How to Write Knockout Proposals

Book excerpt: If you've ever wondered why you were denied funding for an obviously worthy project, How to Write Knockout Proposals just may have the answer.In all likelihood, your proposal was the culprit.With information all around us today -- both online and in print -- virtually anyone can identify the right prospects, whether they're corporations, foundations, or even individuals. That's the easy part.But few people, as Joseph Barbato says in the first chapter of his new book, can write a ?Knockout? proposal, "a document of such force it nearly catapults the funder down the hall."A proposal writer himself for 30 years, Barbato hopes to change that.Even if you don't have the skills to compose a riveting proposal ? in other words, even if you're not blessed with the talents of Philip Roth, Toni Morrison, or John Updike - you can dramatically improve your proposal and make it more appealing than the overwhelming majority of those currently submitted.The key is to heed Barbato's tips and suggestions on everything from naming your proposal, to helping the funder ?get it?, to emphasizing the right benefits, to focusing on the most arresting data, to guarding against a range of red flags. Barbato's engaging style goes down like icewater in August. He is brief, snappy, and always fresh. The entire book, with its 51 two-page chapters, can be read in one sitting.But don't be fooled by its brevity.As Joel Orosz, the Kellogg Foundation's former program director, says in the Foreword: "As someone who has sat on both sides of the funding desk, I can attest that How to Write Knockout Proposals provides advice that will help you in the real world, with real funders."