Organizational Information for Nonprofit Grants

Create Ready-to-Go Copy for Grant Proposals, Brochures & Reports

Sep 24, 2009

Grant Proposal Organizational Information Section, tpacific

A succinct and compelling organizational information section of a grant proposal can be repurposed for other nonprofit communications. Learn how to write effective copy.

When sitting down to write any kind of communication, it’s a good idea for the writer to think “What do I want the reader to get out of this?”

In the case of the organizational information section of grant proposals, the answer to that question should be that the grant writer wants the funder to find the nonprofit credible enough to perform the proposed work. The answer is not that the reader should understand the nonprofit’s every program or become familiar with the inner workings of the organization. Rather, the information provided about the organization should focus on establishing credibility.

Elements to Include in a Grant Proposal’s Organizational Information Section

The organizational information section should generally not exceed two pages. Even if the organization is known to the funder, the organizational information section should offer general background information.

Keeping in mind that information should be limited to items that position the nonprofit as the best organization to implement the proposed project, grant writers may want to include these common elements:

Mission and/or vision statements
History of organization
Summary of the organization’s programs (or most relevant programs)
Who the organization serves and why (clients/beneficiary)
Most important achievements
Financial information, like the overall budget and how money is raised
Information about the board, staff and volunteers
Role of the nonprofit in the community and collaborations with other organizations
What makes the organization unique and uniquely positioned to be successful with this project

Reusing the Organizational Information Section for Brochures, Reports and Other Nonprofit Communications

Once a grant writer has crafted a good statement of organizational information, the nonprofit can reuse the text. Here are a few ideas:

Reformat the copy and post it on the organization’s website and in press packets as an organizational backgrounder.
Add it to orientation packages for new employees, volunteers and board members.
Use in other grant proposals – being careful to change words and formatting as needed to avoid a cut-and-paste feel to the proposal.
Use it in evaluation reports.

Creating a Copy Idea List from the Organizational Information Section

Sit down with a well-written organizational information section and a red pen. Circle the words or phrases that jump out as being especially effective or illustrative. Create a list of these “super-words” and then use them to write a paragraph or two about the organization.

This paragraph rich in super-words can be used as the boilerplate of press releases, in brochures, as website copy or during presentations. Distribute the list and summary paragraph to employees, volunteers and board members for them to use as they are composing communications.

Build the list by doing the super-word exercise with other materials. It will help create consistency in the nonprofit’s communications.

Always test the organizational information section of grant proposals and other materials to be sure the information is fresh. It need not be rewritten every time, but it should be carefully examined for stale phrases and out-of-date names and statistics. Generally, it should be updated every six months to a year.

The copyright of the article Organizational Information for Nonprofit Grants in Non-Profit Marketing is owned by Molly Schar. Permission to republish Organizational Information for Nonprofit Grants in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.