Blog will return next week because I now need a vacation from my vacation.

Camden, Maine - Sept. 2011

Cape Elizabeth, Maine

• Outreach Systems. This site has a handy listing of links to state (and some local) procurement offices where you can search for and identify relevant RFPs for your business or organization.




• RFP Database. Here you’ll find listings, descriptions and details of commercial, state, local and non-profit RFPs organized by category, locations and issuers. You can also submit your own RFPs for others to find. Registration is free, but you will need to pay a small fee (or earn or obtain credits) in order to review a full RFP. The site claims to have over 50,000 RFPs in its database.




• Philanthropy News Digest. For non-profit organizations, the PND website maintains free listings of RFPs by topic area, ranging from Aging to Substance Abuse. A summary of each RFP is presented followed by a link to the full RFP.




• Small Business Administration. In addition to links to state procurement offices where you can find RFPs, the SBA site has links to business offices, vendor registration, and small and disadvantaged business information for each state.




• epipeline. This is a fee-based service, but they have a useful free newsletter that you can subscribe to.




• Federal RFPs and RFAs. You probably already know that you can find RFPs and RFAs for government grants and contracts at the FedBizOpps site and at Grants.gov

The schedule should be distributed to all members of the proposal team along with a listing of assignments and other responsibilities.

There are various ways that you can make your proposal schedule. It can be a simple listing of dates, a Gantt chart or timeline, or a calendar. I often use a calendar because I find it easier to visualize the activities and relationships among them. Here is an example of a basic 2-page proposal calendar (click on the images to enlarge them):

Proposal Schedule - Page 1

Proposal Schedule - Page 2

• Grantseeking Basics
• Proposal Writing Basics
• Proposal Budgeting Basics
• Finding Funders

And more.

All of these webinars are free, but you’ll have to register. Most of the webinars are presented every month, so if September doesn’t work for you, you can check into other dates. On the training calendar section of the Foundation Center Website for September you’ll find the dates, times and a brief description of each webinar. There’s also an explanation of how the webinars work.

Other webinar topics include:

• Finding Foundation Support for Your Education
• Introduction to Fundraising Planning
• Introduction to Corporate Giving
• Using Evaluation Frameworks
• You Got the Grant! Now What?

These free webinars will likely be worth your while if you want to learn new skills and techniques or brush up on existing ones.

• Due Date and Time — If this information isn’t included in the Instructions, look on the RFP cover sheet




• Page Count — Many RFPs limit the number of pages that you can have in your proposal. Some will specify the total number of pages regardless of section; other times an RFP will specify how many pages you can have in each section. I always include page limits in my outlines so that I and others will have this information at the outset. If the RFP only specifies a total number of pages, I make an estimate of the number of pages for each section, based on that total.




• Page Layout — Some RFPs are very specific when it comes to the layout of your proposal, and you’ll want to follow these instructions to the letter. Page layout instructions can include such things as the font and font sizes you must use, the page margins, page sizes, and header and/or footer requirements. You may be able to use different font sizes for text and tables/charts, which can help you save space. The instructions may also tell you if you are permitted to use oversized pages (e.g., legal) and how those pages will be counted against the page limit. If margin sizes are specified, they are often 1″ all around, with the header and footer outside of those margins. Some RFPs will also specify what you should include in your header and/or footer (e.g., your company name, RFP number, due date, page number, etc.).




• Media — All RFPs should tell you the media to use for submitting your proposal. Should it be submitted on paper and, if so, should it be in a binder or stapled? How many copies should be submitted? Or are you required to submit your proposal electronically? Does the agency want CDs in addition to paper copies or an email submission? If you are submitting paper copies, you will have to finish your proposal sooner than you would with electronic submissions since you’ll need to allow sufficient time for printing, binding, and mailing in order to meet the due date.




• Packaging and Submission — Your RFP will tell you how to package your proposal and where to submit it. Paper copies are usually submitted in a sealed box or manila envelope, and the RFP may specify the information that must be on the address label. For electronic submissions, most RFPs will specify the the computer programs and versions you must use (e.g., Word, Excel, PDF) and the precise way that you must divide up and name your files. While most agencies will accept overnight delivery service in addition to the U.S. Post Office, you will need to check the RFP to see what will serve as proof of mailing in the event that your proposal does not arrive on time. If you are hand-delivering your proposal, the RFP may contain specific instructions on where and how to deliver it.

Waiting on the Judgment Day…that’s what describes my friend. His name isn’t Luke, but he’s waiting nonetheless. And the Judgment Day can come any time.

My friend works for a government contractor. He’s got a good job as a Finance Manager on a DoD contract, which is one of only a few government contracts that his company has. The particular contract that he works on is fairly large, but the company’s other contracts are pretty small.

In the spring of this year, my friend’s contract went up for re-bid, because it was the end of the 4-year contract term. Of course they re-bid it, along with at least one other bidder that they’re aware of. The other bidder is a large, very well-known company that had held this contract prior to its award to my friend’s firm. A couple of months ago, my friend’s company was asked to submit their Best and Final Offer (BAFO). And since then, they’ve heard nothing. Zero. Zip. So they wait for the Judgment Day — the day that they find out whether they’ve won or lost.

