Churches are integral parts of communities. They host useful programs like after-school activities, soup kitchens, and marriage counseling. Churches often provide these services free of charge, though the programs cost money. As nonprofit entities, churches rely on grants, donations, and other types of charity. Write a successful fund-raising proposal by highlighting the church’s impact on the community, proving need, and providing a clear vision for the future.

How to Write Church Fund-Raising Proposals

Get familiar with the potential funding source’s proposal format. Many donors have particular requirements for fund-raising proposals, such as specific financial documents or reference letters. Know the requirements and exceed them. Even if you use a generic fund-raising proposal template, personalize each proposal by tying in the potential donor’s mission statement with the goals of your plan. Christianity Today suggests selecting potential donors that share the church’s values.

Write a title page. Include the name and location of the church, the name of the project in need of funding, and the name of the potential donor. The proposal must be typed, not handwritten.

Summarize the proposal. Include the problem the church is attempting to address, the church’s proposed solution to the problem, how much money is needed to solve the problem, and a history of the church. The executive summary should be no more than one page and no less than two paragraphs.

Write a statement of need. The statement of need includes facts and statistics that illustrate the problem. A fund-raising proposal for after-school tutoring would include statistics about test scores, drop-out rates, and grades of neighborhood children. Also include facts and statistics that show how the church’s proposed program addresses that need. The statement of need should run no more than two pages.

Describe the program that needs funding. Include goals, objectives, specific plans to achieve the goals, measures of success, and future projections. Use numbers and tangible outcomes. The program description should run a maximum of three pages.

Include a budget. Be as detailed as possible. Review the potential donor’s funding rules and exclude any budget items that the funder would not cover. The budget should run no more than one page.

Tell the church’s story. Include the history of the church, the governing board, activities, and information about the community it serves. The description of the church should run no more than one page.

Write a conclusion. The conclusion is similar to the executive summary, but even more concise. Include brief highlights from the proposal. The conclusion should run one or two paragraphs.

Things You Will Need

  • Computer

  • Paper

Tip

Include the name and contact information of the church as a watermarked header on each page. That way, if the title page is lost, the potential donor can still contact you.

Write a thank-you note to the potential donor whether the church gets the funding or not.

The Non-Profit Guides website suggests that organizations request feedback from the potential donor about the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal.