How to Develop an Effective Title for Your Grant Proposal?
Your grant title is very important.
It needs to be clear and concise because it is the first thing that introduces your project to Funders.
You need to avoid unnecessary words like "A Proposal for...
" and "A Study to Address the Problem of...
" This information is a given and should always be kept in the back of your mind Your title should be customized to each funding source and related to the each Funder's point of view.
For example if in the Funder's request for proposal (RFP) they say they are looking for "sustainable economic development" they might expect to see a title that has the concept stated in the project title.
By doing this you are starting a bond with the potential funder.
From the very minute that the funder sees the title they will feel an obligation to read your proposal.
It gets your foot in the door.
Effective titles are outcome based, sound professional and catch the reader's attention.
It helps if you do a couple of drafts of your title in the beginning until it becomes natural.
Examples of poor titles are listed below along with titles that are a better fit, so that you can see what not to do and what an effective title looks like.
Before: Development of an All Season Water System and Public Accommodations at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Minnesota After:Rural Development through Fairgrounds Expansion Before: Development of an Education and Awareness Program on Water Pollution Control for Water-Users in the North Country Watersheds After:Improving Knowledge to Enhance Water Quality Before: Building an Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool for Alexandria, Minnesota to be used for Youth and Adult Swimming Instruction After: Enhancing Water Safety and Improving Recreation Some people like to use acronyms, because it sounds good when you have to shorten a long title.
Sometimes organizations come up with the acronym first for example: WREN (Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network) WREN is a bird that symbolizes the freedom and empowerment of women.
It is a successful program in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.
This is an excellent use of an acronym for a program.
The words spelled out explain what it does and when abbreviated it is a symbol for the program.
If you choose to use an acronym make sure you list the full name first so that everyone know what the acronym stands for.
Examples: Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM) Productive Conservation on Working Lands (PCWL) As you can tell from the new titles, they are short, sweet and to the point!
It needs to be clear and concise because it is the first thing that introduces your project to Funders.
You need to avoid unnecessary words like "A Proposal for...
" and "A Study to Address the Problem of...
" This information is a given and should always be kept in the back of your mind Your title should be customized to each funding source and related to the each Funder's point of view.
For example if in the Funder's request for proposal (RFP) they say they are looking for "sustainable economic development" they might expect to see a title that has the concept stated in the project title.
By doing this you are starting a bond with the potential funder.
From the very minute that the funder sees the title they will feel an obligation to read your proposal.
It gets your foot in the door.
Effective titles are outcome based, sound professional and catch the reader's attention.
It helps if you do a couple of drafts of your title in the beginning until it becomes natural.
Examples of poor titles are listed below along with titles that are a better fit, so that you can see what not to do and what an effective title looks like.
Before: Development of an All Season Water System and Public Accommodations at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Minnesota After:Rural Development through Fairgrounds Expansion Before: Development of an Education and Awareness Program on Water Pollution Control for Water-Users in the North Country Watersheds After:Improving Knowledge to Enhance Water Quality Before: Building an Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool for Alexandria, Minnesota to be used for Youth and Adult Swimming Instruction After: Enhancing Water Safety and Improving Recreation Some people like to use acronyms, because it sounds good when you have to shorten a long title.
Sometimes organizations come up with the acronym first for example: WREN (Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network) WREN is a bird that symbolizes the freedom and empowerment of women.
It is a successful program in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.
This is an excellent use of an acronym for a program.
The words spelled out explain what it does and when abbreviated it is a symbol for the program.
If you choose to use an acronym make sure you list the full name first so that everyone know what the acronym stands for.
Examples: Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM) Productive Conservation on Working Lands (PCWL) As you can tell from the new titles, they are short, sweet and to the point!