Grant readiness checklist
Most people lose applications to missing paperwork, not weak ideas. Work through this once and keep the folder.
Every name, employer, organization, and number on this page was made up for the sample. We never publish a customer document, and we do not claim these examples produced any award or job offer.
The checklist
- Legal name and registration
- Exactly as it appears on your official filing, not your brand name.
- Tax identification number
- Your EIN, or your tax exempt determination letter for a nonprofit.
- Unique entity ID
- Needed for federal awards and contracts. Register before a deadline, not during.
- Bank account in the organization name
- Personal accounts are often rejected for payment.
- Budget
- One for the organization and one for the specific project.
- Financial statements
- Most recent year, and two years for larger awards.
- Leadership list
- Owners, officers, or board members with roles.
- Proof of past work
- Contracts, invoices, photos, or reports you can attach.
- Who you serve
- Counts, area, and how you know the numbers.
- Measurement plan
- What you will count and how often you will report it.
- Letters of support
- From partners who are actually involved, gathered early.
- A saved project description
- One or two paragraphs you can adapt for each application.
Why this saves applications
Many applications are disqualified for a missing attachment or an expired registration, before anyone reads a word you wrote.
Gathering these once means the only new work for each program is answering that program's questions.
Do this with your own work
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