Simplified Grant Proposal Budget
While the root word “simple” is ingrained in the term simplified grant proposal budget, you may find that simple isn’t the key phrase when you’re trying to create one. For that reason, I have put together some key points to help you create a simplified grant proposal budget that will help you win your grant. Winning a grant takes a lot of work and all of your ducks really need to be in a row to be effective at winning your grant. Being careful of the steps you take can highly increase the odds for you to get approval for grants.
If this is your first grant proposal budget, be sure to read this article, as well as others to take in as much education on the subject as possible before beginning the development of your own budget for the purpose of obtaining a grant. There are several others out there, however, these tips should help you quite a bit with your budget creation.
1.) You must show how the received funds are to be spent on the needs that you’ve outlined in your Objectives Statement.
2.) You must show how your budget is realistic as well as consistent with those needs that you’ve outlined in your Objectives Statement
3.) You must also detail the costs of your project. Be sure to keep a set of proof’s for your costs so that you can provide them if requested.
a. Direct costs are line items (clear project costs): personnel and the materials that they must use to carry out their duties to complete the project.
b. Personnel costs would include, but are not limited to, salaries, benefits, consulting fees, etc.
c. Other direct costs may be equipment, supplies, travel, publications, etc.
d. Each of these costs must be listed on separate lines within your budget.
e. Indirect costs are operating costs (also known as administrative costs) which are not specifically listed in your budget as line items but are still true costs in your project. Time spent on a duty like payroll, brainstorming, troubleshooting, etc. are examples of indirect costs.
4.) Balance your budget as perfectly as you possible can.
5.) Don’t exaggerate or overestimate your expenses. You do not want to appear greedy.
6.) Don’t underestimate your expenses either. This is important as it will show that you don’t have everything planned out properly and that you don’t fully understand all of the requirements to accomplish your goals with the funding.
Please understand that your simplified grant proposal budget can make or break your grant funding opportunity. Take your time and create a professional budget that will explain everything in proper detail for the grant proposal reviewer. Showing a proper budget also shows that you and your team have the ability to manage money properly; a funding source isn’t going to give a grant to a project if they feel that the money will be managed inappropriately. There have probably been thousands upon thousands of grant proposals that were denied, in part, by the grant proposal budget itself, don’t allow your grant proposal to fall into that same horrible category. While there are other intricate factors of a grant proposal that need to be included, such as proper use of evidence, the budget is definitely one of the highest regarded sections by a review committee.
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