Welcome back. Now we will wrap up with instructions for writing your proposal. At the end of this lesson, you will be able to accomplish many things. It would include: employ best practices for donor-centeric writing, list the five characteristics and elements essential to an effective proposal, check your proposal against the lists of questions your proposal must answer, articulate the vision shared by the donor and your organization, identify what is needed to make your proposal stand out to a busy donor, how to proofread your document to perfection in grammar, punctuation, and spelling, how to organize your proposal in the most effective manner, and finally, polish your writing style and make sure you are writing in the active voice. Let's explore some donor-centric writing best practices and examples. So your organization has adopted and is committed to the philosophy of donor-centeric fundraising, but what does that actually look like in our fundraising documents? Here are some principles and examples to help you face the blank page whether it's a proposal, a case statement, or other written fundraising tools. First, always begin with the donor's philanthropic passion or vision. If you can't articulate it in a few sentences, then you're not ready to start writing. Secondly, once you have a crystal clear picture of what matters to the donor personally, reverse-engineer from there to how your organization is uniquely positioned to fulfill his or her vision. Next, focus on the impact, not the need. Paint a bright future. Fourth, is the donor the hero of the story you are crafting? Make sure they can see how their philanthropic partnership will be key in your success. And finally, keep it simple. While elegant and thoughtful writing can certainly enhance a fundraising document, it is far better to produce a succinctly straightforward document than a verbose one. Answering the following will help you determine whether you are ready to submit a proposal to the donor and ensure that you have considered the essential elements of a complete, compelling and donor focused proposal. First, who is your audience for this proposal? Of course, it's the potential donor, but is there a spouse or some other person or persons who should be included in the ask? Think early on about how to navigate this in your proposal. Is it appropriate to address one spouse and simply acknowledge the other at the beginning and end? Should the proposal be addressed to an entire family? Secondly, who is this donor beyond their involvement and contributions to our organization? Is he or she a business community philanthropic or some other type of leader? Early on in the proposal, acknowledge any contributions that the donor has made in these areas. Ask yourself, what is the relationship between the potential donor and our organization? Acknowledge this relationship. Are they an alum, a parent, friend, a faculty member, a retiree? And when appropriate, thank the potential donor for his or her leadership whether it be volunteer, philanthropic, or their services a longtime faculty or staff member. Finally, has the donor given to us before? If so, thank the potential donor for any prior contributions of time and/or resources, and be sure to articulate the impact of that support. Continuing with those questions, consider, what is the shared vision between the donor and our organization? Be sure to articulate this shared vision early in your proposal. Invite the prospective donors partnership in achieving your mutual goals. Have there been recent discussions about this potential gift? Has your donor expressed an interest in supporting the unit in this way, and has he or she requested that you present the proposal? If so, make certain to refer to those discussions and remind the potential donor that he or she requested this proposal. Think, why would this potential donor want to give to this particular program? In other words, how is your unit or organization uniquely positioned to help the donor achieve their goals? In answering this question, be sure to connect the dots for the donors. Don't simply focus on your unit's strengths. Instead, articulate specifically how your program will help the donor accomplish their goals. Finally, what problem in society will the gift address and how will the donor's support advance a solution? Make certain to articulate what the overall impact of the donor's gift will be beyond providing funding to your organization. How will the donors gift make a difference to people and to the world? What will the donor's legacy be?