This is taking a toll on my friend because, come October 1, he doesn’t know if he will have a job or not. There are no openings on his company’s other smaller contracts, so if they lose this one, he and many other employees will be out of a job. And being older, it may be difficult for him to find a new job quickly or at all.

So we all wait to find out what’s going to happen. Alas, this is often the life of a government contractor.

On the other hand, an article in yesterday’s Washington Post describes the life of luxury and success that some DC-based contractors have been able to achieve.

So here’s to a successful contract win for my friend!

• Introduction
• Technical Proposals
• Cost Proposals
• Grant Writing for Engineers

Each module is divided into various sections that include examples and references. For example, the module on Technical Proposals is comprised of 12 major sections (e.g., elements of the technical proposal, checklists, themes, features and benefits, etc.). Within these sections you’ll find things such as a sample schedule, sample RFP, an example of a section mock-up, and lots more. The module on Cost Proposals is presented in a similar manner and includes sections on cost proposal fundamentals, types of contracts, cost estimating techniques, and a costing exercise.

The fourth module, Grant Writing for Engineers, is useful for both engineers and non-engineers alike. It has about 16 major sections, including details and examples related to grant proposal preparation.

Everything here is very clearly presented and laid out in a logical manner. There’s no jargon. Terms are explained in language that everyone can understand. Navigating through the modules and sections is easy. You can go through the modules step-by-step or just get info on a specific topic that interests you.

I’m really impressed with this course and I think you will be too. Check it out — you’ll find it HERE.

I have an idea for a project that is very unique and would help many people or government agencies. I think that the government or a foundation would be interested in funding it through a grant or contract. I’ve written up a detailed proposal for my idea but I don’t know where to send it or who to send it to. Can you help me get it to the right people?

Ummm, no. No I can’t. And that’s because the people with these great ideas are starting at the end of the process, not at the beginning. You don’t write the proposal first and then try to figure out who to send it to. Rather, your first step is to identify a foundation or government agency that might be interested in what you have to offer. To do this, you need to do a lot of research. Foundations and agencies are not going to give out money for projects that do not align with their missions or objectives. Your task, then, is to match the mission/objectives of your project with the mission/objectives of the funder.

To research foundations, your best bet is The Foundation Center. For a relatively small fee, you can use their online database to conduct your research, or you can do the research for free at one of their Cooperating Collections. By doing this research, you can identify specific organizations that fund projects like yours. Each of the foundations that you identify will have a specific process that you will need to follow to get their attention, as well as a specific outline that you will need to follow for writing up and submitting your proposal. Here’s where you can find an overview of the grant-seeking process with respect to foundations.

For government agencies, you also need to research and identify one or more agencies that might have an interest in your project. At the federal level, here’s where you can find a list of Agencies. At the state and local levels, you might first want to start with your own state. Some agencies have Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Offices that can provide you with information and/or help you connect with the right people in that agency. Many federal agencies also have guidelines and instructions for submitting unsolicited proposals. You should be aware, however, that the process for getting funding for an unsolicited project from a government agency is not easy. Some companies hire lobbying firms to help with this, or they try to get help from their Senators or Congressional Representatives.

So, while you should take the time to prepare a brief outline and description of your project that you can use as the basis of your search for funding, you probably shouldn’t take a lot of time preparing a detailed proposal during these initial stages. Most likely, you’ll just end up having to redo it in the format that is specified by the funder.

There’s only one little problem — it’s not true.

When you or your organization apply for a government or foundation grant, you have to tell them why you are applying. This why reason is usually in the form of a narrative where you describe the problem that you will be addressing if you are awarded the grant. Then you tell them how you will address that problem — the steps and activities that you will carry out using the grant money. These activities constitute your grant program. And when you have a program, you have a budget that goes with it. This budget must also be submitted with your grant application. Together, the program description and budget tell the funder how you are going to use the grant money. You might have to pay salaries or portions of salaries for the people involved in implementing the program. You might have to purchase certain items. Or you might have to travel for various program-related activities. All of these types of expenditures will need to be accounted for in your budget.

When you are awarded a grant, it is for the program and budget that you submitted with your grant application. Basically, you are entering into a signed, legal agreement with the government or foundation whereby you agree to use the grant money the way you said you would. Often, you will be required to submit monthly or quarterly financial statements that detail how you are spending the money. Moreover, the government or foundation usually has the right to conduct a financial audit of your program whenever it wants, and if they find that you have used the grant funds improperly, you may have to pay the money back.

So don’t believe everything you read. You can’t just use grant money any old way you please.

From April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012 we will be awarding 1 million dollars in Intuit small business grants. The contest periods will run every three months.

Basically, what you have to do is to nominate your business and then try to gin up votes for it using tools like Twitter, text messaging and other methods. The more votes you get, the better your chances of winning. Not too difficult, so why not give it a shot. You could win some free money!

Here’s where you’ll find Intuit’s Love a Local Business grant competition.

And, no, I’m not affiliated with this in any way. Just passing it along.