Before you begin, answer these questions
Are you ready to
submit a proposal?
Do you know your prospective donor's
specific interests and passions?
How well do you know
your prospective donor?
What is their
communication style?
Creating the case for support
What is the need or the opportunity?
What do we want to accomplish? What are the expected outcomes?
What key difference will the funding make? Why UVA?
How exactly will the money be used? How much is needed?
What are the plans for sustaining this program/initiative, beyond this gift/grant?
Why do we need private support? Isn't funding available elsewhere?
Is this initiative a priority of the school, the department and/or the institution?
Did you know that you or a colleague on your team must be assigned to a prospect to develop a proposal and solicit them? And that the best practice is to have only one development officer from a program assigned to a proposal, unless both fundraisers are actively working on the proposal relationship and solicitation? And that if you use EverTrue to enter a proposal it’s ideal to have the DO with the prospect assignment enter the proposal?
Did you know that if you are entering planned proposals for the coming year, you should decide which quarter you anticipate making the ask and note the last date of that quarter, or the specific date you anticipate soliciting?
Did you know that planned giving proposals must be noted as such?
Proposal documentation and tracking can be tricky especially if you don’t do it frequently, but there are plenty of resources to help you. Here are just a few.
- Creating & Updating a Proposal
- Closing a Proposal
- Managing a Proposal
- Proposal Tracking and Prospect Management Policy
You can find more proposal resources, including corporate and foundation proposals, and Bicentennial Scholars and Professorship proposals in the Learning Library. And finally, don’t forget about the help desk where you can get a quick response to all your questions including those related to data entry in EverTrue and Advance.
If you’re seeking funding from corporate partners and private foundations for research and outreach programs, contact the Corporate and Foundation Relations team for technical assistance, tips, and tools. Learn more.
The following resources from the Advancement Communications team will help ensure your proposal is well written and well received:
New proposal templates in the Honor the Future campaign identity are available.
Contact Nicole La Bruno for templates and more.
