A foundation program officer reads 40 proposals a week. Yours has about 90 seconds to earn a full read.
The paragraph that does it
The alignment paragraph, the one where you say why this funder, why this program, why now. Most proposals skip it or bury it on page four.
Put it on page one, second paragraph, and quote the funder's own language back to them.
What good looks like
"The Cabot Foundation has prioritized hunger relief and health outcomes for the past decade. Fresh Fridays is a fresh-produce-only distribution model, matching your stated 2026 interest in nutritional access, not shelf-stable substitution. We are requesting $75,000 over 12 months to expand from 9 to 12 partner pantries."
Three sentences. Funder, alignment, ask.
The mistakes
- Boilerplate that never mentions the funder by name
- Confusing outputs (meals served) with outcomes (food-security score improvement)
- No baseline, "we know need is high"
- Ignoring the funder's stated exclusions
The evaluation section
Name the instrument. "USDA 6-item food security survey at 6-month follow-up" beats "we will measure impact."
Draft with the Grant Proposal tool.