Julie Bornhoeft

One of the great mysteries within the sector -- and fund development programs -- is how we measure success. Funders will often dictate how they want the programs they fund evaluated or monitored. How we as administrators, proposal writers, and development officers measure success can be a bit less clear. Furthermore, what we evaluate is…

Funders do not use the same "dictionary" when defining the terms within RFA's. The definitions for Goals, Outcomes, Objectives, and Activities can vary dramatically by funder. What one funder considers an outcome another may deem an objective. In some cases your goal may actually be an outcome. The terms represent a set of indicators you…

I have spent the past year telling people I am a nonprofit consultant. In reality, I worked a lot more as a contracted proposal writer. I use the word consultant because people tend to know what it means (or think they do). In the nonprofit world, agencies may find themselves working with both consultants and…

Every proposal will require a Program Description. You may have a couple of paragraphs in a short proposal or pages in a larger application. You may have the benefit of also including an Implementation Plan or similar supporting information. Regardless of the space available, you have to make your program come to life. You may…

The Needs Statement must convince a reviewer of need and invoke them to respond. The proposal must convey a sense of urgency and substantiate it with facts. The Needs Statement sets this tone. As a proposal writer, you must "give life" to the issue at hand. You must balance the math with the human condition.…

Only one job I ever had listed "sense of humor" as a qualification. It was only one that was truthful. My sense of humor has been critical to my career. Without the ability to laugh, I would have ended up quarantined to a cubicle or in therapy. I have decided that we are all dysfunctional…