What to Include in a Grant Application: A Practical Guide for Nonprofits and Mission-Driven Organizations
If you have never submitted a grant application before, the list of required materials can feel paralyzing. Organizational budgets. Letters of support. Logic models. Project narratives. Work samples. Tax documentation.
It is a lot. And it is easy to look at that list and decide you are not ready yet.
Here is the thing: most grant applications ask for variations of the same core components. Once you understand what each section is actually trying to learn about you, the process becomes much more manageable. And once you have built these materials once, you can adapt them for almost every application you write after that.
This guide walks through what most nonprofit and mission-driven grant applications ask for, and what to focus on in each section.
The project narrative
The project narrative is the heart of almost every grant application. It is where you explain what you are doing, why it matters, and what the funding will make possible.
Most narratives ask you to address some version of these questions:
- What is the problem or need you are responding to?
- What is your proposed solution or program?
- Who will benefit, and how many people?
- What are your goals and how will you measure success?
- Why is your organization the right one to do this work?
The most common mistake in a project narrative is writing about your organization instead of your project. Funders want to understand the specific work they are funding, not a general overview of everything you do. Stay focused on the proposal in front of you.
Keep the language plain. Avoid jargon specific to your field unless you define it. Write as if the reviewer knows nothing about your sector, because sometimes they do not.
The organizational background or history section
This section asks you to establish credibility. Who are you, how long have you been operating, and what have you accomplished?
If you are a newer organization, do not try to make yourself sound older or more established than you are. Instead, focus on the strength of your founding team, the clarity of your mission, and any early evidence that your approach is working. Funders who fund newer organizations know what newer organizations look like. What they are evaluating is whether you are serious and whether you understand what you are trying to do.
If you have been operating for a while, be selective. You do not need to include your entire history. Choose the accomplishments and milestones that are most relevant to the grant you are applying for.
The budget
A grant budget is not just a spreadsheet. It is part of your story.
A well-constructed budget shows that you have thought carefully about what the work actually costs and that you are being responsible with the funds you are requesting. It should be specific enough to be credible but not so granular that it becomes difficult to read.
Most grant budgets include:
- Personnel costs, including salaries, benefits, and the percentage of time each person will spend on the project
- Direct program costs, such as supplies, equipment, venue rental, or contractor fees
- Indirect or administrative costs, sometimes called overhead
- Other funding sources, showing what percentage of the project budget you are asking this funder to cover
On overhead: many first-time applicants try to minimize or hide overhead costs because they worry funders will penalize them for it. Most experienced funders understand that organizations have real operating costs. Be honest. An artificially low overhead line raises more questions than a realistic one.
The evaluation plan
Funders want to know how you will measure whether your work is succeeding. This does not have to be complicated, especially for smaller grants or newer organizations.
A simple evaluation plan answers three questions: what will you measure, how will you measure it, and how will you use what you learn.
For a community program, that might be attendance numbers, participant surveys, and a review at the midpoint of the grant period. For a research or advocacy project, it might be the outputs produced and their reach. Match the level of rigor in your evaluation plan to the scale and complexity of the project.
Letters of support
Some grants require letters of support from community partners, collaborators, or constituents. These letters are not just formalities. A strong letter of support from a credible partner adds real weight to your application because it shows that other people with something at stake believe in your work.
When you ask someone to write a letter of support, give them enough context to write something specific. A generic letter that could apply to any organization is much less valuable than one that speaks directly to your project and your relationship with the writer.
The IRS determination letter and financial documents
Most foundation grants require proof of your 501(c)(3) status and recent financial documents, typically your most recent audited financials or Form 990 if your organization has been operating long enough to have them.
If you are a newer organization and do not yet have audited financials, say so clearly and provide what you do have: a current budget, bank statements, or a financial summary prepared by your treasurer or bookkeeper. Transparency about where you are in your organizational development is more credible than trying to present documentation you do not have.
Work samples and supporting materials
Not all grants ask for work samples, but many do, especially for arts and creative organizations. If you are asked to submit samples, choose materials that are directly relevant to the project you are proposing rather than a general showcase of everything you have done.
Quality matters more than quantity. A few strong, focused samples are more effective than a large portfolio that dilutes the point.
A note on building your grant materials library
One of the most useful things you can do after your first application is to save everything you write in a folder organized by section type. Your project narrative. Your organizational history. Your budget template. Your evaluation framework.
Every application you write after the first one will be faster because you are adapting existing material rather than starting from scratch. Over time you will develop a library of language and documentation that covers most of what any funder will ask for.
The organizations that are most consistent at winning grants are not necessarily the ones with the most compelling work. They are the ones that have built the infrastructure to apply repeatedly and efficiently.
Finding grants worth applying for
Knowing what goes into an application is only useful if you have the right opportunities to apply for. Most grant databases are either priced for large institutions, difficult to navigate, or full of outdated listings that waste your time.
Funding Findr maintains a curated database of roughly 1000 grants, fellowships, residencies, accelerators, and scholarships for nonprofits, startups, artists and creatives, students, public institutions, and individuals. Every listing is human-verified and currently active. Your profile is matched against our taxonomy so the opportunities you see are ones you can realistically pursue.
If you are ready to put these materials to work, that is a good place to find your next application.