RFP Checklist Suggestions for navigating a request for proposal

A well-planned RFP can serve two purposes. First, it should inform the potential applicant about the grantmaker and the funding opportunity being offered — what you want to tell the applicant. And second, it should help you obtain information about the applicant and their proposal for funding — what you want the applicant to tell you. Our contributors offer suggestions for these two components of an RFP:

What Grantmakers Want to Tell Applicants

Either in a cover letter or statement, grantmakers typically provide the following information to applicants:

❏Background information about the grantmaker and its mission.
❏ The specific goals of the competition or initiative for which the proposals are solicited. (the problem or issue that the grantmaker is trying to address)
❏ The types of organizations that are eligible or ineligible to apply — be specific.(i.e free-standing health clinics)
❏ The approximate size of the grants that will be made. This could be expressed as a range or as a maximum (e.g., “grants up to $250,000”).
❏ General operating support is ideal; however, if not, list the types of activities or budget lines that will be eligible or ineligible for funding (e.g. we will support staff and administrative expenses but not capital improvements”).
❏ The criteria that will be used to select the grantees, including priorities that will be given to certain types of applicants (e.g., “priority will be given to collaborative proposals”).
❏ Important dates, such as pre-application workshops, application deadlines, and grant review and notification dates.
❏ The grant maker’s expectations for grantees’ participation in assessment or evaluation.
❏ Instructions for how to format and submit the proposal. Grantmakers find it helpful to specify the maximum number of pages and/or even spacing and font size.
❏ Frequently asked questions, and/or a contact at the grant maker or managing partner who can be consulted for additional help.

What Applicants Share with Grantmakers

As part of the proposal, grantmakers typically ask applicants to provide the following types of information:

❏ A cover letter from the applicant.
❏ A summary page with contact information for the applicant and a one-paragraph description of the project. This project summary can later be edited and used by the grant maker or others in preparing internal recommendations or external communications materials.
❏ A description of the political, economic and social context in which the applicant is working. What are the barriers? What are the opportunities? Some grant makers use this problem statement as a source of baseline data for the eventual assessment of the competition or initiative.
❏ Information about the background, history and current mission of the applicant organization.
❏ Project description — e.g., What are the goals, objectives, and specific activities that will be undertaken with the proposed grant? How will the work be carried out? What are the expected outcomes if the project is successful? What indicators would demonstrate that the project had achieved its goals?
❏ Biographical information or résumés for project staff and other key participants.
❏ Workplan or timeline linked to the project description. Later, this can be a useful reference with which both the grant maker and the grantee can assess progress.
❏ Proposed budget and supporting narrative detail. Applicants often find it helpful when grant makers include a budget format as part of the RFP. The budget format that applicants submit as part of the proposal should correspond to the budget format grantees are later asked to submit when reporting on the grant.
❏ Supporting information (limited amount) . (i.e. tax status documentation, a list of board members and their affiliations, letters of support, financial statements, tax returns, etc.).