Budget and Design Elements in a Proposal
Budget and Design Elements in a Proposal
Budget and Design Elements in a Proposal “Like it or not, budgets are often one of the most important parts of any proposal or grant” (Johnson-Sheehan, 2008, p. 141). A project budget is an estimated financial plan for any project that may require funding. The budget is a financial snapshot of a project. An effective budget will outline specific costs that will be incurred in the performance of a project during a specific time period. Budgets that are thoughtfully constructed and well presented can be crucial to the funder’s proper understanding of your project. The form the budget will take will be determined by the complexity of the funder’s guidelines. For simple projects a single page outline of expected expenses may be enough. For more complicated projects entire spreadsheets could be required to breakdown projected costs as well as to include a detailed narrative to explain items of expense or revenue. Budgets are important! After all, proposals are all about money. No matter how exciting the projected solution to a problem may sound, in the end it all comes down to how much it will cost and whether the project is affordable or not. If not, the funder will either look to cutting the project, or worse, they will continue on to the next proposal. When a budget the writer constructs as budget, he or she will be expected to use the language of accounting. Terms such as itemized and nonitemized, and fixed and flexible, now take on meanings not commonly found in everyday speech. If the proposal writer is not familiar with these terms, or the correct way to use them, they would be well advised to enlist the help of someone who understands this terminology. Assembling a team of people experienced in the major aspects of the project will prove useful when estimating costs realistically. This paper will suggest that a non-itemized budget would be the appropriate model for a training program
Budget and Design Elements in a Proposal “Like it or not, budgets are often one of the most important parts of any proposal or grant” (Johnson-Sheehan, 2008, p. 141). A project budget is an estimated financial plan for any project that may require funding. The budget is a financial snapshot of a project. An effective budget will outline specific costs that will be incurred in the performance of a project during a specific time period. Budgets that are thoughtfully constructed and well presented can be crucial to the funder’s proper understanding of your project. The form the budget will take will be determined by the complexity of the funder’s guidelines. For simple projects a single page outline of expected expenses may be enough. For more complicated projects entire spreadsheets could be required to breakdown projected costs as well as to include a detailed narrative to explain items of expense or revenue. Budgets are important! After all, proposals are all about money. No matter how exciting the projected solution to a problem may sound, in the end it all comes down to how much it will cost and whether the project is affordable or not. If not, the funder will either look to cutting the project, or worse, they will continue on to the next proposal. When a budget the writer constructs as budget, he or she will be expected to use the language of accounting. Terms such as itemized and nonitemized, and fixed and flexible, now take on meanings not commonly found in everyday speech. If the proposal writer is not familiar with these terms, or the correct way to use them, they would be well advised to enlist the help of someone who understands this terminology. Assembling a team of people experienced in the major aspects of the project will prove useful when estimating costs realistically. This paper will suggest that a non-itemized budget would be the appropriate model for a training program
References: Johnson-Sheehan, R (2008) Writing Proposals Second Edition. Longman