners, facilities, and other resources show the capacity to implement the program.

✓ My evaluation plan clearly stipulates how, when, and by whom each objective will be measured.

✓ When appropriate, I have included a timeline that shows we know how to structure the activities to get the job done.

✓ My budget is reasonable in relation to the objectives the project expects to achieve, including number of staff, salary levels, and other resources. I have not tried to sneak in anything—such as a new car or a sofa—that is unrelated to the project.

✓ My budget is neither excessive nor underestimated.

✓ I have shown what resources, such as space, staff time, and equipment, will be available in kind (as a contribution of my organization to the project).

✓ I have intelligently addressed the really hard question of sustainability—how we will continue the project once the grant period is over.

✓ I have explained in my proposal how my organization is—or is working toward—diversifying funding sources.

✓ I have included everything in my proposal that was asked for—and I mean everything—even if I don’t fully understand why the grantmaker wanted certain pieces of very strange information.

✓ I have organized the proposal—including my abstract, program narrative, budget, and appendix—exactly the way the grantmaker told me to. No one could ever say that my organization doesn’t know how to follow directions.

✓ I did not go over the page limit, and I did not cheat on margins or font.

✓ I’m sending the proposal on time, whether by mail or email, so it will arrive by the grantmaker’s deadline.