- Week 1
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Course orientation
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Wrapping up
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Lesson 1: Setting the stage for your awesome proposal
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Lesson 2: The statement of need
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Week 1: Live session (Recording and slides now linked here)
- Week 2
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Welcome to Week 2
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What to expect this week
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Wrapping up
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Lesson 3: The project description
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Lesson 4: Planning for the future
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Week 2 Assignment: Draft a Need Statement
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Week 2: Live session (Recording and slides now linked here)
- Week 3
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Welcome to Week 3
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Lesson 5: Storytelling for credibility and connection
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Lesson 6: Turn your narrative into numbers
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Week 3 Assignment: Draft a Letter of Inquiry
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Week 3: Live session (Recording and slides now linked here)
- Week 4
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Welcome to Week 4
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Lesson 7: Crafting the executive summary and letter of inquiry
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Lesson 8: Tailoring your application and submitting it online
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Week 4: Live session (Recording and slides now linked)
- Course wrap-up
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Wrap-up
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End of course
Proposal writing boot camp
Learn to craft compelling and effective foundation grant proposals in this four-week course.
In this interactive course, you will connect with expert Candid trainers and your peers to learn the practical skills needed to:
- Diversify your nonprofit revenue streams with foundation grants
- Build the key components of a competitive grant proposal
- Develop a well-organized budget
- Identify a targeted list of foundation funding prospects
You will be encouraged to approach your proposal from the funder's perspective and to think critically about what makes a compelling pitch. To accommodate diversity in learning styles, the four weeks are grounded in project-based learning and include individual writing time, self-paced eLearning, live virtual lectures, small group discussions, and peer activities.
To learn more about boot camp, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
With self-paced and live sessions, you should plan to invest a total of 6 to 8 hours per week on the course, broken down in the following way:
- Weekly 2-hour live and interactive sessions with expert Candid facilitators
- Video and written instructional content diving deeper into the topics covered in each week’s live session for you to review in your own time
- Two assignments to support you drafting a need statement and letter of inquiry that you can use when connecting with funders
This course qualifies for 12 CFRE points.
Preparing for the course
We encourage you to prepare for class by identifying a project for which you would like to seek foundation funding. The workshop will include opportunities to draft a logic model and letter of inquiry that you can use to pursue funding for this project.
Outcomes
You will learn how to:
- Develop selected elements of a proposal and letter of inquiry, and to improve online applications
- Use a logic model framework to craft key elements of a proposal
- Craft a budget that conveys an accurate picture of your project’s needs and value
- Explain what grantmakers look for in a proposal and how they approach the proposal review process
- Analyze and evaluate prospects using Foundation Directory Online Professional to determine a potential funding fit
Live session dates
Weekly live sessions with Candid facilitators will be on the following dates:
- Tuesday, September 9: 2 to 4 p.m. ET/11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, September 16: 2 to 4 p.m. ET/11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, September 23: 2 to 4 p.m. ET/11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, September 30: 2 to 4 p.m. ET/11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT